Commission accepts EagleView bid to update county aerial imagery; funding to be decided in budget

The Morton County Commission voted June 24 to accept EagleView (branded in meeting as EagleView/Pictometry) as the successful bidder to provide updated aerial imagery for the county. County staff said the vote accepts the bid only; final funding and contract execution will proceed through the county’s budget process.

Why it matters: High-resolution aerial and oblique imagery is used by tax assessors, emergency management/dispatch, public works, planning and zoning, and other county functions. Staff said the imagery can also become a hosted base map for the county parcel map and will integrate with the county’s dispatch (CentralSquare/911) and GIS systems.

Planning director and county staff reported the county issued an RFP in December 2024 and received a single response from EagleView. The bid materials in the commission packet included pricing options for different resolutions; staff said a typical county-wide flight would be a three-year purchase cycle and noted Mandan is planning a separate flight in their ETZ.

EagleView representative Dean Larson showed examples of oblique imagery, described integration with dispatch and Esri-based GIS, and explained disaster response options (rapid flights following events). County staff and the vendor confirmed the common procurement option is a 3‑year flight cycle with imagery updates thereafter; staff said the vendor offers hosting, software, training and an unlimited-user license for county government staff as part of the package.

Commissioners approved accepting EagleView as the successful bidder. County staff said they will propose funding in the next budget; staff noted the vendor offers payment schedules and that the county could align flights with Mandan’s schedule to reduce costs.

Next steps: Budgetary decision during the county budget process; if funded, staff will finalize contract terms and schedule flight dates. The county intends to host the orthographic imagery publicly; oblique imagery would be available to authorized users and partner agencies.