Goodman: City hall vote could happen Dec. 2

Las Vegas officials could vote on building a new city hall as soon as Dec. 2, Mayor Oscar Goodman said today.

Goodman said he expects an ordinance to be introduced at next week's council meeting that would allow the city to borrow the funds needed for the new building.

Then, on Dec. 2, city staff members will see what kind of deal the city can get on financing, and if the terms are acceptable, the council could vote to move forward that afternoon.

If not, the council would "continue it until some other time when the market will bite," Goodman said.

Las Vegas has tried this once before and wasn't able to get a low enough interest rate to make the project feasible.

Since then, though, the Build America Bonds program has started, in which the federal government subsidizes the borrowing costs of local projects.

"The Build America Bonds are out there," Goodman said. "The question is, will they sell?"

In October, city staff estimated that the city would borrow $205 million to build the new city hall on a downtown block bordered by Main Street, First Street, and Lewis and Clark avenues.

Contact reporter Alan Choate at achoate@reviewjournal.com or 702-229-6435.