County’s new jail suffers another delay

Jace Radke and Ed Koch

Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2002 | 9:51 a.m.

Clark County's often-delayed detention center has suffered another setback that could cost the county hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The 1,300-bed jail, which was originally scheduled to open in May last year, then April this year, is now scheduled for completion in June, county officials said.

A second extension of an interlocal agreement that allows the county to house inmates at the Las Vegas jail for about $6 per inmate per day is scheduled to run out April 30. Without the agreement the county could pay as much as $50 per inmate per day.

In exchange for the lower rate the county provides guards to the city jail.

Currently 500 county inmates are held at the city jail. At the higher rate, that could cost the county $25,000 a day, or about $660,000 per month more than is now being paid.

Whether the price will go up to $50 per person is a subject of debate.

"It will go up somewhat per day after April, but only to $50 if the city is ready to take over" the county's responsibility to provide guards, Paul Martin, executive director of the Clark County Detention Center, said this morning.

"If they are ready to take over all of the units, then we'll pay $50 per day. Yes, that concerns me as a taxpayer, but I'd be more concerned if the city were throwing us out and we had to release people who are not ready to be set free. I'd rather pay the money to keep them inside."

Mike Sheldon, director of the city of Las Vegas' detention facilities, said he is ready for city officers to replace county officers by the end of April.

"It would have been irresponsible of us if we were not ready based on the date the county gave us," Sheldon said. He said he has hired 46 new employees, including 36 corrections officers, and said "we will be ready to take over on May 1."

"I understand that delays happen and none of us are soothsayers, and I don't blame the county for this situation, but I cannot operate on less than the $50 (per day), which is what everyone in the valley charges. We've hired the people. I cannot afford to throw away city taxpayer money."

The city of North Las Vegas jail oversees 30 to 40 county inmates a day at a cost of $50 per inmate. Henderson jail watches about 90, also at $50 per day, Martin said.

Overcrowding at the 1,488-bed county detention center is about the same as it has been for some time. Martin said that as of today, 1,957 inmates and detainees are being held. Three hundred eighty-six of the overflow slept on military cots last night. The other 83 were in holding cells, Martin said.

Both Sheldon and Martin said that while their needs appear contradictory, they think they are on the same page, because their first concern is housing people society says need to be watched in a confined area.

They say the county will work with the city to see what kind of price they can get if the jail does come in two months late, county spokeswoman Gwen Castaldi said. Money to pay for the housing of the inmates will come from the county's detention or general funds, Castaldi said.

Dissension between subcontractors, some of whom have filed lawsuits against each other, have slowed progress on the project at Casino Center Boulevard between Lewis and Clark avenues.

The county wants to hasten the date of completion of the $80 million facility, and more than 120 workers are at the site now compared with about 30 in November, Clark County Assistant Manager Mike Alastuey said.

Aside from disputes between crews, the most significant problem hindering progress with the detention center has been the fire ventilation system, which did not meet the city's fire codes.

The system is still a problem, but it is being addressed, county officials said.