County panel no-shows kill chances for new libraries

Jace Radke and Adrienne Packer

Friday, April 6, 2001 | 11:01 a.m.

Political conflicts crept into a Clark County Debt Management Commission meeting Thursday after five board members failed to show up, essentially killing the community's chances to build four new libraries next year.

The Clark County-Las Vegas Library District needed eight of the 11 commission members to vote in favor of a $46 million bond proposal in order to place the question on June's municipal ballot.

Six members voted for the question; five members never showed up at the meeting.

Clark County Commissioner Myrna Williams, chairwoman of the panel made up of elected officials from each of the county's jurisdictions, said the members' absence was a slap in the face.

"We're in a position where we're experiencing tyranny from a minority," Williams said. "This is the last meeting we can have to get this measure on (the ballot), and therefore the people of Clark County have been denied their vote."

Those who didn't make the meeting included Henderson City Councilman Steve Kirk, Clark County School District Trustee Sheila Moulton, North Las Vegas City Councilwoman Stephanie Smith, Las Vegas City Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald and County Commissioner Erin Kenny.

Smith and Boggs McDonald were re-elected to their posts Tuesday evening.

Kenny was the only elected official who returned a phone call seeking comment on why she missed the meeting, saying that she had a class.

While defending her absence Thursday, the commissioner quickly pointed to Williams' decision last year not to hold a special debt management meeting to consider an $80 million bond question for a children's hospital.

Williams opted to delay any ruling on the bond question because some Clark County commissioners were not satisfied that feasibility studies on the the proposed free-standing children's hospital had been completed.

Because of Williams' decision, the bond question for the children's hospital -- which is Kenny's pet project -- didn't make the ballot for November's election when voter turnout was greatest because of the presidential election.

"I don't think any responsibilities were shirked," Kenny said of her absence Thursday. "What was a slap in the face was when Myrna Williams didn't have a special meeting for the children's hospital. That was the slap in the face."

Kenny added that she would probably have voted against the Clark County-Las Vegas Library District bond that would have built four new libraries.

If passed, the library bond would have competed with the children's hospital bond question on June's ballot.

Thursday was the third time library officials appeared before the debt management board. In February the board voted against the library's first proposal for a $73 million bond to build six new libraries.

Last month they returned with a reworked proposal that whittled the bond amount down to $46 million and the number of libraries to four. Only seven Debt Management Commission members showed up at the meeting, which wasn't enough for a vote.

The item was placed on the agenda once again Thursday as a last-ditch effort get the question on the ballot before today's deadline.

Kenny cited the fact that the library district had already revamped its original proposal, and said she was concerned the bond would put parts of Mount Charleston and Laughlin over the tax rate cap.

State law sets the tax rate cap at $3.64 per $100 in assessed property value. Government entities try not to exceed 90 percent of that figure so they can reserve funds for emergencies such as the upcoming threat of the deregulation of the electrical industry.

Many Clark County townships and the city of Las Vegas are teetering on the 90 percent mark and elected officials said they will prioritize bonded projects until more bonds expire.

Dr. Mel Pohl, chairman of the library district's citizen board, said he was horribly disappointed that the bond didn't pass, and even more disappointed that there were five no-shows at the meeting.

"I don't feel we got a fair shake," Pohl said. "We did what they asked us to. I'm very disappointed that people didn't want to be here and participate in something they are responsible for. At least they could have come to vote no on it, if that's what they were going to do."

Library district Executive Director Daniel Walters thanked the elected officials who considered the bond and library staff members who worked on the proposal.

He added that he is committed to getting a bond for new libraries on the November 2002 ballot.

"We'll be back," Walters said. "It will be more expensive for the taxpayers in 2002, and it will be more difficult to get a library on the urban east side because of continued development, but we're committed to this.

"There are always competing interests, and normally you see more than one issue on the ballot. I believe that taxpayers in Clark County have not been given the opportunity to choose."

Mesquite City Councilman David Bennett, one of the six votes for the bond question, was miffed that the other elected officials didn't attend the meeting.

"I've been quiet most meetings, but as one of the areas that would benefit the most by having one of these new libraries, I find this unconscionable," Bennett said. "I have made the majority of these meetings driving a 160 or 170 mile round trip, but these people who are in the Valley can't make it? I'm at a loss for words."