County moves ahead with plans to lease jail

Clark County commissioners agreed Tuesday to move forward with plans to lease an $84 million detention center to house low-level offenders, a move they hope will relieve overcrowding at the county's downtown jail.

The Molasky Group will build the 1,038-bed facility on 17 acres it owns at the northeast corner of Sloan Lane and Las Vegas Boulevard. The county will lease the facility for $11.3 million a year. After 10 years, the county will have the option of buying the detention center at fair market value.

Clark County Sheriff Doug Gillespie said he hopes the county can expand the facility to an adjacent 15 acres so that it ultimately will hold 4,000 offenders.

Gillespie said he is working with officials from North Las Vegas and Las Vegas to determine whether those cities would be interested in eventually contributing to and using the detention center.

As of Tuesday, Gillespie said 3,600 offenders are housed at the Clark County Detention Center downtown. The facility, which is less than five years old, was designed to hold 2,900 beds.

"I know it's not an easy decision, I know it's a costly decision," Gillespie said. "I feel strongly about this particular project."

Gillespie said the facility is crucial to Southern Nevada's economy. If the jail is overcrowded, more low-level offenders are set free early.

"If people don't feel safe they're not going to come here," he said.

Commissioners voted 5-1 to approve the lease.

Commission Chairman Rory Reid abstained because his law firm represents The Molasky Group. Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani opposed leasing land, saying the county should build the facility on property it owns.