Aerial Orthophotography ProjectTHE CITY OF
DuB E MEMORANDUM
~~~
February 13, 2007
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Aerial Orthophotography Project
Requests for Proposals were issued for Digital Orthophotography and Data Collection.
GIS Coordinator/Analyst Nikki Breitsprecker is recommending that the City hire Aerial
Services, Inc. for the completion of the Digital Orthophotographysnd Data Collection
Project at a cost of $211,395.
The City has budgeted $205,000 in Fiscal Year 2007 for this project and $30,000 for
Geographic Information System (GIS) Conversion, so sufficient funds are available.
The City is also negotiating a potential partnership with the Dubuque City and County
Assessors, which could provide approximately $48,000 in funding.
Aerial Services, Inc. did not submit the lowest price, but their use of a DiMAC digital
camera is an enhanced benefit, use of 3D imagery and their customer service described
in the proposal made their proposal the best proposal. RFP's are not bids and more
than price needs to be considered.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
~~~ ~~ ~~
~~
Michael C. Van Milligen
MCVM/jh
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Nikki Breitsprecker, GIS Coordinator/Analyst
THE CITY OF
DUB E
MEMORANDUM
February 13, 2007
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Nikki Breitsprecker, GIS Coordinator/Analyst
SUBJECT: Aerial Orthophotography Project
BACKGROUND
At their December 4, 2006 meeting, the City Council approved a Request for Proposals
for Digital Orthophotography and Data Collection. The RFP was released shortly
thereafter and GIS Coordinator/Analyst Nikki Breitsprecker, Public Information Officer
Randy Gehl, Information Services Manager Chris Kohlmann, Project Manager Steve
Sampson-Brown, and Surveyor Ron Turner accepted and reviewed proposals from six
vendors. These proposals were submitted with pricing and details for digital
orthophotographyfnr the corporate limits of the City of Dubuque, as well as potential
annexation areas as defined in Dubuque's recent annexation study. This aerial
photography project will also include the capture/creation of several GIS files, including
impervious areas, water features, railroad centerlines and spurs, bridge structures,
pavement edge, a digital terrain model (DTM), and 2-foot contours of the project area.
This project is being funded by the Geographic Information System Capital
Improvement Project with $205,000 for FY 2007. An additional $20,000 has been
budgeted for FY 2009 and FY 2011 for supplemental flights.
DISCUSSION
The committee reviewed the six different proposals from aerial firms throughout the
country, and agreed that Aerial Services, Inc., located in Cedar Falls, IA, was the best fit
for this project. Aerial Services, Inc. (ASI) is a highly reputable firm, and has
successfully completed several similar projects throughout Iowa. There were several
aspects of ASI's proposal and subsequent interview that made them the best choice for
this project.
• ASI was one of just two firms who proposed the use of a DiMAC digital camera,
which takes the imagery in 100% digital format. This means there is no film
processing, which eliminates the possibility of smudges and scratches in the
aerial product, and it also takes true color photography. The DiMAC is a cutting-
edge technology, and the committee felt that knowing subsequent projects
related to this would likely be completed using this type of photography, it would
be in the City's best interest to start the process in the same manner.
ASI also proposed to collect all building structures in 3D as opposed to 2D, which
means City staff will be able to create 3D modeling using the buildings created as
apart of this project. Having vertical values for buildings will also be very
beneficial to emergency services, as it will allow staff to identify areas of town
where a ladder truck is a necessity in the event of a fire.
Finally, we felt the customer service ASI has provided throughout the request for
proposal process, as well as the service described in the proposal itself, has met
or exceeded our expectations, and overall, the committee is very comfortable
with the firm. We anticipate along-term relationship with this firm as the data
from this project is utilized. The next full flyover is expected to be in 2017, so
occasional updates and supplementary orthography projects are expected over
the next 10 years. Of the proposals we strongly considered, ASI's customer
service reputation was the best.
The firms from whom we received proposals included:
• Aerial Services, Inc of Cedar Falls, IA ($211,395)
• Aerocon Photogrammetric Services, Inc of Willoughby, OH ($245,900)
. • Petroleum Place Energy Solutions, LP of San Antonio, TX ($426,310)
• Pinnacle Mapping Technologies, Inc. ($115,875)
• Spatial Data Solutions, LLC of Aurora, CO ($159,425)
• The Sidwell Company of St. Charles, IL ($176,630)
Several other firms submitted proposals where the costs were lower than those
submitted by ASI; however, the committee felt some of the vendors were missing large
amounts of detail in their project scope, while others did not have sufficient work
experience. We felt other proposals, which were priced higher than ASI's, offered a
similar product, but the committee could not justify the high costs based on the results.
ASI originally submitted a proposal for $183,913; however, this project assumed the
quality of the City's existing buildings and digital terrain model (DTM) data would be
satisfactory to use as the base for their project. During meetings held prior to the
interview, and during the interview itself, members of the committee expressed their
legitimate concern that our existing data would not be satisfactory for the project we had
in mind, and that the money the City had invested to complete this project would require
the creation of completely new data sets. Requesting ASI to revise their scope and
pricing made their proposal more comparable to the proposals of other firms in that no
other firms had proposed to use our existing data.
Following that discussion, ASI supplied an updated scope and pricing worksheet with a
revised proposal which exceeded the budgeted amount for this project. However,
$30,000 was budgeted for FY 2007 for GIS conversion, and the remaining portion of
this project can be paid for with this.
During the entire process of this project, Dubuque County's GIS Coordinator was
attempting to perform a similar yet different project; however, the funding that had been
set aside for this project was eliminated from the County's budget. The County
Supervisors urged both the City Assessor and County Assessor to work together in
order to fund this project, and upon hearing the City was in the process of completing
their own, suggested exploring a partnership between the City and County that would
be mutually beneficial for both parties.
Upon realizing the County's goals could be achieved by partnering with the City on their
project, both the City Assessor and County Assessor agreed to fund their respective
portions of the project. For the City, City Assessor Rick Engleken was authorized to
contribute $40,813 towards the City's project, and an additional $8,000 to pay for the
City's portion of the infrared photography, which the County had requested as a part of
their original project. These funds, however, are contingent on the approval of the
conference boards which oversee both the City Assessor and County Assessor.
While the money the City Assessor has allocated for this project would benefit the City
by saving the City over $40,000 in already budgeted money, should the project not be
approved, the City still has the funding available to complete the project as originally
scheduled.
ACTION STEP
I respectfully request City Council approval for the City Manager to negotiate and
execute a contract with Aerial Services, Inc for the completion of the Digital
Orthophotography and Data Collection project.
~ .~~ ~ ~~~
Nikki reitsprecker, GIS Coordinator/Analyst
cc: Public Information Officer Randy Gehl
Information Services Manager Chris Kohlmann
Project Manager Steve Sampson-Brown
Surveyor Ron Turner
Budget Director Jenny Larson
Att: