Burbank : Copter Facility Plans OKd

The Burbank City Council has adopted plans to enter into an agreement with Glendale to build a joint police helicopter facility at Burbank Airport to save both cities money.

The Burbank council’s 4-0 vote Dec. 22 follows approval of a similar measure by the Glendale City Council and the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority.

Both cities now keep their helicopters at adjoining rented facilities in a hangar owned by Media Aviation at the Burbank Airport, Burbank Police Chief David Newsham said in a report to the City Council.

But Media Aviation, a private company, plans to tear down the hangar next year and build a new one, Newsham said. Rent for Burbank, now $136,400 annually, and for Glendale would be higher at the new Media Aviation site, he said.

Under the proposed agreements, Burbank and Glendale would lease space from the airport rent-free for 30 years and then build a new hangar for about $1.5 million, Newsham said. Burbank’s half of the construction costs, about $750,000, would be paid from the department’s drug asset forfeiture fund, he said.