The Buena Vista County Board of Supervisors has decided not to move forward — at least for now — with a proposed contract for Urban SDK, a Florida‑based geospatial analytics platform that both the secondary roads department and the sheriff’s office had been evaluating.
The board revisited the item yesterday (Tuesday, Aug. 25) after tabling it at its last meeting on Aug. 11.
County Engineer Bret Wilkinson told supervisors he followed up with Urban SDK after the previous meeting to verify whether the company could provide satellite‑derived road elevation and surface data — the feature he believed could significantly reduce surveying costs on future road projects. But he said the company acknowledged that capability is not yet developed, despite earlier assurances from a salesperson.
Because that module was removed, the revised two‑year contract dropped to $91,059, down from the original $137,000. But Wilkinson said the loss of the surveying feature also removed the biggest potential cost savings.
He explained that the remaining modules would still provide countywide traffic counts, turning movements, speed trends and historical data — updated daily but delayed by seven days. Wilkinson said the tool could help track changes around Platinum Crush and upcoming Iowa Department of Transportation intersection projects.
Sheriff Kory Elston also spoke, saying the software could expand how deputies respond to speeding complaints and community concerns by giving them countywide data instead of relying on radar trailers.
Both departments emphasized that the data contains no personal or vehicle‑specific information — no license plates, no images and no way to identify individual drivers.
Supervisors said they appreciated the potential long‑term value but questioned whether the remaining features justified the cost, especially with the surveying module unavailable. Several board members suggested exploring grants — including the countywide foundation grants — or waiting until Urban SDK’s road survey technology is fully developed.
Wilkinson told the board he hopes the company will stay in contact as the technology evolves.
