Veterans home gets new target date

Thursday, Sept. 27, 2001 | 10:48 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The opening of the $19 million state veterans home in Boulder City is now set for January -- a year after it was scheduled to begin receiving patients.

The home's completion date has been a "moving target," Chuck Fulkerson, executive director of the Office of Veterans Services, said. But, he added, he was confident it would open on the new date.

Fulkerson and state Public Works Board Manager Dan O'Brien briefed the Legislative Interim Finance Committee Tuesday on the trouble-plagued project, which is about $1 million over budget.

O'Brien said the home has "errors in design," and the public works board is talking with the architects.

He also said there were a "lot of legal questions" since the board fired the building contractor, Addison Inc. "This is the first time we ever kicked anybody off a project," O'Brien said.

Addison has filed sued, seeking a preliminary injunction to allow it to return to work and claiming it is owed $1 million for work already completed.

The board has hired Metcalf Builders Inc. of Carson City to finish the work, and O'Brien estimates that remaining construction will take about three months. Metcalf, he said, is trying to get subcontractors to return to the job to complete their share of the work.

O'Brien was asked by committee members whether the 180-bed home is handicapped accessible. So far, 31 sinks and 12 toilets are not, out of a total 50 to 60, he said. Those will be fixed, he assured the board.

The finance committee approved a request from Fulkerson to hire state employees for some of the jobs at the home. The Legislature originally approved a plan to contract with private individuals for some services.

However, those who applied were not willing to take the job without state benefits, he said.