Council OKs fines in botched housing cleanup

Erin Neff

Tuesday, Dec. 22, 1998 | 11:05 a.m.

Amid finger-pointing, raised voices and hurled accusations, the Las Vegas City Council on Monday authorized the city attorney's office to collect $220,000 from several parties linked to the botched clean-up of the former Sierra Nevada Arms public housing complex.

Nearly four years of pent-up frustrations boiled to the surface both inside the council chambers and outside on the plaza in the moments leading up to and following the unanimous vote.

"The bottom line is that we did spend the money and we're just trying to get reimbursed," said Orlando Sanchez, manager of the city's neighborhood response department.

Depending on whom you ask, the history of the public housing complex once dubbed one of the nation's worst proves a variety of parties responsible.

In February 1997, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development offered to sell the complex to Shepard Hills Development Corp. for $1. In June 1997, Shepard Hills and HUD entered a grant agreement in the amount of $448,000 for asbestos removal, relocation of residents and demolition of all 112 units.

Shepard Hills entered into a demolition agreement with Southwest Colored Rock in the amount of $350,000 in Oct. 1997. Southwest Colored Rock, in turn, sold the structures to Michael Kinzler for $273,000.

In February, Sharon Jamerson entered an agreement with Kinzler to rent property at Simmons Street and Coran Lane. Jamerson on Monday angrily claimed that she never gave Kinzler permission to move the buildings from the Sierra Nevada Arms complex onto her property. She also showed amazement Monday when told she was the original owner of the property in question.

"(Kinzler) said he had some buildings he wanted to move on there," Jamerson told the council. "He said the (that) city said it was OK."

Robert Ford, president of Southwest Colored Rock, argued Monday that Kinzler hired a company to move the buildings. And Kinzler on Monday accused Ford of moving the buildings.

Southwest Colored Rock has sued Kinzler over another matter involving payments received during a Sierra Nevada deal. Kinzler accused Ford of showing forged documents in a court matter related to that suit earlier Monday.

Confused? So is City Council.

"I think it's going to take a judge to really find out who owns the buildings," said Councilman Gary Reese.

When the buildings were noticed, the city stepped in with a demolition order. Kinzler ignored the order and city attempts to get him to comply, according to the city attorney's office.

The city then authorized its Neighborhood Services Department to put the demolition project out for bid.

Southwest Paving was hired June 15 for $163,000 to start tearing down the buildings. Four days later, seven of the buildings were engulfed in fire and the city stepped in due to dozens of complaints from angry neighbors.

Southwest Paving was immediately hired to clean up the fire debris and damaged buildings. The city also hired Special Operations Associates, Inc., a guard service agency, to ensure no additional fires occurred. C T & E Environmental Services, Inc. was hired to oversee the asbestos removal work and Soil Tech was hired for dust control.

The total bill, including Neighborhood Services' 15 percent administrative fee, came to $219,999. In a separate case, the Clark County Health District is also about to levy a fine of at least $100,000 against parties that handled the asbestos-filled buildings' clean-up.

Monday's action by City Council gives the city attorney's office the authority to collect the $220,000 in city expenses from Kinzler and from Southwest Colored Rock.

"I have a little problem holding Michael Kinzler responsible for it," Mayor Jan Laverty Jones said. "I don't see where Michael Kinzler's liability is apparent in this, unless an attorney can tell me why that's appropriate, other than we're just going to hold everyone responsible."

Deputy City Attorney Thomas Green said Kinzler is responsible because he created the initial nuisance by moving the buildings.

"The only thing I've ever wanted is to be as far away from Mr. Ford and Southwest Colored Rock as I can get," Kinzler said. "I'm going to be in litigation for a long time."

But it is Kinzler's insurance settlement of $200,000 related to the fire, that Ford says is reason Kinzler should be held liable.

"If he's the one who got close to a quarter of a million dollars in insurance, how come they don't know who owned the buildings?" Ford asked angrily outside the council chambers while exchanging paperwork with Jamerson and Gene Collins of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Jones eventually chose to side with her colleagues on council saying the matter is "better adjudicated in a court of law."