August 2, 1973 Missouri State Land Survey Authority Meeting Minutes

MINUTES OF MEETING

STATE LAND SURVEY AUTHORITY

August 2, 1973

     The meeting of the State Land Survey Authority was held August 2nd at the Kentwood Arms, Springfield, Missouri. Chairman Daniel Kennedy called the meeting to order at 10:15 a.m. with James Anderson, Willard Eckhardt, Larry Fellows and Robert Myers present.

     The minutes of the July 5th, 1973 meeting were reviewed and minor corrections made. Minutes approved.

     The trial balance sheet for FY 73 was presented for review and comment. Mr. Myers pointed out that the 3% reserve in Personal Service and in Equipment Purchase and Repair accounts had been released for expenditure. The balance sheet for the month of July will be presented at the next meeting as a final copy of amended code numbers has not been received from Jefferson City.

     Mr. Myers reported that the following employees had been hired since July 1, 1973:
               Vicki Rushing - Clerk Typist II
               Ralph Hess - Draftsman
               Leland Chrisco - Surveying Technician I
               Thomas Cooley - Surveying Technician I

     Possible changes in the SLSA Employment Application form were discussed. It was agreed that the questions pertaining to church and union affiliation should be deleted from the form and a space added for minority status if in accord with State personnel practice. Qualifications for department heads were discussed with emphasis on whether experience could be substituted for a college degree with regard to these positions. It was suggested that Mr. Jacobs explore this further.

     Mr. Myers stated that the positions of Chief of Repository and Surveyor have not been filled. He reviewed the qualifications required for the Chief of Repository, and noted that to date no one with all desired qualifications had applied. Applications received to date were reviewed and qualifications discussed. It was agreed that of the applicants, Mr. Jack McDermott seemed best qualified for the position.  Mr. McDermott is presently employed by the University of Missouri-Rolla, and it was agreed that Chancellor Baker and Mr. Joseph Wollard, Business Officer, should be informed that Mr. McDermott was being considered for a position with the SLSA. If no problems are encountered with UMR, Mr. Myers will hire Mr. McDermott as Chief of Repository.

     Adjourned for lunch.

     Mr. Myers stated that several applications had been received for the position of surveyor. Authority members voiced strong approval for equal employment opportunity in SLSA appointments. It was the consensus of opinion that a surveyor, registered in another state, could be hired with the understanding that he would become registered in Missouri at the earliest opportunity.

     Mr. Myers reported that the Reorganization Bill had been vetoed by Governor Bond on July 31st. Dr. Fellows stated that in view of the veto, Dr. Howe would withdraw his provisional memo, "Initial Consideration(s) with Regard to Reorganization," presented to the Board at the July 5th meeting. It was agreed that before the next Authority meeting Dean Eckhardt would draft a letter, to be signed by Messrs. Kennedy, Anderson, Barr and Eckhardt, requesting transfer of the SLSA to the Department of Natural Resources by a Type II transfer. Dr. Fellows stated that due to the role of the Missouri Geological Survey & Water Resources in relation to the Reorganization Bill, he would abstain from inclusion in any discussion or correspondence.

     Mr. Myers stated that the 1974-1975 budget request was due on October 1, 1973. He noted that the User Fee for 1973 had increased by 6% from the same period last year. Mr. Myers reported that Mr. John Cooper, Director of Division of Design and Construction, had advised him to include the entire building operation costs into a separate identifiable category in the 1975 budget. This would include utilities, custodian, etc. A new position of Account Clerk II was approved. It was agreed that the 1975 budget request should total approximately $365,000.

     Mr. Myers reported on the status of the following projects:

         1. St. Louis Coordinate - Work was started in mid-July and
            the survey crew is presently measuring angles.

         2. Iron Co. - All work as specified in the contract has been
            completed and received. Mr. Murphy will be requested to
            do additional work to expend the remaining contract funds.
            Surdex has provided a printout of values on the coordinates.

         3. Pattonsburg - Needs final search and evaluation.

         4. Carter Co. project - ready to start. No progress to date.

     Mr. Myers stated that the manager of the Heritage House Apartment Building was reluctant to permit SLSA personnel access to the roof of their building without liability insurance. Steps will be taken to obtain coverage for SLSA employees needing this type of protection.

     Mr. Kennedy inquired if any further information had been received on the Pattonsburg project. Mr. Myers stated that a final search and evaluation was still needed, and no additional information was available at this time.

     The next meeting of the SLSA will be held at 9:00 a.m., August 30th at the State Land Survey Authority building, Rolla.

     Meeting adjourned at 4:09 p.m.


