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 confirmation that the City of Pasco had acted on a related item the previous night. During public comment, Pete Serrano, speaking for City interests, thanked the county for passing the ILA amendment and urged continued cooperation: "we want to make sure everyone comes out ahead, but especially the community." Commissioner Baumann and other board members said they want the county to be a stronger negotiating partner and to secure revenue that helps county roads and services.

Facility upgrade discussion. At a subsequent workshop, McKinstry representatives led by Christine Hoffower presented a draft proposal to resume phase 2 design work on the HAPO Center's HVAC, controls and remaining conference-room systems and to revisit prior cost estimates and code assumptions. Hoffower said the draft fee for the next stage of design and guaranteed maximum price work is "$57,691." She told the board that earlier project work left $57,006.91 in construction savings that could be applied to the next phase.

Energy compliance and grant timing. McKinstry and county staff reviewed pathways to meet Washington state's Clean Buildings Performance Standard. Hoffower described two compliance options: a metered compliance path based on measured energy use and an "investment criteria" path that evaluates lifecycle cost for identified improvements. Commissioners were told that the county's compliance date is July 1, 2027, and that penalties for noncompliance include a $5,000 administration fee plus up to $1 per square foot per year if noncompliant for 18 months. The HAPO Center was estimated in discussion to be about 33,000 square feet.

The county also has a separate Commerce grant for solar plus battery resiliency at HAPO. McKinstry staff warned that the federal investment tax credit (ITC) that would reimburse roughly 30 percent of the project could change soon and that decisions must be made quickly to preserve eligibility. McKinstry estimated the 30 percent ITC amount at about $642,857 for the project and said the granted state share and federal credit together were central to the project's financial plan. Hoffower said the current solar grant project as scoped is unlikely by itself to fully meet the Clean Buildings Performance Standard without additional work.

Next steps and direction. Commissioners asked for a site tour with McKinstry and county staff to refine occupancy assumptions and equipment sizing. Administrator Danzl asked McKinstry for a follow-up within a week, including whether the firm should proceed with final design and contract documents. Commissioners also discussed options that would prioritize resiliency (larger batteries for backup and peak shaving) versus larger solar arrays for net metering; McKinstry advised that those tradeoffs will affect project payback and the county—s ability to claim federal credits.

Quotes and attributions in the meeting reflect remarks on the record. The board did not take further binding action on the HVAC/solar proposals at the May 28 meeting; the ILA amendment with Pasco was approved and the removed lease extension will be considered later.

Local context and funding notes. Commissioners and staff said the HAPO Center has produced economic activity in the region but that county revenues from the facility have been minimal under the longstanding arrangement. McKinstry and county staff referenced prior construction savings and the earlier phase of work (lighting, RTU upgrades, roofing repairs) that McKinstry completed under contract.

Outlook. The county asked McKinstry to return with refined options; commissioners scheduled a site tour and indicated they will consider a formal vote on design and construction authorization after reviewing updated cost, compliance and tax-credit information.