The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office will soon have new equipment to help increase both officer efficiency and safety following action by Lyon County Commissioners Thursday morning.
During their regular action meeting, commissioners approved the purchase of six drone units at a cost of $26,000 at the request of Sheriff Jeff Cope. The units will include a Matrix 30-T medium-sized drone — $16,000 — and five smaller units costing approximately $800 each.
The price tag also includes training for deputies with Cope hoping they will have at least one drone operator on duty at all times. Aside from providing assistance in the event of a suspect apprehension or potential standoff with a suspect, Cope says the drones will also act as a safety precaution in the event of severe weather events such as floods.
In the past, Lyon County has had to utilize the drone owned by the Reading Volunteer Fire Department and Cope says having their own units on hand will help reduce any extra burden on neighboring communities.
Cope says the drones could arrive by next week with training for operators taking roughly a month to complete.
In other business, commissioners approved a request from Lyon County Engineer Chip Woods for the use of polyurethane foam to stabilize approaches on the Neosho Bridge at Road 175 for a total of $30,420. Woods says this is not the first time the county has attempted a project like this.
The project will be handled by Nortex Concrete and Stabilization of Fort Worth, TX. A timeline for the project has not been announced, however, Woods says once it begins it could take between one to two days to complete.
Traffic adjustments will be in place in the work area once the project begins. Separately, commissioners also gave directions for grading to the railroad crossing at Road G west of Emporia.
The Lyon County Commission will convene for a study meeting next Wednesday inside the Lyon County Courthouse Commission Chambers. Commissioners will then convene for their weekly action meeting at 9 am Thursday.
