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Commission approves purchase and lease of Hangar 5 for Washoe County Special Operations; Pennington grant covers most cost
Summary
The Board approved purchasing a 39,600-square-foot hangar at Stead Airport for $1.75 million to house aviation, bomb squad, SWAT and search-and-rescue units; the Pennington Foundation provided a $1.5 million grant and the county signed a 50-year ground lease arrangement.
The Washoe County Board of County Commissioners on Sept. 16 approved a package of actions to acquire and occupy a permanent hangar for the Sheriff's Office Special Operations Division at Stead Airport.
County staff recommended the purchase of Hangar 5, a roughly 39,600-square-foot structure, from the Reno-Tahoe Airport Authority for $1,750,000 and acceptance of a $1,500,000 unrestricted grant from the Pennington (William and Pennington) Foundation to fund the purchase. The board also approved a proposed noncommercial ground lease for a roughly 2.12-acre site at the airport, with the lease term described as Oct. 1, 2025, through September 2075 and an annual notional rent value cited at $29,100 per year to be exchanged as an in-kind service arrangement.
Sheriff Darren Bailin described the hangar as the consolidation point for aviation (the county's four helicopters), the regional bomb squad, SWAT assets, search-and-rescue teams and other special-operations resources currently dispersed across multiple locations. "All of our special operations will be in 1 building ready to respond to any critical events," Bailin said.
County Manager staff recorded that the transaction will be supported by the Pennington Foundation grant and that the budget amendments required for the transaction have a net general-fund impact of $0 because grant proceeds cover the purchase. The motion to approve the capital project, hangar sale agreement, ground lease and acceptance of the grant passed unanimously.
Key terms captured in the staff recommendation: purchase price $1,750,000; grant amount $1,500,000; hangar size approx. 39,600 sq. ft.; ground-lease site about 2.12 acres; proposed lease term Oct. 1, 2025'Sept. 2075; annual in-kind valuation $29,100. Commissioners thanked the sheriff and the Pennington Foundation for funding and collaboration and noted the consolidation would improve readiness without immediate general-fund obligations.
No policy changes to aviation operations were authorized at the meeting beyond facility acquisition and lease approvals. Sheriff Bailin explicitly stated there will be no ICE operations or similar activity out of the hangar; the approval relates to county public-safety special-operations consolidation.
