The county will now offer its global information mapping services at no cost to area school corporations.

Allen County commissioners approved a new membership agreement with Fort Wayne Community Schools today that will eliminate the fees the county normally charges for sharing mapping information, said Dave Estes, who manages the county’s GIS office.

Similar agreements with East Allen County Schools and Southwest Allen County Schools were renewed in November after making amendments that eliminated fees, Estes said.

The city of New Haven and the Fort Wayne-Allen County Airport Authority also have free access to the mapping information, Estes said.

The county has established ordinances that include fees, Estes said, which is why they must amend agreements to eliminate those fees. It’s also why the county is one of six of the state’s 92 counties that have not contributed computerized maps to the IndianaMap program, Estes said.

The statewide map is free to anyone, accessible on any office, home or field computer and has unlimited uses.

A letter was recently sent to the commissioners requesting their consideration in collaborating in the IndianaMap initiative, Estes said.

vsade@jg.net