Vets home still nagged by problems

Friday, Feb. 22, 2002 | 8:53 a.m.

The long-delayed Southern Nevada Veterans Nursing Home in Boulder City is still on schedule to welcome its first residents by June 10, but state officials said Thursday that they keep finding new construction problems that will have to be fixed before then.

"It's just amazing what we keep running into in this facility," said Dan O'Brien, the manager of the state Public Works Board, which oversees completion of the project.

"It's amazing how much little things were left undone or had to be redone," he said.

John Sias, the director of the nursing home, said he hoped to get a certificate of occupancy on March 15. Only then will state and federal inspectors survey the home and grant licenses, he said. While he expects to open the facility for a few residents in June, most won't arrive until July 8, Sias added.

The $20 million, 180-bed home originally was scheduled to open in January 2001, but problems with contractor Addison Inc. threw off the completion date. It is also about $1 million over budget.

Public Works Board members, who toured the facility during their meeting, fired Addison last June and handed the project to Carson City-based Metcalf Builders.

Addison officials, who are still listed as the project's contractors on a plaque near the entrance of the building, have filed a lawsuit against the state and seek millions of dollars of unpaid claims.