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San Luis council approves drone purchase, Axon contract renewal and new fire-station alerting system
Summary
Council approved three public-safety procurements: two autonomous DFR drones and analytics ($85,000, grant-funded), a five-year Axon contract renewal for cameras and storage (total about $822,488.73), and a Honeywell Phoenix G2 station alerting system ($477,387.29).
The San Luis City Council approved three separate public-safety purchases on the consent of council members and after staff presentations: the purchase of two autonomous DFR (drone first responder) units and analytics software, renewal of the city's Axon contract for body and vehicle cameras plus cloud storage, and a Honeywell Phoenix G2 fire-station alerting system.
Lieutenant Emmanuel Botello told the council the DFR program would use Arizona Department of Public Safety local border support grant funds and include two drones, analytics software and vendor-provided training. "These drones are intended to be stationed at two different locations in the city to maximize coverage," Botello said, and staff presented a total not to exceed $85,000 for the purchase. Council members asked whether certified operators would be required and how privacy would be protected; Botello said the vendor provides training and FAA certification and that deployments would be logged and limited to major calls.
Separately, Lieutenant Alain Guevara presented a proposed five-year renewal with Axon covering vehicle cameras, 70 body-worn cameras, Tasers and associated cloud storage. Guevara described a total five-year contract amount of $822,488.73 and a first-year payment of roughly $164,296; the council approved renewal and the first-year payment as budgeted.
IT manager Fernando Corona asked council to approve a Honeywell Phoenix G2 alerting platform to replace the city's end-of-life SeaTron system. Corona said the cooperative-purchase price was $477,387.29 and that the installation and rewiring were expected to take place in the same fiscal year. "We're taking a proactive approach of protecting one of the city's most critical public-safety technologies," Corona said. The purchase was approved on a motion and voice vote.
Why it matters: the procurements affect police and fire operational capabilities, evidence retention and emergency response reliability. Council members emphasized training, certification and operational limits; staff said the Axon renewal consolidates existing equipment contracts and that the Honeywell system addresses an end-of-life risk.
Next steps: vendors will deliver training and schedule installations. The drone program will proceed using awarded grant funds; the Axon renewal and Honeywell purchase move forward per the contract terms presented to the council.
