Drones for First Responders

The Town of Mooresville, North Carolina, issued Request for Proposal (RFP) 2024-RFP-051 on January 22, 2025, seeking a fully remote, fully automated, multi-station, multi-drone platform capable of providing law enforcement sensitive air support missions for the Police Department and Information Technology Department. The procurement requires a comprehensive drone system with beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) capabilities, FAA-compliant radar operations, safety automation, advanced flight logging, battery automation management, video quality of at least 2K resolution, and integration with the Town's existing Central Square One Solution Computer-Aided Dispatch (CAD) system. The contract will be awarded on a trade-off basis to the vendor offering the best overall value, with evaluation criteria encompassing technical specifications, cost, enterprise requirements, vendor performance history, schedule adherence, reference strength, and total cost of ownership. The procurement schedule includes written questions due by January 29, 2025; offer opening on January 31, 2025; proposals due February 7, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. EST via the Town's eProcurement Portal at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/mooresvillenc; anticipated award on March 3, 2025; and a protest deadline of March 10, 2025. The contract term is initially one year with an option for the Town to extend for an additional two-year period at its sole discretion. This initiative serves as a force multiplier to address the Town's significant population growth from 19,106 in 2000 to an estimated 51,447 in 2023, building upon the success of the existing Automated License Plate Reader (ALPR) program.

The Town of Mooresville encourages participation from minority-owned, women-owned, and historically underutilized businesses but has not established formal set-aside designations for this procurement. Prospective vendors must be registered with the North Carolina Secretary of State and comply with all applicable statutes and regulations, with the Town retaining the right to reject any and all bids submitted. The standard vendor agreement requires insurance coverage including Commercial General Liability ($500,000–$1,000,000 depending on coverage category), potential Commercial Automobile Insurance, and Workers' Compensation Insurance for vendors with three or more employees, with additional special insurance requirements possible through Exhibit C. Vendors must provide a single designated account manager, submit monthly or quarterly invoices with specified details, and be prepared to execute the Town's standard services contract, which provides for payment within 45 days of invoice receipt. No incumbent vendor or current contractor is identified in the procurement documents, indicating this represents a new service offering for the Town. The RFP does not specify a maximum budget range; pricing will be evaluated as part of the competitive bid process with award based on best overall value.