2026 SAG Award Winners

MatSu Borough

Project Goal

The Borough’s GIS Division deployed and enhanced ESRI’s Winter Weather Solution to improve oversight, contractor accountability, and public transparency in maintaining 1,100 miles of roads across 16 service areas. Using tools like QuickCapture, ArcGIS Velocity, Experience Builder, Survey123, and the Citizen Problem Reporter, the system enables real-time tracking of contractor activities, accurate routing of citizen requests, and automated closure of issues once work is completed. The solution now supports both winter and summer maintenance, creating a single, year-round operational framework that improves communication, efficiency, and service delivery for Public Works, contractors, and Borough residents.
Learn more about us
Learn more about our application: Site 1 | Site 2

Business Problem Solved

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough faced growing challenges in managing road maintenance across a vast 25,000-square-mile region, especially during record-breaking winter seasons. Public Works lacked real-time visibility into contractor snow-removal activities, resulting in compliance issues, inefficient oversight, and a limited ability to verify when and where maintenance occurred. Citizens also had no reliable way to track when their concerns were addressed, leading to frustration and communication gaps. These inefficiencies led to higher operational costs, delayed responses to hazardous conditions, and reduced public trust.

Technology Implemented

ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS QuickCapture, ArcGIS Velocity (Real-Time + Big Data Analytics), ArcGIS Experience Builder, ArcGIS Survey123 + Survey123 Connect (Advanced Logic), ArcGIS Dashboards, ArcGIS Feature Services & Hosted Layers, ArcGIS Web Maps / Web Mapping Applications

Development Team Biography

Kenneth Kleewein is the GIS Manager for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, where he has spent 13 years—five as manager—leading the transformation of GIS into a modern, data-driven solutions program. A lifelong Alaskan, he focuses on leveraging geospatial technology to improve government services, enhance operational efficiency, and support resilient communities. Sebastian Sanchez Bernal and Adina (Dini) Zucker are the GIS Programmer/Analysts for the Mat-Su Borough, specializing in geospatial software development, enterprise GIS architecture, and large-scale spatial data analytics. Dini started out as a computer programmer in industry before pivoting to GIS with various positions with the National Park Service. Sebastian’s background in physics and remote sensing let him to earn 1st place in the NASA, UNVIE, and UNOOSA Data Science for Earth Observation Challenge (2024) for a GIS project supporting SDG 13 (Climate Action). Both are loving Alaska and the MSB!

Company Overview

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is a county government in Southcentral Alaska covering more than 25,000 square miles and serving over 117,000 residents. As the state’s second-most populated borough, it provides essential services including Public Works, Emergency Services, Community Development, and Information Technology. The Borough maintains 1,100 miles of roads across 16 Road Service Areas and emphasizes data-driven operations and modern geospatial technology to improve service delivery and transparency. Through collaboration with contractors, partner agencies, and the public, the Borough is committed to supporting safe, resilient, and well-maintained communities.

Return on Investment

Reduced Contractor Oversight Costs
Real-time monitoring of plowing, sanding, and other maintenance activities eliminated the need for manual field verification and reduced staff time spent on compliance investigations.
Automated Request Management
The auto-close feature for citizen requests significantly decreased contractor and Public Works administrative workload, saving labor hours previously spent on manual updates, call-backs, and site checks.
Fewer Erroneous Citizen Reports
Survey123 validation logic reduced misrouted and incorrect work requests, freeing staff time and improving accuracy in service response.
Increased Transparency and Public Trust
Public dashboards and automated citizen notifications decreased inquiry calls and improved engagement, reducing demand on administrative staff.
Year-Round Reuse of Technology
Leveraging the same infrastructure for summer maintenance activities doubled system value without requiring a separate investment.
Improved Contractor Performance