Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV or drone) technology is quickly becoming a standard in civil, commercial, and military applications. Public safety agencies are currently utilizing UAV technology to not only increase efficiency and effectiveness of daily operations, but also to accurately locate and collect information not readily available at ground-level perspectives. In a joint project between the Police, Fire and Public Works Departments, the use of drones was explored for utilization in public safety matters, including but not limited to: search and rescue, traffic collision reconstruction, fires, chemical spills, crime scene searches, structural assessments, and event preplanning.
A Request for Proposal, meeting the specific needs of the Village, was developed and publicly advertised. Five bids were received. The bids were based on specific equipment for purchase, program support, and training:
Vendor Proposal Amount
Mechanical Testing, INC. (Sarasota Springs, NY) $39,720.00
General Aerial Robotics, LLC (Virginia Beach, VA) $43,268.00
Florida Drone Supply (Fort Meyers, FL) $44,720.00
AeroVista Drone Academy (Glenview, IL) $45,455.00
Steel City Drones, LLC (Pittsburgh, PA) $47,216.70
Mechanical Testing, Inc. was removed from further consideration as its equipment pricing clearly violated the SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd. ‘Unilateral Pricing Policy’ wherein a minimum resale price is established by the manufacturer. A violation of this policy may result in cancellation of any orders and suspension of dealer accounts, negatively impacting the Village’s purchase of specified equipment and future loss of product support from the vendor.
Aside from equipment requisition, program support and training was a significant aspect of the proposal. Proposals from General Aerial Robotics, LLC. and Florida Drone Supply lacked sufficient detail regarding the requirements for one or both, of these critical aspects. Training pricing submitted by Steel City Drones included training outside of the scope of the proposal, ranging from $3,975 to $17,450. The Proposal Amount shown for this vendor was adjusted by Staff in an attempt to standardize pricing to match the Village’s request.
Staff is recommending the UAV contract be awarded to AeroVista Drone Academy. AeroVista Drone Academy markets a significant portion of their business model towards the on-going training and support of public safety agencies, with current curriculum approved by the North East Multi-regional Training (NEMRT), as well as on-going training centered at the Northeastern Illinois Public Safety Training Academy (NIPSTA) in Glenview.
The Police, Fire, and Public Works Departments have previous experience with AeroVista for training and have a positive impression regarding their operations and staff.
The budgeted amount for this project is $35,000, established in mid-2018, when this developing technology was rapidly evolving. Since that time, an advanced generation of UAV technology was produced and a significant price increase resulted. In addition, advances in mapping software now allow digital imagery captured by the drone to be plotted in scale to relative landmarks enhancing system output. These advances have caused the proposed amount to exceed the budget.
This acquisition is being funded through the Criminal Investigation Fund (asset forfeiture) and a sufficient balance exists to cover the proposed purchase.
Recommendation
It is recommended the Village Board reject the proposals from Mechanical Testing, Inc., General Aerial Robotics, LLC and Florida Drone Supply for the reasons set forth above and approve a contract with AeroVista Drone Academy for the purchase of two drones and related equipment, software, and training in the amount of $45,455. It is also recommended that the Criminal Investigations Fund budget be amended by $10,500 through the use of reserves.