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Surveyor describes ongoing monument preservation work and raises idea for electronic monument caps
Summary
At the Oct. 4 meeting the surveyor reported active monument re-establishment using updated equipment and responded to a suggestion to embed electronic locating devices in monument caps to ease recovery when markers are disturbed or removed.
Max Elliot, the county surveyor, told the Davis County Budget Committee on Oct. 4 that staff are actively re‑establishing and occupying known survey control points and replacing monuments as needed, and he described ongoing damage caused by utility and construction work.
The surveyor reviewed a variance report and said payrolls were "pretty much in line" with expectations while the budget included additional money for building survey monuments. He told the committee the office is using modern equipment—"the finest equipment there is now with GBS"—and that restoring and preserving monuments is a continuing effort because "every time you think everything is solid, somebody will put a water line or a sewer line or something ... and tear out a lot of these monuments."
A committee member proposed embedding electronic locating tags in monument caps so a nearby phone or other device could "ping" and help locate a lost or disturbed monument. The presenter described the idea as similar to consumer tracking devices and asked whether such technology exists for survey monuments. The surveyor and staff said they were not sure whether a market-ready product for monument caps is available and suggested alternatives such as placing devices on hubs or under caps.
Committee members discussed practical considerations including battery life, placement beneath caps or directly on property corners, and whether the county should factor emerging technology into future replacement cycles. One attendee noted a local precedent: a "secondary water cap was just replaced with an electronic device on it." Jeff from asset information systems was identified in the meeting as the person responsible for computing equipment and follow-up on technical options.
The meeting did not adopt a specific policy or purchase at the session; the exchange ended with staff noting they would consider the idea as monuments are replaced and with the committee recording the concept for possible future evaluation.
