Activists see post-integration decay continuing

Harvey Munford affectionately harks back to the late 1960s when his West Las Vegas community was booming and the economy was robust.

It was a time of "black pride," and businesses catered to the population.

Bars, clubs, markets, dry cleaners and barber shops lined main thoroughfares such as Owens and Jackson avenues and Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Then something happened: Businesses began to struggle and were eventually shuttered. Buildings were torn down and never rebuilt.

Assemblyman Munford, D-Las Vegas, believes West Las Vegas changed when integration was accepted and the area's professionals opted for living in other parts of the Las Vegas Valley.

"Those businesses lost economic support. They didn't have the consumers any longer," said Munford, who has lived since 1968 in the community generally bordered by Bonanza Road, Carey Avenue, Rancho Drive and Interstate 15.

"But why didn't they (developers) come down and build something new?" Munford asked. "They did that across the entire valley, but they didn't do that here."

Over the decades, residents watched as the Las Vegas Valley's economy exploded and upscale communities such as Summerlin and Green Valley Ranch sprouted. In West Las Vegas, nothing. The community had to fight to land a single grocery store after Vons closed its Edmond Town Center store in 2004.

Redevelopment efforts have revitalized downtown Las Vegas and even portions of North Las Vegas.

In West Las Vegas, threats of street closures and business closures constantly loom.

Budgets for the area's services fail to meet the need. The Clark County School District's West Prep Academy, near Lake Mead Boulevard and Tonopah Drive, has to use 28 portables to educate its students. The West Las Vegas campus was built for 1,635 students, but its enrollment is expected to reach 1,750 this fall.

"There is an assumption going on that the community doesn't want much, doesn't need much," said activist Trish Geran. "I think there is such a misconception of this community because there hasn't been really passionate leaders."

In 1968, Las Vegans celebrated the opening of the Circus Circus casino while West Las Vegans battled a proposal to close D, H and F streets, a move that essentially would have isolated the community by shutting down access to the Strip and downtown Las Vegas.

The fights continued over the years. The neighborhood didn't get a replacement grocery store until the Buy Low Market opened in Vons' old location in 2008. But longtime residents complain that the store caters to Hispanics, not the black community.

The troubled Economic Opportunity Board, the area's oldest and largest nonprofit that offered programs such as child care and Head Start, closed in 2006.

Serious questions arose regarding the allocation of state and federal dollars by the organization, which served the county's poorest.

In 2003, a federal audit showed that by May the organization already had debt of $2.3 million. Still, that same year, the board flew 10 individuals to Puerto Rico for five days, a trip that cost about $30,000. State funds used for the trip were designated for other programs.

The Fertitta Community Assistance Center, which offered assistance to the homeless near Main Street and Owens Avenue, shut down earlier this year, falling victim to budget cuts.

Residents this year successfully fought the closure of F Street, which links West Las Vegas to downtown, but may have to gear up for yet another battle after the federal government recently announced that a West Las Vegas post office is on a list for possible closure.

"The community always seems to know when things are finalized," said Geran, who started the F Street Coalition to fight the road closure and keep tabs on other issues. "Their input and needs are never sought out first before decisions are made."

Geran is among the latest in a string of activists that spans generations. Otis Harris was in the forefront in the 1970s, but the frustrations of fighting politicians, many of whom he claims were corrupt, became overwhelming.

"It's frustrating. It's a continuous fight, and pretty soon you just say, 'Let me just live the rest of my life in peace,'" Harris said. "No one (in government) seems to care. Some of the worst political corruption ever came right out of this area because no one cared. They were ripping off programs everywhere, and no one cared."

The Economic Opportunity Board was not the only mismanaged organization.

Three years ago, a federal audit showed the Southern Nevada Workforce Investment Board mismanaged millions of federal tax dollars. The audit said nonprofit agencies that received lucrative contracts had close ties to the board.

For example, Richard Blue worked for Nevada Business Services Inc., but left the organization in 2000 to become executive director of the Workforce Investment Board. After Blue left, Nevada Business Services received $16.8 million from the board. Five years later, that agency was dissolved, leaving behind $370,000 in debts for which local governments were liable.

Harris said elected officials ignored the problems pointed out by the federal auditors.

"It becomes a power base for people elected to represent the area," Harris said. "There is a lot of money that's been passed back and forth."

West Las Vegas saw promises of economic development delivered by way of grants from nonprofit organizations, but the city soon took over the projects and the community's dreams were dashed.

"We got a lot of money (from grants), but it went out the back door and into politicians' pockets," Harris said of the era in which he tried to spark the economy. "You can go to the government for money for the area, but it never lands in this area."

Community leaders envisioned an enterprise park at Martin Luther King and Lake Mead boulevards where businesses would move in and create jobs and economic viability. Then the government stepped in and built an FBI office and a Metropolitan Police Department substation on the land.

This use of the land is one reason the federal government is probably targeting the sluggish King Station post office, which is adjacent to the planned enterprise park, Munford said.

"If it was a true enterprise park, there would be businesses and they would be mailing packages. There are no businesses to feed the post office, and that is the fault of the city," Munford said. "An FBI office and a police substation, that's not going to produce any jobs."

Louie Overstreet, an activist and retired civil engineer, agreed that private, job-generating businesses will never move into the enterprise park next to public facilities. The post office was supposed to anchor the commercial center, but that never panned out. Now he wonders what will happen to the post office building, which is only a few years old.

"Will they find an alternative use, or will it sit vacant and become an eyesore and be subject to graffiti?" Overstreet said.

Munford believes Las Vegas officials attempt to hide controversial projects from residents. West Las Vegas is barely mentioned in the city's 2020 plan, but Munford believes government leaders have a long-term idea for the area.

"Leaders, or those who have been identified as leaders, haven't been honorable," said Munford, who declined to elaborate. "They've done things in a way of trying to enrich themselves economically, but at the same time protecting certain valuable aspects of the area for future use.

"They've always had eyes on this area for future development, but not in terms of making it become a true community in comparison to other suburban areas. They're looking to tie it into downtown."

Las Vegas City Councilman Ricki Barlow and Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly, who represent the area, did not return calls seeking comment last week.

Overstreet is skeptical that West Las Vegas will prosper, but he doesn't put all the blame on elected officials. After all, he said, the residents elect them.

"Any change coming to West Las Vegas is not going to be in the control of the current residents. It's just not going to happen," he said. "There is always a low percentage of voter turnout, and those who do vote do not vote for their own interests."

Any upscale development will be a challenge to land, he said. The area historically has been classified as a minority neighborhood. Also, the community is crowded with churches, which provide a migration path for the homeless because they provide meals. In addition, religious institutions are tax-exempt and do not contribute to the tax base, he said.

No major developer will be willing to overcome all the obstacles, Overstreet predicted.

"There is not going to be any meaningful development. It just ain't gonna happen."

Contact reporter Adrienne Packer at apacker @reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.