BB2C Partnerships: Ohio Training Committee of Ohio
You may remember previous pieces about the relationship with Operator Training Committee of Ohio (OTCO) and BB2C. We thought it was time for an update! Jared Farnsworth and Patrick Davis, our OTCO interns, have been working on various GIS projects this semester. Due to their excellent work, OTCO has opened a southeast office here in the Epicenter’s incubator!
The first meeting for the southeast office was held this week bringing municipalities from as far away as 2 1/2 hours. What was the purpose of this meeting? Seventeen people from different municipalities and agencies came together to address the needs of smaller municipalities in our area. Ken Heigel, Assistant Director Ohio Water Development, attended and listened attentively to the needs of the various water systems. Needs ranged from master water meters to education in using the software provided by Tony Shriner, CEO iamGIS/GAMA for asset management. The day ended with our high school interns doing hands on digitizing for one of the water systems.
So many great things came out of this meeting. Here are a few:
Municipality needs were heard in the hopes that financial assistance can be obtained to address those needs
Student interns networked with different municipalities about future projects
Training for software by the students at the Epicenter will now be offered to municipalities
Curtis Truss, Executive Director of OTCO, had this to say about the meeting:
I am very pleased with the turnout and the discussion from representatives of the small systems. For ODW to attend the session and not only field questions but also give detailed instructions on how systems may receive low interest or no interest funds from the State of Ohio to assist in compliance was very benificlal. I want to continue to bring other state agencies and personnel to the Epicenter for these types of insightful exchanges."
We are excited for this BB2C/OTCO partnership to grow and build a bridge between the needs of water/waste water entities and their future workforce!