County staff recommend multi‑year aerial imagery contracts with EagleView and Nearmap

Rick Havel, Johnson County GIS coordinator, asked the board to authorize two separate agreements so the county can obtain more frequent aerial imagery for internal use and public mapping tools.

Havel told supervisors the county has used EagleView for imagery since 2007 and has negotiated an eight‑year contract that evens out costs across years and would cover four EagleView flights during an eight‑year term. Staff discussed a combined figure cited in the presentation and packet that was used to calculate annual contributions; Havel explained the agreement smooths prior fluctuations in the county’s imagery budget by making payments more regular.

Separately, Nearmap — a company that has produced high‑frequency imagery for growth corridors in the county — offered supplemental coverage for the urban, high‑growth North Corridor area. Havel said the county would enter a three‑year Nearmap subscription that the University of Iowa has agreed to help fund; the university’s contribution reduces the county’s direct cost for Nearmap imagery in the urban area.

Havel summarized partner contributions used in staff’s planning: the county GIS fund and technology budget would pay roughly $26,000 per year, the county assessor roughly $26,221 per year, and a city assessor contribution of about $12,400 per year was noted in staff remarks for the EagleView arrangement. He recommended the board consider the two agreements as separate items, with the Nearmap agreement listing the university’s contribution and term.

Board members asked staff to put the two agreements on next week’s formal agenda as separate action items and to provide separate cost line items for clarity.

Ending

Staff will return with separate agenda items and contracts for EagleView and Nearmap on the board’s next formal agenda, with cost breakdowns for the county and partner contributions.