Supervisors discuss new GIS flights

ALLISON — The Butler County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, Jan. 10 debated whether to bring a new set of GIS mapping flights to the county. Assessor Deb McWhirter brought the request, noting that the last flights were three years ago and that the maps created and available free of charge on the county’s Web site are regularly used. McWhirter brought a bid from the Sidwell Company for $64,700 for the service, down from $65,450 in 2014. If the aerial mapping were done late in the spring, the new maps would be available to the county by sometime in the fall.
Supervisors also discussed whether to use more detailed, and more expensive, oblique imaging instead of the standard method currently used. McWhirter said the oblique method, marketed as Pictometry, is of benefit to larger counties with large buildings and alleyways, though some smaller Iowa counties also use it. Emergency Management Director Mitch Nordmeyer noted that Grundy County uses the Pictometry system, though they use it extensively for law enforcement. Butler County, he said, could do just as well with the standard maps and then could fly its drone into areas where it needs more detail.
Read the full article in the January 12 edition of the papers.