Addition to jail behind schedule

Keith Paul

Tuesday, March 20, 2001 | 10:54 a.m.

Construction on the $83 million Clark County jail addition is about five months behind schedule and is costing Metro Police about $5,000 per day to continue to house inmates in other facilities to ease overcrowding.

"We're still on budget right now," said Paul Martin, executive director of the jail. "Is the delay going to add to the cost of construction? I'm not sure."

Jacobs Facilities, the management company overseeing construction of the jail and the new court facility across the street, is putting together a report detailing the reasons for the delay, said Doug Bradford, a Clark County spokesman.

"It could be a multitude of factors that entered into the picture," he said.

Officials at Jacobs Facilities and AF Construction, the primary contractor, could not be reached for comment this morning.

The additional jail space is needed to accommodate a growing inmate population. The current county jail, which opened in 1984, has 1,488 beds and routinely houses more than 1,750 inmates a day. Another 500 inmates are housed in the Las Vegas city jail.

Metro pays $50 a day for each of about 100 inmates housed in the Henderson and North Las Vegas jails. The new jail addition will add 1,372 beds and bring all inmates to the downtown detection center.

The new jail was slated to be finished by the end of May, but Martin said it appears the construction won't be completed until November.

Bradford, however, put the completion date at around September.

Construction has been faced with several delays. County officials are waiting for a report on the delays from the management company. County officials have also been meeting with construction officials to set deadlines for construction milestones on the buildings.

The construction companies could face fines for not meeting deadlines, Bradford said.

"If there are any fines and penalties, Metro may be able to recoup any losses (for housing inmates at other jails)," Bradford said.