Editorial: Community center runs into a snag

Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2001 | 8:47 a.m.

Last year the Las Vegas City Council approved using $2.2 million in federal funds to buy a former church in the downtown area. The plan was to renovate the historic First Baptist Church, located at Ninth Street and Bridger Avenue next to the Las Vegas Academy, and turn it into a city community center. Since April 2000 about $3 million in federal funds have been used for acquisition and rehabilitation, but the City Council twice has delayed a decision to use $1.2 million more in federal funds to finish the job, strange moves given that so much money already has been spent.

Las Vegas City Councilman Larry Brown has held up the project's progress because he contends that the City Council must justify whether a community center actually is needed. Brown said that all six wards should be treated equally, and the City Council should explain why a community center is needed in the downtown area instead of one in the northwest, which he represents, or another ward that is underserved by community centers or parks.

Brown does have a point that in the past the fast-growing northwest part of the city didn't have as many parks per capita as other wards. So the city should do everything possible to reduce the disparity in the number of parks and community centers. At the same, though, the fact is that the City Council already has approved funding for the project, which would indicate that the City Council has given it a high priority. It also should be noted that it's unrealistic to expect full equity in funding: Redeveloping a moribund downtown area through federal funds very well could be viewed as more deserving of such money than an economically vibrant area such as that found in the northwest.

The bottom line is that this is a planning mess. If the City Council listens to Brown and doesn't go forward, then several million in federal taxpayer dollars will have been wasted. Redevelopment of the downtown area has suffered from a number of initiatives that never succeeded -- and the community center now appears in danger of joining the list of projects that never got off the ground or failed shortly after opening.