Nellis, county agree on juvenile detention facility

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, April 8, 1999 | 11:09 a.m.

A tentative agreement between Nellis Air Force Base and Clark County is expected to literally pave the way for a high-security juvenile facility just outside the base boundary.

The county has agreed to improve existing roads or perhaps build a new street that will lead to a planned 200-bed state-funded jail, allowing the Air Force to retain control of Military Road -- also known as Range Road.

On Wednesday, Clark County commissioners agreed to accelerate the project by moving up a public hearing on the facility from July to April 21.

The commissioners delayed issuing a use permit for the detention center in January after Nellis officials said for security purposes they planned to gate Military Road, which was not only the main access to the juvenile facility, but a road that dissects the base.

"Obviously, when some of this stuff was built in the '50s, 'Leave it to Beaver' was on and nobody thought of terrorists," Col. David Oles said Wednesday. "The world has changed since then and we're doing our best to shore up."

The detention center, which will be Nevada's first high-security jail to house sex offenders and violent juvenile prisoners, will be just south of El Campo Grande Avenue, east of Military Road.

Because Nevada has no such facility for youths, teens have been shipped to Texas and Tennessee to serve their sentences. The program not only cost taxpayers $100,000 a year per inmate, but some lawmakers felt being so far from home hindered the juvenile's rehabilitation.

Commissioner Myrna Williams has been pushing the project and searching for the ideal location for years. She said the Military Road site is perfect and the neighbors have agreed to the facility.

"This is an important project to me," Williams said. "At the same time, I certainly understand the position of the Air Force. Compromising is the best way so we can satisfy everyone."

Nellis has been on Threat Condition Alpha alert -- one step up from its normal status -- since January because of tension in the Persian Gulf. It has remained on Alpha alert because of the Kosovo conflict.

Oles said Nellis has plans to erect walls and fences around the entire base, including the federal hospital, army reserve center and its new housing developments.

He emphasized that Nellis is not opposed to the juvenile facility and in fact will appreciate the extra security provided by the detention center guards.

"It's not a pretty world out there," he said. "Their guards will be at the end of our property and that will help us feel secure and they probably feel a little more secure being next to a military base."

Nellis was not only concerned about security on the base. It owns Military Road and pays for all improvements. Nellis officials had expressed concern about how extra traffic and heavy construction trucks might affect the road.