Regional Justice Center makes county, taxpayers two-time losers

Remember voting in 1996 for the $120 million bond question that was to help pay for the Regional Justice Center, expand the county jail and expand county juvenile facilities? Sixty-nine percent of Clark County voters approved Question 1 in a low-turnout September primary. Almost 20,000 of us voted for it.

Despite all the construction problems with the justice center, I'd vote the same today, hoping for better county oversight. Even 12 years ago, the Clark County Courthouse was in bad shape. And if we catch criminals, we do have to jail them, so that made sense. And juvenile facilities were obviously necessary as the town was booming.

I listened to the arguments by leading politicos of both parties banded together as Citizens for Public Safety. They urged its passage and promised our taxes wouldn't go up if we voted for it.

In 1993, Clark County voters had defeated four crime-fighting proposals that would have raised taxes to add police officers and space to house criminals. Clearly, a tax-neutral bond was the way to go in 1996, or it probably wouldn't pass.

R&R Advertising created an ad program urging, "Yes On 1. Fight Crime. Fight Criminals." It said if Question 1 failed, the owner of a $100,000 home would save a mere $14 a year.

Kenny Guinn wasn't governor yet, but he was in the forefront of calling for passage of Question 1. So were Sheriff Jerry Keller and District Attorney Stewart Bell and District Judge Nancy Becker.

About the only opposition came from the 8,788 people who voted against it in hopes their taxes would go down and the Las Vegas Review-Journal editorial board, which supported the proposed juvenile improvements, including expanding the Spring Mountain Youth Camp, Child Haven and the county juvenile detention center. About $40 million of the bond was to go to those facilities.

But the editorial board opposed the question overall and didn't like the bundling of separate needs into one question.

"If the county can 'find' $67 million to build its lavish new headquarters without a bond issue, it can 'find' the money for a new jail out of existing revenues," an editorial said, urging "No" on Question 1.

The newspaper opposed building the Regional Justice Center, saying the County Courthouse should be remodeled or courtrooms should be added to the Bridger Building, which was vacated when the new county building was built.

As we now know, the Regional Justice Center was estimated to receive $40 million from the bond question and was to cost $80 million. However, it ended up costing $185 million and was finished 44 months late, opening in late 2005.

The Clark County Detention Center expansion would get another $40 million from the bond question and would cost $65 million. (Actually, it cost $93 million when it opened in 2002. It's now considered overcrowded.)

AF Construction won that bid as well, and, yes, that also ended up in lawsuits with the county.

Since the one who pays is considered "the loser," the county was the loser in that dispute, too. In December 2005, the county agreed to pay AF Construction $7.5 million.

The county already had spent $8 million on legal fees; and Aviation Director Randy Walker, who had been put in charge of the Regional Justice Center and jail expansion projects, said if the county went forward with arbitration, it would have spent an additional $4 million on a case "we had just as good a chance of losing as we did of winning."

The county looks like a two-time loser because an arbitration panel recently said the county needs to pay AF Construction nearly $53 million. But with the $22 million in legal fees and other costs, which ran the county's cost up to $76 million, it wasn't much of a savings to the taxpayer.

I'm not saying county officials shouldn't fight legal fights they think they can win, but good golly Miss Molly, they need to win one and not just fight for the sake of fighting.

Fortunately, in tight budgetary times, there are no big construction projects in the county's near future. Guess that's something to cheer.

Jane Ann Morrison's column appears Monday, Thursday and Saturday. E-mail her at Jane@reviewjournal.com or call (702) 383-0275. She also blogs at lvrj.com/blogs/morrison.