The Kosciusko County Commissioners gave their approval, Tuesday, for the county to seek bids for a project to photograph all properties in the county from the air.
According to Kosciusko County Geographic Information Systems Director Bill Holder, the county uses aerial photographs for re-assessment of property taxes. Holder said the last set of aerial photos of the county were taken in 2005. He said, if the county moves forward with the new project, the photos will be taken in April, 2008 and the project will be finished by the end of 2008.
Holder told the commissioners two preliminary quotes for the project indicate the project will cost between $120,000 and $140,000. He said the county would pay for the photos with state money given to counties for the reassessment process, money from the GIS electronic data fund and money from the county surveyor's office fund.
The photos would be available to the public on the county's GIS Web site kcgov.com/application/gis/viewer.htm
Holder said aerial photos are also used by the county's 911 dispatch system when directing police, fire and medical personnel to the scene of an emergency. "When you bring up aerial photos, it helps emergency personnel respond much quicker," he said.
In other news, County Highway Director Dennis Pletcher updated the commissioners on a project to replace a bridge in Syracuse. Pletcher said the bridge, on Lakeside Drive, will be raised about 2 feet from the current bridge's height. The project is a joint project between the county and Main Channel Marina.
Pletcher said the county will pay about $260,000 and Main Channel will pay about $150,000.
Pletcher said he expects work on the project to be bid out in September and work to be completed over the winter months when there is no boat traffic in the area.
The Kosciusko County Commissioners are Brad Jackson, Bob Conley and Ron Truex.
