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County and State Law‑Enforcement Officials Outline $8.4M Hangar Plan at Jabara Airport
Summary
Sedgwick County and Kansas Highway Patrol officials presented a plan to co‑locate state and county aviation assets in an $8.4 million hangar at Jabara Airport; county CFO warned of added annual debt service and commissioners voted to receive and file the update.
Sheriff Jeff Easter and Kansas Highway Patrol officials presented a proposal to build a shared hangar at Jabara Airport that would house two KHP aircraft and county aircraft, with KHP occupying roughly 78% of the space and the county about 22%.
The Kansas Highway Patrol provided usage data showing 306 flight missions in the Wichita area in 2025 and said 23% of statewide flight hours were for the Wichita area. Sheriff Easter outlined per‑platform costs and said the hangar construction estimate is about $8,400,000.
"These are the two aircraft that are housed here in Wichita that fly missions every day in the Wichita Sedgwick County area," Sheriff Jeff Easter said during the presentation.
County CFO Lindsay Pourosso said the county modeled the project assuming a 20‑year bond sale and estimated annual debt service in the range of the presentation figures. She said the county’s current budget includes about $30,000 for non‑designated lease space at Jabara and that the proposed facility would add materially to that expense.
"Based on constructing the hangar, we would expect to spend about $839,000 per year," Pourosso said, explaining that proportionate debt service and operating costs would produce a higher net county cost than the sheriff’s current lease line.
Officials said the Highway Patrol had legislative support for a funded lease: Eric Smith of KHP told the en banc that the legislature provided $650,000 toward a lease arrangement but did not grant KHP bonding authority to construct a hangar directly.
"Our original ask to the legislature two sessions ago was for bonding authority," KHP Superintendent Eric Smith said. "For whatever reason ... the appropriators elected to authorize a lease, and they funded that lease at $650,000 per year requiring us to seek a developer."
Commissioners pressed presenters on whether co‑location would speed response times. KHP and local chiefs said co‑location plus tactical flight officers assigned by WPD and the sheriff’s office would extend operating hours and increase the chances an aircraft would already be at the hangar when needed.
The county commission moved to receive and file the hangar report; that motion passed on roll call 5–0.
What happens next: staff and partners will continue technical and fiscal analysis, and further conversations with the Wichita Airport Authority and the legislature will affect the final financing structure.
