Kansas Highway Patrol requests funds for body cameras, Salina repairs, Wichita hangar and aircraft replacement

The Kansas Highway Patrol asked the Legislative Budget Committee for targeted funding to implement body worn cameras, shore up deteriorating facilities at its Salina training academy, build a hangar at Wichita’s Jabara Airport and replace an aging aircraft.

The requests, presented by Merle Bridal, executive officer for the Highway Patrol, and described in the agency’s legislative briefing, aim to address officer safety, equipment obsolescence and security gaps at several KHP sites. Bridal said the agency has adjusted several earlier requests after receiving federal grant funds and identifying lower-cost options with state IT services.

Bridal told the committee the agency supports the governor’s budget report and that funding comes largely from transfers from the state highway fund and the state general fund. On body worn cameras, Bridal said the agency’s September request of up to $2,600,000 was reduced after the highway patrol received a $1,000,000 federal grant; the governor’s recommended amount shown to the committee was $1,500,000. Bridal said the $1.5 million would “support implementation of body worn cameras among state troopers and motor carrier inspectors for FY 2025,” and would include devices and infrastructure such as 500 in‑vehicle routers to speed upload of recorded data.

Representative Bresman asked whether the $1,500,000 “includes storage of the video.” Bridal replied, “That does include data storage for the recording devices.” When asked about retention periods, Bridal said the agency would follow “a retention schedule that is set in statute.”

On urgent repairs at the Kansas Highway Patrol Training Academy in Salina, Bridal told the committee the governor recommends $1,100,000 from the state general fund for safety repairs including deteriorating concrete caps over utility tunnels and multiple collapsed exterior stairs. Bridal said the academy’s Marymount campus buildings date from roughly the 1920s through the 1970s and some structures “require replacement and lack severe weather hardening and redundant systems,” making repairs a safety priority regardless of longer‑term campus plans.

Bridal said the agency had requested $48.3 million in September to build a consolidated general headquarters but later withdrew that request. Instead, the patrol is negotiating occupancy in available space on the first floor of the Curtis State Office Building in Topeka; Bridal said that option would consolidate headquarters operations and provide controlled parking for law enforcement vehicles while requiring far smaller transitional costs than a new facility.

On aviation, Bridal described a $7.3 million request to construct a 27,000‑square‑foot hangar with office space on leased land at Jabara Airport in Wichita to house the patrol’s air support unit. The patrol currently leases space at the privately owned Cook Airfield, which Bridal said “lacks suitable runway length for all highway patrol aircraft,” access to all fuel types needed by helicopters and executive aircraft, perimeter security and instrument approach capabilities. The agency proposed either a one‑time appropriation of $7.3 million or a bond financing option with an $880,000 initial payment and higher total cost with debt service.

Bridal also asked the committee to consider $4,000,000 from the State Highway Fund to replace a 1998 Cessna 206 Stationair that has more than 7,000 flight hours. He said the requested $4,000,000 includes outfitting the replacement aircraft with law enforcement mission equipment, including forward‑looking infrared (FLIR) imaging, mapping/navigation upgrades and communications gear. In response to queries about retrofitting the older aircraft, Bridal said the FLIR camera system alone previously cost about $1,600,000 when purchased for two other aircraft; modernizing avionics in a 1998 airframe would approach $2,000,000 in addition to the FLIR cost, he said.

Information technology requests include a previously submitted $1,400,000 request for a new VxRail platform and backup hardware; after consultation with the Office of Information Technology Services the agency now plans a reduced request of $800,000 in the governor’s recommendation to consolidate servers and improve backup and cybersecurity capabilities.

Bridal outlined a multi‑site configuration in Salina that leaves academic training functions on the Marymount campus while relocating operational elements — the dispatch center, Troop C headquarters and related facilities — to a reconfigured campus. The agency’s full assessment estimated a rebuild of $416.6 million on 182 acres; acknowledging that was “a significant amount,” Bridal said the highway patrol revised the near‑term ask to $51.7 million to fund initial reconfiguration steps and begin formal discussions with Kansas State University‑Salina, the Kansas National Guard and KDOT about land use and possible asset consolidation. Bridal said appraisals of the Marymount campus sale could offset some costs and that some non‑construction equipment expenses might be eligible for federal grants.

The agency also described a suite of capital smaller projects: scale house replacements and repairs, routine maintenance and LED lighting upgrades at troop facilities, completion of hangar projects, and fleet program repairs. Several of those capital projects were previously approved or partially funded and the agency provided revised estimates and requests for fiscal years 2025 and 2026.

Committee members pressed agency staff on technical and cost details during a question period. Representative Carr asked whether costs to upgrade avionics in the existing airplane were known; Bridal said exact retrofit estimates would require further study but that outfitting a modern aircraft with FLIR and avionics factored into the $4,000,000 request. Representative Howell asked about trade‑in or sales value for the 1998 aircraft; Bridal said the estimated trade‑in value was $75,000 and that an independent sale price was unknown without further review.

Bridal closed by saying the agency appreciates the committee’s consideration and looks forward to further discussions if the committee or the legislature requests additional detail.

The committee hearing then moved on to other agencies.