Peoria City Council approved the purchase of a $3.3 million helicopter to serve public safety in the city, Dec. 12.
The vote was not without controversy as Mayor Jason Beck called a recess after Vice Mayor Denette Dunn motioned to move the item to the next council meeting asking for a cost benefit analysis and return on investment. Shafer seconded the motion.
After the 8-minute recess, the council voted on Dunn’s motion and it failed 2-4.
For the final vote on the purchase of the helicopter, the council approved the item 4-2. Councilmember Jennifer Crawford was absent.
Beck said there are no air assets in the West Valley and that bringing an air unit to the city is not an overnight process.
He said having an asset like a helicopter allows the city to bring people home safely.
“How much would you pay for one life? I’d pay more than a million dollars. I’d pay anything because I want that officer or firefighter to come home to their family,” he said. “To me, that’s what it’s worth.”
Representatives of the police and fire-medical departments spoke in favor of the air unit.
Norm Bacon, a representative with the police union, said officer safety is a big aspect of having an air unit, which can allow officers to pull back and keep them safe in a dangerous incident, as well as allow officers to get to members of the community at the earliest stages of reporting.
There’s nothing more frustrating than requesting an air unit and not having one available to you, he said.
“I’ve been on numerous calls over the years where having an air unit would have been a game changer,” Bacon said.
The five-seat, dual-engine Bell 505 helicopter will be housed in a hangar at the Glendale Airport, 6575 N. Glen Harbor Blvd.
The air unit will be a partnership with the Peoria Fire-Medical and Police departments and will be used to assist each agency with day-to-day operations. The helicopter will be used primarily to “support the city’s Patrol Services Bureau and Operations Support Bureau with calls for service.
Rudy Barellis, who has been with the Los Angeles Police Department for 27 years and with their air unit for 12 years, said a helicopter could help the residents of Peoria. He said the Peoria runs single-man units in an expanding city and if an officer gets in a situation where he needs assistance, a helicopter is going to get there a lot quicker.
“With lost children and with people suffering from dementia that stray away, time is of the essence, so if you have an aircraft up and looking for that person, time is of the essence. The more you wait, the more you delay, the further away from home that person is going to get,” he said. “I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times, it’s a force multiplier.”
In May, the city received $17.6 million in one-time tax relief, $3.3 million of which is going to the new helicopter. It is expected to cost about $1 million annually to operate the aviation unit.
Councilmembers Bill Patena and Michael Finn said they were skeptical when they first heard of the proposed helicopter, but have since become supportive of the air unit.
Finn said this is a rare opportunity for the state to pay for a helicopter for Peoria, which is preparation for a growing city with a large geographical reach.
Patena said a helicopter can address an incident much faster than a police unit in a car.
“This helicopter gives us another tool to make sure that our police officers and our firefighters get to go home at night and spend time with their family,” Patena said.
In November, council approved a five-year triple net lease agreement in the amount of $7,500 per month with Hanger 12 LLC for hangar space at the Glendale Airport, 6575 N. Glen Harbor Blvd. Dunn voted against it because Beck refused her and Shafer’s request to remove the item from consent agenda for discussion.
Dunn voted no on the hangar because she said she wholeheartedly believes those on council should be able to speak up and get information to disseminate to their constituents.
Additionally, the council has not been given a cost benefit analysis or a return on investment, she said.
“I believe it would make more sense to determine if a helicopter was needed at all,” Dunn said. “We want to know the information up here, we don’t want to vote blindly.
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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