Blue Ridge staff propose drone-and-AI tour to inspect sewer plant, avoid liability

Council members discussed liability and public-safety concerns about conducting a group tour of the wastewater treatment plant and supported a recorded alternative. A council member proposed using a drone pilot and an AI-generated overview to document plant systems and make the material publicly available for future review and questions: "I'm going to do a drone tour because we have access to a pilot, a drone, and just go through our whole sewer plant and have like an AI overview of this is what this does, this is what that does," the member said.

Supporters said a recorded tour would allow subject-matter experts (named Nick and Brad in the meeting) to provide explanations without staff risking insurance or homeland-security liabilities from taking a large group onto the site. Staff agreed to pursue the drone recording and arrange subject-matter availability for follow-up questions once conditions in the field improve after recent rain.