Council committee backs 5‑year Paladin drone agreement for public safety
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Summary
A committee recommended sending a five‑year contract with Paladin for expanded drone capability to the finance committee; the $496,000 deal would add docks and drones for police and fire and is proposed to be paid from public‑safety tax funds.
Roswell staff and public‑safety officials described a proposal to expand the city’s Paladin drone system and the council committee voted to recommend the five‑year contract to the finance committee.
Lieutenant Fry (Roswell Police Department) told the committee the department purchased an initial Paladin system in October and is seeking a five‑year contract worth $496,000 that would add two docks and two drones to bring the fleet to three docks and four drones. Fry said docks would be located at the police department and at Fire Stations 3 (Wilshire) and 5 (Gale); a fourth drone would be mobile for field deployment. He described Paladin’s services as including FAA approvals, the cellular “EXT” device that permits beyond‑visual‑line‑of‑sight operation, a flight‑management platform that stores video and evidence, and warranty/maintenance coverage.
Committee members asked whether the purchase had been competitively bid. Fry said the initial purchase used a sole‑source justification for Paladin’s software and cellular EXT device, that the city had tested other vendors but preferred Paladin’s system, and that staff could go to bid if required. Council members also pressed on funding and oversight: Fry said the plan is to fund the contract from the public‑safety/ambulance tax and that the agreement amortizes equipment and service costs across the five years.
A council member asked for finance committee review before full council consideration; another member said the finance committee would consider whether to place the item on a consent agenda. The committee voted to recommend approval to finance. Fry and other presenters emphasized uses including SWAT, narcotics investigations, crowd events (the U.F.O. festival and upcoming races), vehicle pursuits and structure fires. Fry said all drones are equipped with thermal cameras and that a single drone has flown for nearly two hours on a call by swapping batteries.
Members also asked for details about data storage and cellular service: Fry said the Paladin platform provides the city unlimited video storage as part of the contract but that cellular service itself is not included and is expected to be approximately $37 per device per month using AT&T based on testing.
The committee’s recommendation sends the contract to the finance committee for budget and procurement review; full council will consider the finance committee recommendation at a later meeting.