That low-flying helicopter you may see — or hear — hovering above public buildings Sunday in Lawrence won’t be searching for an escaped convict.
Try surveying roofs for leaks and other signs of weakness.
The helicopter, equipped with infrared scanning equipment, is scheduled to be in position above four flat-roofed buildings owned by Douglas County:
• Judicial & Law Enforcement Center, 111 E. 11th.
• Douglas County Jail, 3601 E. 25th.
• Douglas County 4-H Fairgrounds, Building 21, 2120 Harper.
• Douglas County Youth Services, 330 Industrial Lane.
Flights are set for 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, and between 8 p.m. Sunday and 2 a.m. Monday. The daytime flight will be about 1,200 feet above the buildings, while the nighttime/early-morning flight could go as low as 500 feet.
Weather conditions could force the surveying to be rescheduled, said Pam Weigand, assistant county administrator. The testing will be expected to cost about $6,000, similar to the bill from last year.
Comments
LadyJ 3 years, 11 months ago
But that is his busy time, the county gets a discount if they schedule it during his slow period.
Newell_Post 3 years, 11 months ago
Something doesn't sound right. Aerial infrared photography works better in the winter time when it is cold outside and the heat is on inside the buildings. That makes wet spots in roof insulation show up better because they have lost their insulating value and conduct heat better than surrounding areas that are still intact....
oskiejackie 3 years, 11 months ago
next week the story will be county needs funds for roof repairs
oneeye_wilbur 3 years, 11 months ago
Helicopter pilot needs work!
Nick Vaughan 3 years, 11 months ago
Ha, hope they got some special imaging equipment on that copter, from an engineering aspect, you CANNOT determine structural "weakness" by photos, you CAN determine already fatigued/damaged roofs. Anyhow, go chopper dave, HO!!!!
hipper_than_hip 3 years, 11 months ago
$6k this year, and $5k last year.
I suppose when it's someone else's money, 20% is close enough.
LadyJ 3 years, 11 months ago
"The testing will be expected to cost about $6,000, similar to the bill from last year."
Archive for Wednesday, May 20, 2009 Douglas County pays $5,000 for flyover to collect rooftop images
catfishturkeyhunter 3 years, 11 months ago
Must have run out of ladders at the hardware store. Sounds like an excuse to go on a helicopter ride to me.. Sounds fun to me, only Id rather go to the grand canyon than look at lawrence roof tops.
bearded_gnome 3 years, 11 months ago
what I wanna know: will there be a Behavior Control Technician aboard???
sure, the public word is they'r looking at the tops of public buildings. riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!
this is all part of the guvment taking control of us, there is a hypnotic force unleashed from this helichopper.
I say, open fire when you see it! sooner the better! free the minds of Lawrence!
God bless us, everyone.
Bob Kraxner 3 years, 11 months ago
You can't possibly be serious. Who could be so naive' as to think that structural integrity can be ascertained from any point beyond a few feet away (as when observed while standing on, or just below the structure in question) are there really people who think somebody will believe this bull$hit ? What in the hell is this world coming to anyway ? This absolutely has to be some kind of absurd joke...
cheeseburger 3 years, 11 months ago
Is Pam Weigand an assistant county administrator now? What happened to Pam Madl? How many assistants are there?
corduroypants 3 years, 11 months ago
If they see weakness, will they open fire?
Scruggsy 3 years, 11 months ago
If you believe that is the reason, I've got a bridge to sell you... Ever heard of an inspector going up on a ladder?
Better shut off the grow lights... And POS meth cooks scurry like the cockroaches you are...
KUinAussie 3 years, 11 months ago
i wonder how the residents feel during a budget crisis, that the city finds the funds for this endeavor.
hooligan01 3 years, 11 months ago
Does this need to be done every year? And that is a serious question, I'm not trying to argue I am quite curious. I'm from North Dakota where snow is a common thing for 7 months out of the year and never melting and they don't do things like this. I'm not trying to argue with it, I'm just wondering why it can't be every other year or something like that.
KUinAussie 3 years, 11 months ago
and when the city ends up footing the bill because the force of the air created by the chopper blades collapse peoples roofs, i will assume they will do it differently next time.
Flap Doodle 3 years, 11 months ago
Couldn't they just hire a heavy guy to walk onto the roof & jump up & down?
KUinAussie 3 years, 11 months ago
i hope there are guarantees that this private company isnt taking video of indecent incidents. regardless of the original purpose, its events like this that lead to invasion of privacy issues.
now would be a good time for anyone doing anything illegal, to turn down the lights.
mr_right_wing 3 years, 11 months ago
So they aren't black helicopters sent by George W?
OK, seriously...good idea, those roofs bore a lot of weight from all the snow this past winter. I just hope we don't need to do a whole lot of replacement since we do not have the money!
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