-------------------------------
transcribed by Steven E. Weible

1984 Explanation of Calibration Report by Robert E Myers

   MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

   P. O. Box 250, Rolla, Missouri 65401

   MEMORANDUM

      Date: March 12, 1984
        To: Users of the EDM Baselines
      From: Robert E. Myers, State Land Surveyor
   Subject: Explanation of the Calibration Report

The computer program used to analyze the results of the calibration measurements on the calibration baselines provide essentially two pieces of information. A system constant and a system scale factor. The system constant is composed of two components, the prism constant and the error of the phase difference determination. In the ideal situation, the prism constant will be known, so the error in phase determination will be the only unknown. For most EDM equipment the phase difference determination error will be plus or minus five millimeters. When the results of the calibration report shows the system constant to be greater than 5 millimeters, one needs to determine whether this reflects an error in the determination of the system prism constants or reflects a problem with the phase determination quality of the instrument. If the allowable error in the determination of the prism zero constant is 10 millimeters and the allowable error in the phase determination is 5 millimeters, the possible error in the system constant correction would be approximately 11 millimeters. For this reason we believe that when the computed system constant is greater than 12 millimeters, the owner should further analyze his system and determine the prism constant by other measurements.

The system scale factor is also computed in this analysis of the data. The scale factor is composed of three separate error quantities. They are the error in the velocity of the propagation of light in a vacuum, error in the modulation frequency, and error in the refractive index. The error in the velocity of the propagation of light in a vacuum is extremely small and one which we do not have to contend with. If we have correctly measured temperature and barometric pressure, the error in the refractive index should be very close to zero; therefore, all the error which would be shown by the system scale factor would be a result of the error in the modulation frequency. The standard error in frequency would be approximately 10 megaherts [sic] or approximately an error of 5 parts per million. If the computed system scale factor is greater than 5 parts per million, one must worry about whether or not the resulting error is a function of errors in temperature and pressure. Surveyors should first determine that his temperature and barometric pressure reading equipment is properly functioning and calibrated. He should then remeasure the distances on the calibration baseline so as to reflect the different conditions. This result may then show whether the error lies with the modulation frequency or the atmospheric conditions.

The computer program also computes whether or not the statistical value of the system constant and scale factor are equal to zero. When the value is computed as statistically equal to zero, we can say that the instrument is definitely in good adjustment for that value. If the value is not equal to zero, we have to make a judgement of the equipment based on the computed value as previously outlined. The calibration report also shows the observed data, its difference from the know value and a rejection limit. The rejection limit is based on three times the standard deviation determined by this calibration procedure. Some of the values will be outside the rejection limit. This is for our use and should be disregarded by the owner of the equipment.

In summary, the owner of the equipment should consider his equipment to be satisfactorily operating if the constants are statistically equal to zero. If one or more of the constants are not equal to zero, then the owner must evaluate each of those constants to see if they are within an acceptable limit. An acceptable limit for the system constant is 11 millimeters and approximately 7 millimeters for the scale factor for most short and medium range equipment. Any greater values should be further analyzed.


-------------------------------
transcribed by Steven E. Weible

See transcribers comments in the article,"MODNR's EDM Baseline Comparison Rejection Limit"

July 5, 1973 Missouri State Land Survey Authority Meeting Minutes

MINUTES OF MEETING

State Land Survey Authority

July 5, 1973

     The regular June meeting of the State Land Survey Authority, originally scheduled for June 21, 1973 was held July 5th at the State Land Survey Authority Building, Rolla, Missouri. The meeting was called to order at 9:00 a.m. by Dean Willard Eckhardt, Acting Chairman. Present besides Mr. Eckhardt were Richard Barr, Larry Fellows and Robert Myers. James Anderson joined the group at 10:30 a.m.

     The minutes of the May 24-25 meeting were reviewed and corrected. Approved as corrected.

     Mr. Myers reported on the following legislation:

          1) H.B. 138, State Coordinate System Bill, was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Bond.

          2) Approved SLSA budget appropriation, H. B. 4, for 1973-74 has been received as follows:

               Personal Service             $129,245
               Equipment Purchase & Repair    70,000
               Operations                    100,000

Mr. Myers noted that the User Fee for FY 72-73 is now estimated to be $267,000.

          3) H. B. 9, Capital Improvements appropriation, in the amount of $38,400 has been approved. Mr. Myers stated that the appropriation was approved by line item and must be expended as approved.

          4) The Reorganization Bill was passed by the Legislature and has been submitted to the Governor. The Governor has 45 days to act on the Bill.

