Franklin County extends Pasco interlocal agreement and weighs HAPO Center HVAC, solar upgrades amid tight federal tax timeline

Franklin County commissioners approved an amendment to the interlocal cooperation agreement with the City of Pasco on May 28, extending the county—s negotiation window over the financing and ownership of the multipurpose arena and HAPO Center through Dec. 31, 2025, and then discussed detailed options for HVAC upgrades, solar and battery resiliency work at the facility.

The amendment to the interlocal cooperation agreement was presented by Franklin County Administrator Brian Danzl and approved by the board as resolution 2025-0157. Danzl told commissioners "this extends it till the end of December this year." The board removed a separate ground-lease extension item (resolution 2025-0158) from the agenda for later consideration.

Why it matters: the HAPO Center is a regional event and emergency-resilience hub whose operating arrangements and capital improvements affect county finances and services. Commissioners said Franklin County has not received ongoing revenue from the arena—s operations after 25 years of the city renting county land for a dollar per year, and they signaled a desire to re-evaluate the county—s share of revenues and maintenance responsibilities as negotiations continue.

County and city status. Danzl said he received…