Health District shuts down main downtown building

The Southern Nevada Health District's main building downtown has been shut down in­definitely because of "dire" structural issues, causing the temporary relocation or suspension of several services, a spokeswoman said Sunday.

Services normally provided at the main building, including immunizations, obtaining health cards and birth and death records, will be available at the health district's other centers in east Las Vegas, Henderson, and the Cambridge Community Outreach Center.

The suspended services include food and pool plan reviews, individual sewage disposal system plan reviews, loan certifications for private water supplies and sewage disposal systems plan reviews, and parcel maps plan reviews.

The health district is hoping to have the suspended services back up and running in a few days at either one of those offices or another location.

The main building, at 625 Shadow Lane near Charleston Boulevard, was ordered closed Saturday after an emergency meeting of the health district's management, spokeswoman Jennifer Sizemore said.

Management learned at the meeting that an engineering report scheduled to be released today will show ongoing structural problems at the 50-year-old building making it unsafe to occupy.

The building was constructed without a "diaphragm" system used to support a structure from stress, deformations or displacement caused by wind or earthquakes. Engineers said the building should have been built with it, Sizemore explained. In recent years, attempts have been made to shore up the structure by constructing a "pony wall" and other support tactics.

However, management didn't know the situation was "as dire as the report will show," Sizemore said.

About 200 employees worked at the Shadow Lane building, but the number of clients who visit the building daily was not immediately known.

"In order to fully ensure the safety of staff and the public we felt the best, and most appropriate, course of action was to redirect services away from the main building," said Dr. Lawrence Sands, the health district's chief health officer, in a prepared statement.

The engineering report comes on the heels of oral arguments heard by the Nevada Supreme Court about a lawsuit between the health district and the Clark County Commission over budget issues.

The health district's management has been pining for a new home base for years and has been trying to save money to buy or build one. In 2011, according to court documents, those efforts were hampered when the County Commission approved a budget of only $5.69 million for the health district.

The health district argued that according to state statute their share of the assessed property tax should have amounted to about $22.5 million, or about $15.86 million more than the commission approved.

A lawsuit ensued and a Clark County district judge in August ruled in the health district's favor.

The commission appealed the ruling to the Nevada Supreme Court, which held oral arguments in the case April 2.

The state's high court has yet to issue a ruling.

In the meantime, the public can get updated information on the availability of services at the health district's website, www.SNHD.info, or by calling its information phone line at 702-759-4636.

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.