Out-of-towner claims Las Vegas monorail off track

Adrienne Packer

Thursday, Feb. 4, 1999 | 11:20 a.m.

A monorail franchise on a smooth track to building the first extensive rail system along the Strip was rattled Wednesday by a mysterious visitor who appeared at the County Commission's zoning meeting.

San Francisco attorney Jon Twichell strode to the podium, slapped down a report called "Monorail, A Flawed Technology," and told the board he represented property owners who wished to remain anonymous.

"They fear political retribution," Twichell told County Commission Chairman Bruce Woodbury, who asked why the San Francisco man refused to name his clients.

Twichell, who later said he was working with the Sierra Club and Citizens Alert, knocked the $350 million monorail system because it doesn't have switching equipment and would not be compatible with other light-rail systems.

Bob Broadbent, who is coordinating the project for MGM Grand-Bally's Monorail LLC, blasted the San Francisco resident for criticizing the monorail, which was approved last year.

"It frightens me a little bit that someone comes here from out of town without any knowledge of anything and puts up that kind of information," Broadbent said. "That bothers me."

The last remaining detail -- which was on Wednesday's agenda -- is the route of the tram that will link the MGM Grand on the south end of the Strip to the Sahara hotel-casino on the north end.

A contentious debate about whether a monorail is the most prudent method of transportation spilled into the hallway after commissioners delayed a decision on a proposed alternative route for two weeks.

Leaning casually against the wall, Twichell continued to voice his skepticism: No other city in the nation uses a monorail as public transportation and its fare boxes won't come close to covering maintenance and operation costs.

Broadbent has said the monorail will be financed by properties with stops and $63 million in debt. The annual operating costs of roughly $8.5 million would be paid by passengers, who would be charged a $2 or $3 fare.

Twichell's claims drew the attention of monorail proponents, who one-by-one gravitated to the visitor until Twichell had an audience of about a half-dozen people.

"These are private dollars and we're willing to post a bond," Greg Jensen, a lawyer for the franchise, told Twichell. "My worst nightmare is if you're right. But if you are, the people of Clark County are protected."

Taxpayers may be protected if revenue generated from the system is scant, but the most serious concerns voiced by Clark County residents reverberate from a neighborhood that could be devastated by the monorail's original route.

A lawsuit against the county filed by Desert Inn Estates and demands from the Venetian and Desert Inn hotel-casinos to keep the monorail off their properties prompted the MGM Grand-Bally's franchise to seek an alternative route.

The original course of the monorail would have traveled down the center of Sands Avenue and Paradise Road, towering over the yards of Desert Inn Estates homes.

Desert Inn and Venetian representatives opposed the monorail traveling anywhere near their properties because they say it would drive down property values. The Venetian also owns air rights along Sands Avenue.

As longtime Desert Inn Estates homeowner Rock Newman said, if multimillion-dollar companies are concerned, how will the massive concrete monorail track impact values of homes?

"We are fighting for our economic lives; this is a desperate situation," Newman said. "That's an elephant and we're the fly. Hopefully there will be an attempt to make a route change so the fly isn't squashed by the elephant."