Council reconsiders TV station expansion

Erin Neff

Wednesday, April 12, 2000 | 10:48 a.m.

Las Vegas City Hall will soon be expanding outward and upward.

But officials must still decide whether that expansion needs to include room to grow for the city's television station.

The project includes a six-story parking garage attached by a bridge across Stewart Avenue to a two-story building south of the City Hall tower.

"At this point it's a $12 million project," Deputy City Manager Steve Houchens said. "The television studios that are proposed would be another $1.5 million."

David Riggleman, the city's communications director, said the two-story television building would include two studios, offices, bathrooms and production rooms.

"By having two smaller studios, as opposed to having one larger one, you could be setting up one set while you're taping a show on another," Riggleman said.

The entire expansion project was authorized last spring.

Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald said the current council should re-evaluate the project, which was approved before she, Mayor Oscar Goodman and Councilmen Michael Mack and Lawrence Weekly were on board.

"Having dollars allocated doesn't mean we have to spend those dollars," Boggs McDonald said. "This is an opportune time to make sure we're not creating any Taj Mahals."

Goodman said the expansion is needed to help spur overall revitalization efforts downtown, including the possible conversion of the Stewart Avenue Post Office to a cultural museum and park.

"In order for downtown to be successful, we have to have adequate parking and shiny new buildings," Goodman said. "This could also be successful in creating a beautiful corridor if that post office building gets approval."

He said he also supported resources for the city's new television station, KCLV cable Channel 2.

The $1.3 to $1.5 million television building could initially be paid for out of the general fund, but Riggleman said cable fees will be used to pay off the debt.

"We're trying to do it in a cost-effective way," he added.

Houchens said the entire project -- estimated at $13.5 million -- could be built in phases to allow the television building costs to be separated.

"But if we build it all together, we're going to have some economies of scale with the construction," Houchens said.

Councilman Gary Reese said he supports the overall expansion effort because it will bring more city staff to the City Hall campus.

"To me, the building we have is very functional. It's just not big enough," Reese said. "Bringing everyone back under one roof is important."

The parking garage will have space for 530 to 600 cars and will also include 2,500 square feet of retail space on the street level.

A 33,000-square-foot addition to the City Hall tower will be used to house the offices of Human Resources and Purchasing and Contracts, both of which are currently located outside of the civic complex.

"Having that all together makes sense," Boggs McDonald said.

But she said she wanted to make sure the television building is needed, given the studio space at UNLV currently made available to the city.

Riggleman said the television building is necessary to alleviate the crowded conditions his 10-person staff face in its current quarters in the fire administration building.

The fire department also would like that space back for training purposes, he added. A fire initiative that voters will consider in November does not include funding for a fire training academy as originally proposed.

The entire City Hall expansion project was tentatively scheduled to be heard at Thursday's Planning Commission meeting but has been pushed back for a month.

Erin Neff covers Las Vegas government for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-4062 or 229-6436, or by e-mail at erin@lasvegassun.com