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There are probably residents that don’t know that Eagle Mountain has purchased a Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) or also commonly know as a Drone. Evan Berrett, Eagle Mountain Management Analyst, gives us some more details on the sUAS owned by the city. “Eagle Mountain City is no stranger to the innovation that happens around us and part of my job as Management Analyst is to see where we can innovate to enhance services to residents, businesses, and so forth or use innovation to become more efficient in those services.” He continues, “Last year we began looking at what it would take to acquire and effectively use a sUAS. It originally stemmed from some mapping projects, trying to get more up-to-date imagery as we track infrastructure development. Then we also saw the benefits for economic development by creating more effective marketing content related to business development and tourism. From there, I continued to hear from multiple departments for all sorts of applications.”
“Right now Eagle Mountain City only owns and operates a single sUAS/Drone, an Autel Robotics X-Star Premium. This drone is American-made, costs less than the DJI Phantom 4 Pro but mimics almost all of its capabilities, and has operated thus far according to our expectations. Our sUAS cost, with all accessories (extra batteries, etc.) included just under $1300.00. Before the policy was adopted, we had only used this drone for a couple of simple inspections, monitoring the construction of the High School (in a partnership with Hogan Construction and Alpine School District), and monitoring construction of Cory Wride Memorial Park. All departments will have access to the sUAS with certain restrictions. As of right now, we are a civil operation under Part 107 and consequently, I will need to be, as the Remote PIC, present at all operations so use will be limited.” I have included at the end of this article some of the videos that were taken with the cities drone, that Evan mentioned.
Recently during the February, 8th City Council meeting the City Council approved a Drone Policy for employees. The policy was approved with a vote of 5-0 by the city council. A copy of the policy is included in the supporting documents below. Evan explains why the policy is necessary for the City to implement. “After extensive research and going through the certification process for 14 CFR Part 107, we knew that we would need a policy to establish some boundaries for use that would maintain a high standard of safety, privacy, and transparency. So the policy has actually been a fairly long time coming, and there’s still more work to do. As you heard in the council meetings this past week, we are seeking a Certificate of Authorization (COA) from the FAA to allow us to establish our own training programs so that we don’t have to put all staff that are looking to fly a sUAS through the extensive certification process. Furthermore, we are still looking at details on how we will be using the sUAS for various other untested applications. Among the applications that the sUAS will for sure be used for in the short term include: Inspecting city assets (water infrastructure, etc.), inspecting city property, monitoring parks construction, getting footage of our trails systems, and footage of new developments for the benefit of City Council. These are not new tasks, rather, these are tasks we already complete but the sUAS will make significantly easier and quicker. There are certainly even more applications, but in every application, we are careful to consider any issues that could arise with safety, privacy, and transparency.”
It needs to be noted that this policy was adopted for employee use of the City owned drone. Evan notes that the policy is for Eagle Mountain employees and does not effect residents. “We have no desire or possibly even grounds to regulate resident drone use and defer to the FAA and State of Utah.”
The purchase of this drone, in conjunction with this policy, open up new innovation for the city. Evan explains, “We are all very excited about incorporating the innovation of drone systems into our work. Eagle Mountain City is the third largest city geographically in Utah at 50+ square miles, and we are fortunate to not have many airspace restrictions in our area. With how spread out we are, city staff travels a lot to get to equipment, properties, and infrastructure in very remote areas quite often. The savings from tire replacements alone will make up the cost of the drone and more. For many departments, we are confident that because of the drone and new policy, we are about to see many departments get work done quicker, safer, and with a higher quality than we have ever seen before. Eagle Mountain City is proud to be one of the very few trailblazing cities to use drones to enhance our abilities.”
An effort for transparency will be made as the city uses this new tool. Evan explains, “we plan to establish a section on the city website to provide notification of drone operations. This will including listing the location, duration, purpose, etc.”
Videos taken by Eagle Mountain with the drone
[fvplayer src=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIiIRQCGfv0″ width=”640″ height=”360″] [fvplayer src=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5Vaekrwgc8&t=53s” width=”640″ height=”360″] [fvplayer src=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyWl3WRybw8″ width=”640″ height=”360″] [fvplayer src=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ8CxTk6QVo&t=35s” width=”640″ height=”360″] Keep an eye on the Cities Youtube channel for additional videos as they are uploaded. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE6PWygb_g-qDncu6tkhU-g/videosSupporting Documents
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Mike Kieffer is an IT geek by hobby and trade, with a BS in Information Systems & Technology. He is a proud father of 10, a grandpa, an author, a journalist, and internet publisher. His motto is to “Elevate, Inspire and Inform”, and he is politically conservative and a Christian. Mike has a passion for technology, writing, and helping others. With a wealth of experience, he is committed to sharing his knowledge with others to help them reach their full potential. He is known for his jackassery or his form of self-expression that encourages boldness, creativity, and risk-taking. It can be a way to push the boundaries and challenge traditional norms, leading to creative solutions and positive change.