Henderson OKs site for new state college

Valerie Miller

Wednesday, March 1, 2000 | 10:59 a.m.

The Henderson City Council in a special session Tuesday recommended approval of the site proposed by the city last week for the future home of the new Nevada State College at Henderson.

The council voted 5-0 to recommend approval of the 300-acre site on the east side of Boulder Highway between Pabco Road and Water Street -- about a mile from downtown Henderson.

The approval allows the city to start negotiating with the current owner of the proposed site, LandWell Co., the real estate developing arm of the Black Mountain Industrial Park.

The site still must be approved by a legislative commission on the college, which will consider it March 17, and the university Board of Regents, which will hear the issue in April.

The land is currently in unincorporated Clark County, but the city plans to annex the entire 2,400-acre LandWell parcel, which will be developed into LandWell's Provenance master-planned community.

The development, which would be adjacent to the college, will complement the school, said Assistant City Manager Bonnie Rinaldi, who made a presentation to the council.

"We propose a partnership with LandWell, and that this master-planned community be developed as a college village," Rinaldi said. "This development is proposed to be pedestrian friendly."

The site is being looked at for a collection of colleges and would include a library, student services building and technical resources center, Rinaldi added. The city is also considering inviting private colleges from other areas to share the campus.

Along with the recommended approval of the site, the City Council passed a resolution of support for locating a state college in Henderson and approved a professional services agreement with David Drew for consulting services on the college.

The money to pay the consultant would come from the $500,000 allocated for the college last year by the Legislature, Henderson Mayor Jim Gibson said.

There is no doubt the state college is needed, Gibson said.

"The benefits (of the state college) to the city and the state are substantial," Gibson said. "There is a need for more higher education classrooms in Nevada. The state of Nevada has no option, no choice but to engage itself in a state college."

He said the need for workers with a higher level of education has kept some businesses from locating in Southern Nevada.

"One of the obstacles we have always faced (in diversifying the economy) in Southern Nevada is the higher-education issue. This state college will change that," he said.

The Nevada State College will have benefits for local students, too, Gibson added.

"The children here in Henderson will have an opportunity to attend school close to home and save some money," he said.

The council wholeheartedly supported the plan for the college but acknowledged there are some critics of the rapid pace the project is taking.

"Some people will say that 'Things are moving too fast,' but that's the pace we are used to in Henderson," Councilman Steve Kirk said. "Some want to wait for more money and more evaluation, but if we wait it won't get done. This will help keep Nevadans in Nevada."

Councilman Jack Clark cited additional benefits of the college to the city.

"Statistically we know that the better educated a person is, the less likely they are to commit crimes and engage in risky health behavior," Clark said. "So there are side benefits to the community."

Now that the city can start negotiations with LandWell over the land, Gibson said he hopes the city would not have to put out cash for the site. LandWell has expressed interest in some city-owned land for a possible exchange, he said.

The acquisition of the land is not the only challenge facing the college.

The organizers of the college must raise between $1 million and $2 million to cover expenses between this July and July 2001, according to Assembly Majority Leader Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, who has been a prime supporter of the college.

"This money would come from private funding and would go to pay for things like hiring faculty, consultants and administrators to plan the curriculum and class schedules," he explained.

Perkins praised the council's decision on the proposed site, saying it gives the state college room to expand eventually from 300 acres to 500 or 600 acres.

"This is a historical day," he said.

Valerie Miller is a reporter for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-2319 or by e-mail at valerie@lasvegassun.com