Public entities will soon have an updated aerial view of Moniteau County, as was discussed at the Feb. 4 City of California Board of Alderman meeting.
Moniteau County Assessor Amanda Trimble told the council that in 2000, many counties in Missouri transferred their mapping software to an online geographic information system (GIS).
"In 2005, Moniteau County decided to join along," Trimble said. "The last flight was in 2015, but wasn't fully funded to be county-wide. But for $10,000, we were able to map out Tipton and California."
Recently, Trimble was able to get together with Boone, Howard and Chariton counties in order to fund another flight with Surdex, a GIS mapping and aerial survey acquisition company out of Saint Charles. The four counties worked together to earn a grant for $10,000 through Missouri Conservation. Trimble said this grant, which will be split evenly between the four counties, will bring the cost of the flight down to $25,919, a price Surdex calculates by miles flown.
"We've worked with them before," Trimble said. "This needs to be done before foliage gets on the trees. So, this should be done in about two-to-three weeks, before spring. But the results will not be complete until May."
Trimble said this new flyover can provide a 12-inch resolution.
"We'll be able to see things like center lines, manholes and train tracks," she said. "It's a very good resolution, and better than what we currently have."
Once Surdex has completed their flight, the information gathered will be integrated into the Midland GIS, which is the system the county and city have access to, at this point in time. While expensive, the mapping system is highly important for the county.
"Things change in the county - subdivisions have popped up around here, and the GIS system is just outdated," Trimble said. "911 uses this to do the addressing in the county; the sheriff's office uses this, so do banks and even the school district."
The system is able to map out sewer, electric, gas and water lines and can even delineate color-coded sections to determine school districts. Crime and traffic incident mapping can also be completed on the system.
Trimble has asked several entities in the county to help fund this project - Tipton agreed to contribute $5,000, the 911 Dispatch Center has agreed to at least $5,000, and Co-Mo Connect has put forth $5,000. The city of California agreed to contribute $5,000 for assistance at the board of alderman meeting.
For other organizations who wish to use the GIS mapping system of Moniteau County, an annual fee of $250 will be required.