NLV council approves flagpole, drug abatement measures

Diana Sahagun

Thursday, June 22, 2000 | 11:38 a.m.

Tempers and emotions ran high in North Las Vegas City Hall Wednesday night, as ordinances requiring flagpoles in parks and prohibiting drug users from certain neighborhoods were debated and eventually approved.

A number of war veterans spoke to the council regarding a resolution introduced by council member Stephanie Smith that called for all future parks to have lighted flagpoles installed.

Clark County passed a similar resolution last month. County funds will pay for the placement of flags at 71 county facilities including parks.

Ed Gobel, a Vietnam veteran and president of Council of Nevada Veterans Organizations, stressed the importance of honoring the American flag.

"It means something when you see that flag. It's not just a piece of cloth," he said. "When we were in Vietnam and we were all together as a unit ... that flag symbolizes something. It symbolizes that unity."

Council members Shari Buck and William Robinson worried about the cost -- at $5,000 per lighted pole -- to an already cash-strapped city.

The council members decided to require park developers to absorb the cost of the poles. If the city builds a park, the money will come from the city's parks budget.

The debate turned into a heated argument when the council turned its attention to the proposed order-out ordinance.

The ordinance would allow a judge to offer misdemeanor drug offenders a suspended sentence if they agree to stay out of the order-out corridor for six months to a year.

If they violate the agreement, they will be sentenced to at least 30 days in jail. Exceptions can be made for offenders who live, work, attend church or need social or medical services in the area.

At a pre-council meeting, Police Chief Joey Tillmon told the council that the order-out neighborhood, bounded by Carey Avenue, Lake Mead Boulevard, Comstock Drive and Simmons Street, has the highest or second-highest rate of narcotics-related cases, drug arrests and community-generated calls in the city.

The ordinance was sparked by Clark County Commissioner Yvonne Atkinson Gates, who said residents in her district, which overlaps North Las Vegas, have expressed concerns about the drug activity in their neighborhoods.

"This item is here at the request of the citizens that I represent as well as you," Atkinson Gates said. "They have been living in fear for a long time. And I have to tell you the reason they called me was because they could not get any satisfaction from the city of North Las Vegas. We're here today to save these citizens and save the homes."

When the time came to vote, Councilman John Rhodes asked to delay the matter two weeks to research how to provide more resources in the area. With that request, the debate turned into a battle with various council members who opposed any delay.

"Unless my colleague to my left (Rhodes) is like Rip van Winkle and took the big sleep, for 20 years I have been dealing with the residents in that area," Robinson said. "What is there to analyze? Those residents have lived over there in total chaos ... it's time for us to do something."

In other action, the council:

The proposed ordinance would still prohibit roosters and pigs in the zone, with the exception of pot-bellied pigs. And only one farm animal will be allowed per 7,500 square feet of lot area.

The council will take final action on the ordinance July 5.

Their terms will expire June 30, 2004.