City officials met Tuesday with the director of a Topeka-based air ambulance company to help complete long-anticipated plans to base the service in Lawrence on a half-time basis.

“One way or another, we’ll make it happen,” said Greg Hildenbrand, director of Life Star air ambulance service.

Life star air ambulance services already rents office and hangar space from Stuber Research at Lawrence Municipal Airport, but its director, Greg Hildenbrand, would like to station the helicopter at the location part-time. Above, Life Star responds to a Jan. 15 car accident off the Kansas Highway 10 bypass, across the street from Sport 2 Sport, 5200 Clinton Parkway.

Life Star already is renting office and hangar space from Stuber Research at Lawrence Municipal Airport. Hildenbrand had hoped to start stationing the helicopter in Lawrence in February.

But officials said Hildenbrand and Al Stuber, owner of Stuber Research, could not agree to build a helicopter pad at the Stuber facility which is rented from the city under a $1-a-year lease that runs to 2006.

Hildenbrand declined to comment on his negotiations with Stuber, and Stuber did not return calls for comment.

“It’s been a very frustrating situation for everybody out at the airport,” said Rick Bryant, chairman of the Lawrence Aviation Advisory Board.

Assistant City Manager Debbie Van Saun, who is also the airport manager, met Tuesday with Bryant and Hildenbrand to get the process back on track.

Van Saun said afterwards that Life Star would build a temporary helicopter pad on city-controlled land at the airport.

“This gives them the opportunity to test the market and see if it works to have the helicopter here,” she said.

Douglas County, along with the Manhattan area, is one of Life Star’s busiest areas. The company already keeps a helicopter half-time in Junction City.

“We’re trying to locate our two aircraft where they’re most needed,” Hildenbrand said.

The helicopter would be based in Lawrence from 9:30 a.m. to 8:45 p.m. daily. The pad must be made of concrete; the “parking lot” for airplanes is made of asphalt, which would be quickly chewed up by the helicopter’s metal landing struts.

Van Saun said the city would benefit from increased traffic at the airport, as well as its cut of fuel sales to Life Star.

“It’s also good,” she said, “for Lawrence to have a response helicopter right here.”