City attorney says county, city struck deal on downtown buildings

Tuesday, July 29, 1997 | 8:46 a.m.

But a county spokesman said Jerbic may be getting ahead of himself.

After months of haggling, Jerbic said the two governments on Friday afternoon reached an agreement that will bring a new justice center and an expanded jail to two downtown blocks.

Most of the funding will come from a $120 million bond approved by Clark County voters in September. The County Commission in May agreed to contribute an extra $50 million for the project.

Jerbic on Friday released details of the deal, in which he said the city agreed to permanently close one block of Lewis Avenue to traffic to allow the Clark County Jail to expand. City officials had insisted vacating the street, saying it would cause traffic problems.

In exchange, Jerbic said, Clark County will reimburse the city for services it provides to county "island" residents - people who receive city fire services but don't pay city taxes. The county will pay the city $570,000 the first year, to be adjusted later based on taxes paid by those residents.

The City Council was to vote on the agreement Monday, with the County Commission following suit at its Tuesday meeting.

But Tom Warden, Clark County's director of public communications, said Saturday the arrangement may not be final.

"The county acknowledges there have been talks over the past weeks on this issue, but as of right now this is not a done deal," he said. "Commissioners will be watching closely to see what happens at (Monday's) City Council meeting."

The new justice center is expected to house Justice Court and part of Municipal Court, to a more accessible location away from downtown.

The $78 million jail expansion will be directly west of the justice center, Jerbic said. It will accommodate an additional 1,500 inmates, filling what Metropolitan Police Department officials say is a dire need for more prison space.