     A memo, "Initial Consideration(s) with Regard to Reorganization," submitted to Authority Members and Mr. Myers by Dr. W. B. Howe, State Geologist, was reviewed. The memo was discussed and it was agreed that no action would be taken until Governor Bond had acted on the Reorganization Bill. The possibility of forming an advisory board was discussed. It was agreed that Missouri Association of Registered Land Surveyors and the Missouri Society of Professional Engineers should be consulted concerning an advisory board. Other possible contacts suggested were the Missouri Land Title Association, Missouri Bar, and law schools in the Columbia and Kansas City areas.

     It was the consensus of opinion that if the Reorganization Bill is signed into law, the Authority would still be active during the first half of the 73-74 Fiscal Year. Therefore a copy of Dr. Howe's memo can be sent to the MARLS November meeting.

     Mr. Myers reported on the status of current projects as follows:

          1) Liberty Reconnaissance completed. A final report and diagram has been received from Mr. Randall.

          2) Iron County. Project has progressed well. Completion of the contract has been extended to 9/1/73 in order that remaining contract funds can be utilized for remonumentation. Mr. Brown has completed the control work and calculations. Mr. Brown may prepare a paper on the corner restoration work.

          3) Pattonsburg. After considerable delay in receiving contract approval in Jefferson City, the contract with Riddle Engineering Co. was approved and received back on July 3rd. A 30-day extension has been requested on the contract because of the delay.

          4) Microfilming of all survey records from Greene and Gasconade Counties and of the St. Louis Land Clearance Authority has been completed. Horizontal control data from Kansas City, St. Louis, National Geodetic Survey, and the U.S. Geological Survey has been indexed. Two runs of the control are being given to the U.S.G.S. for their use.

          5) St. Louis--Mill Creek Valley. Reconnaissance has been completed. Mr. Brown will place wooden towers on the roofs of selected buildings in the St. Louis Metropolitan area and begin observations the week of July 16th.

     Mr. Myers stated that Ozark National Scenic Riverways had requested assistance on a search and evaluation project in Carter County (T. 25, 26 and 27 N., R. 1 and 2 E.). Mr. Myers had discussed the feasibility of this project with state personnel in Jefferson City and was advised Federal Grant funds could be used. Funds for this project total $11,675. Work could be subcontracted until March 15, 1974. Mr. Myers stated that the project would be advantageous to the SLSA as many corners outside the boundary of the project could be subsequently monumented at a very low cost to the SLSA. Mr. Barr made a motion that the project be accepted. Seconded by Dr. Fellows. Motion carried.

     Job descriptions for present and approved SLSA positions for FY 73-74 were reviewed. An updated position chart for 73-74 personnel was presented to Authority Members.

     Mr. Myers called to the attention of Authority members that per diem received for the month of June included payment for the meeting held July 5th since the meeting had been rescheduled from June 21.

     The following 73-74 budget items were discussed:

          1) Personal Service.

              Mr. Myers stated that the following promotions had
              been made effective July 1, 1973.

                 Diane Plank promoted to Clerk Steno II, salary $5040/yr.

                 James Matlock - position change to Survey Repository
                 Technician II, salary $7578/yr.

                 John Flowers - part time to full time,
                 Surveying Technician III, salary $7578/yr.

     Mr. Myers requested the Board's approval for promotion of Norman Brown to the position of Chief, Survey Operations. Motion made by Dr. Fellows to approve Mr. Brown's promotion; seconded by Mr. Barr. Motion carried.

     Mr. Eckhardt suggested that steps be taken to lift the ceiling of the State Land Surveyor's salary, or put a ceiling on Department Chiefs' salaries, in order to prevent the State Land Surveyor from eventually receiving a lesser salary than the Department Chiefs.

          2) Equipment Purchase & Repair

          All items budgeted for FY 73-74 were noted and commented on as necessary.

          3) Operations

          An "Outline of 1974 Survey Programs," prepared by Mr. Myers, was presented for review and discussion. It was the consensus of opinion that, at present, the most important program is to assist in establishing a coordinate system for use by local people in the State of Missouri.

     Adjourned for lunch.

     A motion was made to approve the "Outline of 1974 Survey Program," as presented, for planning purposes.

     The 1973-74 budget requests for the first quarter were approved as follows:

               Personal Service             $31,751.25
               Equipment Purchase & Repair   14,313.50
               Operations                    28,042.98

     A preliminary draft entitled, "Horizontal Control Demonstration Program," was presented by Mr. Myers for review and comment. This program entails participation by the SLSA with any governing body or agency in the State. Authority members approved of the basic concept of the program and authorized Mr. Myers to negotiate for proposals to be acted upon by the Authority.

     The next meeting of the SLSA is tentatively set for August 2, 1973 to be held at 10:00 a.m., Springfield, Missouri. A meeting place will be determined at a later date.

     Meeting adjourned at 3:00 p.m.


-------------------------------
transcribed by Steven E. Weible