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Venice outlines 'drone as first responder' pilot; council to refine scope and funding
Summary
Police and fire described a dock‑based drone‑as‑first‑responder program that could put aerial situational awareness on scene within minutes; staff estimated a one‑dock five‑year package and recurring costs, and proposed funding initial capital from police impact fees with future maintenance on the general fund.
Police and fire presented a proposal to expand the city’s drone capabilities into a dock‑based Drone as First Responder (DFR) program. Assistant Fire Chief Kyle Hartley described three deployment models and said vendor Skydio estimates a single dock could have been useful on roughly 115,000 past calls over five years and that three docks would place a drone on scene in under three minutes for about two‑thirds of those calls. "Once a call comes through to CAD... within 20 seconds, it is in the air and flying to that location," Hartley said of the docked solution.
Staff outlined pricing scenarios: a five‑year, vendor‑maintained dock package is expensive — current estimates were in the $600,000 range for initial procurement of a dock package (subject to recent tariff changes) and roughly $142,000 per dock per year on an annualized basis under the vendor maintenance program. Police impact fees were identified as a potential initial capital source while ongoing maintenance would likely fall to the general fund. Council directed staff to continue refining the technical options and cost estimates and to return with a recommended number of docking stations and a funding plan in advance of a FY28 decision.
Several council members supported a cautious, phased approach, with staff noting both operational benefits (faster situational awareness for officers and firefighters) and legal/operational considerations (FAA certification, pilot training, procurement options). Staff recommended waiting until 2028 to deploy a dock‑based solution in order to allow for vendor negotiation, FAA developments and a clearer understanding of long‑term costs.
