Public works director Tristan Sysco says drones will speed identification and prioritization of street repairs

Tristan Sysco, identified in the recording as the public works director, said contractors have flown a drone to produce a pavement condition index that scores streets and highlights locations in need of repair. "They're scoring our pavement," Sysco said, describing the survey as a way to find existing problems and predict near-term failures.

Sysco said the drone imagery can detect potholes, sunken areas and surface cracks and that the data will let staff "create a CIP list based off of actual real data" to guide capital improvement projects. He described the program as an efficient method to target limited maintenance dollars toward the worst segments.

The hosts discussed timing and coverage: Sysco said the team had already collected data on outlying streets and was shifting focus to the downtown area. On schedule, he said, "If weather cooperates, we should be done by the end of the week." The remarks were presented as an operational update; no formal vote or policy action was recorded during the segment.