Contract with Ayres Associates for Professional Geospatial Services- Acquire Aerial LiDAR

This contract is between Sauk County and Ayres Associates for acquisition of Aerial LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) services in Spring of 2020.  A federal grant agreement was coordinated between the US Geological Survey and the State of Wisconsin, as part of the Federal 3D Elevation Program (3DEP). Sauk County was one of several counties in Wisconsin considered for a 2020 Grant.  Sauk County signed a memo of understanding in 2019 to be a partner in this project acquisition.  The State of Wisconsin filed the necessary paperwork, on behalf of the counties, to initiate and evaluate each counties eligibility.

The Sauk County Land Information Council discussed the grant and acquisition of Aerial LiDAR in May of 2019.  It was decided that along with the LiDAR, additional enhancements and derivative datasets would be requested as part of this project. Sauk County was notified in late 2019 that they successfully qualified for full grant funding of a 2020 LiDAR flight.  That award amounts to 50% of the cost for the base LiDAR acquisition ($85,868.50).  Sauk County signed a Funding Partners agreement October 22, 2019 to initiate the process.  This contract is the formal agreement Sauk County will be making with the vendor, Ayres Associates, for a project to acquire Aerial LiDAR. 

Sauk County’s portion for the base Aerial LiDAR acquisition will be $85,868.50.  The US Geological Survey will fund $85,868.50 as part of the grant agreement.  Sauk County is requesting LiDAR enhancements of $29,995, along with additional LiDAR derivative datasets of $13,350.  These datasets consist of improved hydro breaklines (wider streams & pond delineations), improved contour to 1ft delineations, automated classifications of buildings and vegetation, digital surface model and bare earth dataset.  All this provides Sauk County with improvements to the most recent data of 2011.  Having this improved data will allow Sauk County to provide much needed and necessary enhancements to our current land records, real property, zoning, emergency management, and other geographic information systems (GIS) applications and related data.

Sauk County signed a contract with Ayres Associates on January 6, 2020 to Acquire 2020 Orthoimagery in the Spring of 2020.  This will update our orthophotography imagery, which last was acquired in 2015.  In conjunction with the LiDAR acquisition, this data will provide essential information, allowing for necessary improvements to the County’s current GIS applications and related data.

Sauk County Resolution 152-2019, AUTHORIZING THE ACQUISITION AND PURCHASE OF COUNTY-WIDE ORTHOPHOTOGRAPHY, LIDAR AND RELATED SERVICES, was passed & signed by the Sauk County Board of Supervisors on December 17, 2019.