Official in sticky fix over soda machine

Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2001 | 11:07 a.m.

A seemingly innocuous soda vending machine, in operation at the Clark County's public defender's office for 12 years, may now be stocked with controversy.

The machine, owned by Clark County Public Defender Morgan Harris, was moved Tuesday from his public lobby to a private break room after state officials said the machine violated Nevada law.

A law in effect since 1959 requires vending machine owners who do business in certain public buildings, including those owned by Clark County, to enter into contract with the state Bureau of Services to the Blind and Visually Impaired. Violators of the law could be charged with a misdemeanor.

Harris' machine on the second floor of the county building at 309 S. Third St. was not covered under state contract, said Mike Murphy, a business enterprise officer for the bureau, part of the rehabilitation division under the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation.

Vending machines in public areas normally include the name and phone number of the vending company in case the customer loses money. The name listed on Harris' machine, Fountain Special Events, is not licensed in Clark County or Las Vegas.

The phone number listed on the machine is not in service.

The building on Third St. has two other vending machines, owned by Janie's Five Star Service, on the first floor. But those machines are covered under a contract the Las Vegas company has with the state.

An employee of Janie's, who requested anonymity, said the company was aware of the vending machine in the Public Defender's office but was unaware the machine was owned by Harris.

"That should bother us," the employee said.

Clark County spokesman Doug Bradford, speaking for Harris, said the public defender purchased his machine 12 years ago for $800 and that it has been in the public waiting area ever since. Harris was unaware of the state law, however, and considered it an "oversight" on his part, Bradford said.

"He didn't think about it," Bradford said of Harris. "He thought it would be a good thing for his staff to have so it wasn't a willful violation. It was an oversight. As far as he's concerned it's a department soda machine."

Bradford said Harris never profited from the machine, but instead used the proceeds to help finance office parties, for events such as birthdays and retirements. When the Sun requested a copy of ledgers for the machine, Bradford said Harris would not release financial information because the machine is private property.

"He said this is not a public machine, that it is something used in private so he does not want to give you the dollar amount," Bradford said. "It wasn't anything significant. He said it was just enough to defray some of the cost for retirement parties and birthday parties and gifts."

Bradford conceded, however, that Harris occasionally used some of his employees to re-stock the machine on county time.

"On occasion he did have some staff go out and purchase sodas and bring them back to the office," Bradford said. "But he said that was typically once every three months, maybe an hour at a time that they were away from the office, but he tried to encourage them to do it around the lunch hour."

State Rehabilitation Division administrator Maynard Yasmer said Tuesday he may take the case to the Nevada attorney general. Still, another Nevada official said Harris will have to enter into a contract with the state to make his machine legal.

"I may run it by the attorney general to see if this is a misdemeanor," Yasmer said.

The intent of Chapter 426 of the state law is to give blind and visually impaired businessmen first crack at operating vending machines in public buildings. Vendors do not have to have such disabilities to comply with the law, but they must still contract with the state if the machine is in a public building other than a school, college or prison. Exceptions involving state parks also apply.

The law is difficult to enforce, however, because the state bureau does not have enough enforcement personnel to check each machine.

Neverthless, there have been numerous violations in recent years involving vendors who were not contracted with the state, Murphy said. He said the most common resolution has been to replace the illegal machines with others operated by state contractors.

"A lot of people are ignorant of the law," Murphy said.

The machine was moved Tuesday to a private break room used by employees in the public defender's office. Bradford said the county's interpretation of the law is that Harris' machine is legal in the break room as long as it is used primarily to provide beverages to his employees.

Murphy said there are similar arrangements involving vending machines that are in private break rooms at places such as Henderson City Hall and the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety.

"It's a point of contention with a lot of public officials," Murphy said. "They don't think they should be included in the law, but we do."

Any such arrangement between Harris and the state likely would be short-lived, however.

County officials announced last week that Harris, who was appointed to his position by the Clark County Commission in 1972, was retiring.

Although no specific date has been set for his retirement, a replacement is expected to be named in October or November. The position pays $97,834 to $151,642 per year depending on experience and oversees a staff of 70 attorneys.