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ORANGE COUNTY <br />BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS <br />ACTION AGENDA ITEM ABSTRACT <br />Meeting Date: February 4, 2003 <br />Action Age da <br />Item No. -0_ <br />SUBJECT: Process for Acquiring Updated Aerial Photography and Digital Orthophotos <br />DEPARTMENT: Land Records PUBLIC HEARING: (Y/N) No <br />ATTACHMENT(S): INFORMATION CONTACT: <br />1/8/03 Land Records Manager Memo Roscoe Reeve, ext 2501 <br />TELEPHONE NUMBERS: <br />Hillsborough 732-8181 <br />Chapel Hill 968-4501 <br />Durham 688-7331 <br />Mebane 336-227-2031 <br />PURPOSE: To endorse County staff plans for acquiring updated aerial photography and <br />digital orthophotos for use with the County's Geographical Information System (GIS). <br />BACKGROUND: In January 1998, the Board of Commissioners approved a contract between <br />the County and Atlantic Technologies, Inc. to conduct aerial photography of the entire County, <br />to produce digital orthophotos based on that photography, and to produce other related <br />electronic database elements that are central to the County's GIS. Some of these products <br />were made available to the Towns under interlocal agreements that reimbursed the County for <br />some of the expense of the Atlantic contract. <br />As it has been five years since the most recent aerial photography was carried out in February <br />1998, it would be extremely beneficial to have updated aerial photography available to the <br />many County departments that rely on GIS for their daily work activities. This time, the Town of <br />Chapel Hill has elected to take the lead in the process, and is expected to award a contract for <br />this work shortly following receipt of vendor proposals on January 10, 2003. Orange County <br />Land Records Manager/GIS Director Roscoe Reeve served on the Town's vendor selection <br />panel. The Town proposes to contract with Sanborn, Inc. of Charlotte to provide these services. <br />Staff envisions the creation of interlocal agreements similar to those fashioned pursuant to the <br />1998 Atlantic contract, under which the Town's vendor will fly the County and take photos at the <br />scale requested by County departments and subsequently produce updated digital orthophotos. <br />There would be a number of significant enhancements to this set of products compared to those <br />obtained through the 1998 contract. Aerial photography this time will be in color, and the scale <br />to be flown throughout the County's jurisdiction will allow for significantly greater photographic <br />resolution. The cost to the County for this upgrade would be approximately $70,000. This cost <br />is dramatically lower than the $650,000 cost of the 1998 Atlantic contract for a number of <br />reasons, including: