Library trustees delay land deal

Mathis Winkler

Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2002 | 9:59 a.m.

City officials know how they will fund a second police station in North Las Vegas, but they still don't have a site for the building.

Trustees of the North Las Vegas Library District on Tuesday decided to delay handing over to the city a 4.5-acre parcel on Alexander Road near Martin Luther King Boulevard to construct a police station.

They will revisit the issue in 60 days. City Manager Kurt Fritsch said after the meeting that the City Council would decide whether to look for another piece of land.

Although the trustees' vote was unanimous, council members, who comprise the majority of the board, offered varied opinions regarding how to proceed.

Councilwoman Stephanie Smith said city officials should look for an alternative site for the police station rather than using library land. However, Councilwoman Shari Buck and Councilman William Robinson said they believed using the land for a police station would be the better option.

Mayor Michael Montandon and Councilman Robert Eliason did not attend the meeting. In addition to council members, two residents also serve on the library board.

During public comments, two residents, including former Councilwoman Paula Brown, urged the board to keep the land for a library.

City officials had originally proposed to give the library district a 3.1-acre site in the proposed master-planned community on 1,900 acres at the northern end of town in exchange for the land on Alexander Road.

There, the library would be next to the community's main park. City officials hope to raise money from businesses and home builders coming into the area to build the library, which will cost about $9 million.

For years, library officials have been unable to raise the money for the Alexander Road site. Although the main library sits next to City Hall, a small store-front library opened on Craig Road last year.

The $5.1 million police station will be paid for with bonds, which city officials are expected to issue in the near future. The station will be modeled after an existing Metro Police substation to save architectural costs.

The city plans to issue $35 million in bonds to build a new courthouse as well. Both projects are expected to be finished by early 2004, and city officials plan to repay the bonds over the next 20 years with general funds, court and jail fees.08