While the Boise City Council balked at the idea of sending Salt Lake 10 police officers to aid with Olympic security, Las Vegas leaders are singing a friendlier tune.
Las Vegas will send a Huey helicopter to Salt Lake for the 2002 Winter Games, Salt Lake County Sheriff Aaron Kennard said.
It gets better.
In addition to sending the aircraft, the Las Vegas Metro Police Department will pick up the bird's $1,200-an-hour operating costs and pay the salaries of the five officers who staff the craft.
Call it a gesture of goodwill from down south.
Kennard, who after two months of negotiating was able to work out the sweet deal with Las Vegas Metro Sheriff Jerry Keller, said the helicopter will be invaluable for the Games. Earlier this year, Kennard's two helicopters were grounded by county budget cuts.
"It was critical that we have this for the Games," Kennard said. "We're probably the only agency of our size in the country that doesn't have an air-support unit."
The Huey will be on call for search-and-rescue missions and will also do light surveillance and patrol work along the Wasatch Front corridor. If there's a bad guy on the run, the helicopter can track the criminal from the air, Kennard said.
The Utah Olympic Public Safety Command had originally shunned the idea, citing the helicopter's colossal operating cost, but after Kennard persuaded Las Vegas to pick up the tab there was little debate.
The only expenses UOPSC will pay is the crew's room and board. Plus it'll throw in five Olympic security uniforms.
Las Vegas was willing to foot the bill because Keller realized it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for his department and crew, Kennard said.
"These guys may never get to experience the Olympics again, and they want to say, 'We were a part of this world event,' " he said.
The Huey will be stationed at the Salt Lake County Sheriff's hangar. Kennard said he is also in negotiations with a private contractor, Eurocopter, to supply an additional two helicopters to the Salt Lake Valley during the Olympics.
E-mail: bsnyder@desnews.com