Juvenile center planned

Thursday, Dec. 5, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The state Public Works Board has awarded a $7.5 million contract to Pace Construction Co. of Las Vegas to build a 56-bed juvenile treatment center at the Southern Nevada Mental Health Center on Charleston Boulevard.

State Public Works Board Manager Eric Raecke said he negotiated the contract with Pace, which originally submitted the low bid of $8.2 million out of the 10 bids received. The 1995 Legislature authorized $7.6 million for the 56,000-square-foot facility.

This center will treat emotionally disturbed children, some of whom are being sent out of state now at a cost of about $275 a day, says Ken Patterson, director of the state Division of Children and Family Services.

Patterson said the state would continue to contract with private nonprofit and private for-profit organizations in Nevada for treatment of these children. This center, the first juvenile facility to be built by the state in at least 30 years, will handle growth, he said.

There are currently 24 youngsters at the Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Center who will be transferred to the new building when it is completed.

There will be a mix of children treated at the new center, Patterson said. Those who have been convicted of crimes, however, will be treated elsewhere.

Raecke said construction would start late this month and the center should be completed by mid-January 1998.