Goodhue County is looking to join a long list of Minnesota counties that utilizes Eagle View Technologies for aerial imagery. An image from Eagle View is shown here. (Image courtesy of Eagle View Technologies)
Goodhue County is looking to join a long list of Minnesota counties that utilizes Eagle View Technologies for aerial imagery. An image from Eagle View is shown here. (Image courtesy of Eagle View Technologies)
Left with a modest unallotted fund balance, due to the challenges of filling positions in a tight labor market, the Goodhue County Board of Commissioners has decided to invest in new technology with the potential to benefit multiple county departments.
Aerial imaging provided through Eagle View Technologies is already a mainstay of most local governments throughout the region. In total, 76 counties across Minnesota have contracted with Eagle View to provide realistic, three-dimensional pictometry.
Eagle View comes with a buy-in cost of around $110,000, split between the first two years. Ongoing flyovers are recommended to keep the system updated. Even so, County Administrator Brian Anderson said the system could help to pay for itself by significantly improving efficiency.
The new contract is of particular value to the County Assessor’s Office, which is tasked each year with determining the value of thousands of properties for tax purposes. Through Eagle View, staff in the Assessor’s Office could get much of the information they need for the process without leaving their offices.
The system is expected to come online quickly, with an initial flyover projected to take place this spring. Assessor’s Office staff will also be bolstered by the purchase of several Multiple Listing Services memberships, which provide convenient access to information on recent sales.
County Auditor/Treasurer Brian Anderson emphasized that once it’s up and running, Eagle View will be available to all County Departments and other local government agencies, giving them access to a wealth of information free of charge.
The system can be of particular help to law enforcement and first responders, giving them crucial information about a building before they enter it in an emergency situation. The data provided can even be used in a court of law as a crucial reference.
Planning and Zoning Departments also might find the service to be useful as they consider permit applications. Once the system is fully up and running, it can be upgraded to include Property ChangeFinder, which seeks to keep track of all property changes.
Eagle View offers its pictometry in six inch, three inch or one inch GSD (Ground Sample Distance). The one inch option is the clearest but also the most expensive, offering a composite of 15-30 images for every square foot.
While such incredibly detailed imagery may be particularly useful in urban settings, much of Goodhue County is rural. Accordingly, staff recommended six inch pictometry for most of the county, with the more detailed three inch option for Red Wing, Zumbrota and Cannon Falls.
If the county wishes to keep funding the service, it will be included as a line item in the Assessor’s Office budget in 2024 and beyond. Due to the cost of upgrading to ChangeFinder, the price will jump by about $10,000 per year after the first two years.
While the county board gave the project its unanimous approval, the system isn’t quite a done deal yet. Staff will still need to negotiate a final contract with Eagle View in line with the board’s wishes, including more detailed imaging of Goodhue County’s three biggest communities.
“It will be three weeks before we can go forward,” Anderson said. “I did get their proposal, but I did not get a specific contract.
Andrew Deziel is a freelance writer. Reach the editor at editor@apgsomn.com.
