Here's what you need to know about the helicopter hangar Peoria is leasing at Glendale airport

By Philip Haldiman
Mail | X: @PhilipHaldiman

The city of Peoria recently took a step in establishing an aviation unit that will provide air support for the Peoria police and fire-medical departments, as well as provide regional service if needed.

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.

The fiscal year 2024 expenditure is expected to be $54,575 with an estimated expenditure of $92,700 in fiscal year 2025, resulting in about $420,000 over five years.

However, Vice Mayor Denette Dunn said Peoria residents were not made aware of the cost involved with the lease before it was approved.

The contract begins Dec. 1, and includes an option to extend the term.

The two story, 4,890-square-foot hangar will include office space to support operations and protect the aircraft.

In May, the city received $17.6 million in one-time tax relief, $3.5 million of which is going to the new helicopter. It is expected to cost about $1 million annually to operate the aviation unit.

Mayor Jason Beck said development of the unit is planned during three phases, and full deployment is expected by October 2025.

“We want to ensure our police and fire-medical teams have the resources they need to respond quickly to emergency situations,” Beck said in a news release.

Phase 1 is underway, with city officials reviewing and taking bids for a helicopter with the goal of purchasing it next summer. Additional phases will include hiring and training personnel and introducing emergency air support that will evolve over time.

But Dunn said residents of Peoria were not made aware of all the costs involved with the lease when it was considered on the consent agenda at the Nov. 14 public council meeting.

The consent agenda was approved by council, and she was the lone dissenting vote.

Dunn had questions about the lease she wished to voice publicly, but was silenced by Beck when she requested to pull the item from the consent agenda.

She questions if Peoria really needs a helicopter and if it being housed outside of Peoria will delay response times.

She added Peoria has helicopter coverage from Phoenix Police Department and Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office at no additional cost to Peoria taxpayers.

“If I had not been silenced. Those things would have been brought up for discussion,” Dunn said.

City officials expect to bring a purchase agreement for the helicopter before the council Dec. 12, and plan to receive delivery of the helicopter by July 31, 2024.

In the meantime, Deputy City Manager Travis Cutright said the city will need the office space and hanger space to house some staff and store some expensive police assets such as a command vehicle and tactical vehicle.

“Once the helicopter arrives, we will need to move some of those assets to another location to make room for the helicopter,” Cutright said.

The city is estimating year-one operating cost for the air unit to be around $500,000 escalating to $1 million at year-three, once the unit is fully deployed.

Cutright said the city already has a police officer employed that was a pilot with the U.S. Army, who will launch the aviation unit.

He also said the police department has a helicopter mechanic, who will be running its maintenance program.

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.

Philip Haldiman
Senior News Editor | Peoria

phaldiman@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.