Editorial:City should cooperate on justice center

Saturday, Aug. 23, 1997 | 3:29 a.m.

The valley's turf-protecting politicians have become paralyzed by their own bickering. If they can't resolve things by mid-September, taxpayers will see project costs escalate by an estimated $22,000 a day.

This feud is another reason to consolidate city and county governments into one metropolitan entity. But that argument can come on a different day. Right now, elected officials need to get off the dime - literally.

Mayor Jan Laverty Jones and the City Council are especially at fault, because they proposed an unreasonable cost for the downtown street - Lewis Avenue - that county officials want to close off to expand the jail.

The city has never liked giving away Lewis Avenue, but the county rejected the city's offer to hand it over for $570,000 a year in exchange for fire services to county islands within city limits.

The latest deal on the table is a one-time fee of $720,000, suggested by justice officials eager to get the project started.

None of this was part of the deal last year when voters approved a $120 million safety bond. In fact, Lewis Avenue was specified in the ballot question. To change the rules now is dishonest. This should have been resolved before voters were asked to raise their property taxes.

We endorsed the safety bond last year be cause the need is urgent, but knowing what we do now, we would have urged voters to be cautious before sinking their hard-earned money into the Las Vegas political black hole. Next time, show us the set-in-stone plans first.

The city has played games with downtown streets before. They have no qualms about handing over a street to accommodate casino construction.

The city also condemned sections of Fremont Street to build an electronic canopy - and spent money on lawyers to defend taking others' property.

It's flat wrong for the city to hijack taxpay ers on a public safety facility that benefits all the citizens. In fewer than two weeks, the County Commission will decide whether to forego Lewis Avenue and instead purchase a location from Union Pacific Railroad on the western edge of downtown.

That would be a bad move. Lewis Avenue is the ideal site.

For one, a justice center on Lewis Avenue would blend with the courthouse complex and fit in with the city's plan to revitalize the downtown core.

It's a mistake in any city to let the urban center decay, but in Las Vegas, where tourists need enticement, a clean, active downtown is vital.

Locals would benefit, too. Along with a busy downtown come restaurants, speciality shops and other attractions that draw residents and create a sense of community.

It also makes economic sense to locate jus tice facilities in one convenient area where the lawyers, judges, police officers and support staff who actually use the facilities spending their working day.

The cost to transport prisoners - and the safety risk - is also a factor. Why stick taxpayers with the bill for trucking inmates from one place to another?

There's an easy way to solve this. Jones and the City County need to honor the voters' trust and make Lewis Avenue available.