Nevada Legislature: Projects still on chopping block

Lawmakers plan to vote today on a capital projects budget that all but eliminates new construction projects for the coming two years.

Staff presented them with a gloomy picture Tuesday morning, telling members of a joint Senate Finance/Assembly Ways and Means subcommittee that falling property values have reduced the amount of bonds they can issue from more than $400 million to $158.4 million.

After deducting money to repay the "line of credit" loan needed to help balance the operating budget, there is $69.4 million left to spend on construction, renovation, repair and maintenance projects for the coming biennium.

Subcommittee Chairman Sen. Bob Coffin, D-Las Vegas, described the budget as "the ugliest thing you could see."

"What you have here is what we feel absolutely must be done in the next two years," said Public Works Manager Gus Nunez.

He said that means necessary maintenance and repairs on buildings and taking care of safety issues.

The only real construction project added to the list since January is the 36-bed child and adolescent hospital in Las Vegas for $22.8 million.

If it doesn't build that hospital, the state faces legal action and a threatened funding cut by the federal government because Medicaid regulations don't allow residential and acute care in the same facility.

The biggest project on January's original capital improvements budget was the $221 million new prison in southern Nevada. All that's left in the latest proposal is $7.8 million to convert an unoccupied housing unit at High Desert State Prison into a southern regional medical center for the Department of Corrections.

Director Howard Skolnik said that was his top priority. He reminded the committee the department is already facing a lawsuit over medical services at its Ely State Prison.

Another casualty was the new housing unit and upgrade at Warm Springs Correctional Center next to Nevada State Prison. The $43.5 million project was one of the steps in the process of phasing out and closing NSP. The eventual plan is to replace the old prison with expanded capacity at Warm Springs.

Also eliminated from the university's list of projects were the Advanced Clinical Training and Research Center in Las Vegas, a $50 million project, and the Nursing and Science Building at Nevada State College in Henderson, a $34.5 million project.

Western Nevada College lost most of the $2.2 million budgeted for critical Americans with Disabilities Act/life safety improvements. That budget was chopped to $894,000.

The plan does, however, manage to put $5 million into construction and installation of permanent museum exhibits at the Las Vegas Springs Preserve Museum. The museum has been completed but can't open until work to create the exhibits is done.

The status of the proposed Hotel College Academic Building in Las Vegas is still up in the air. Unless the state at least funds completion of design and construction documents, it will lose the $25 million Harrah's has put up to pay for half of the $50 million project. It has not been included in the recommended list of projects for the coming biennium. Doing so will cost $3.2 million in state money.

Falling home prices have caused a slump in property tax revenues collected by the state and local governments. The result is a deep reduction in the amount of revenue the state can generate by selling bonds.

The committee was given until today to think over their options for the capital projects budget.

Contact reporter Geoff Dornan at gdornan@nevadaappeal.com or 687-8750.