Friday, Oct. 4, 2002 | 9:59 a.m.
The city of Las Vegas building and safety chief says the Addeliar D. Guy III Veterans Administration Ambulatory Care Center is safe and that the structural damage is reparable, but an apparent rift between the property's owner and the VA resulted in the decision to close it.
City Building Director Paul Wilkins told the Las Vegas City Council Wednesday that he met recently with engineers of the Mooreland Corp., owners of the $16 million building where cracks were found in March. He said they told him they can fix the damage.
"Mooreland made an offer to do the work after hours, but the VA did not want to be in the building when the work was being done," Wilkins told the council, indicating that an inability by the parties to come to terms was the reason behind the closure, not a lack of structural integrity of the facility.
Council members say they have received calls from veterans complaining that the center's closure will mean they will have to go to several rented facilities throughout the area for treatment for several years.
Outside the meeting, Wilkins said the 5-year-old building at 1700 Vegas Drive near the intersection of Martin Luther King Boulevard is "absolutely safe."
"If I thought it wasn't, we'd be down there in five minutes to clear the place out," Wilkins said.
He said the owner's engineering report shows that while one column has cracks in the concrete, there is no apparent damage to the steel support beam. Wilkins explained that in the event of a major disaster such as a big earthquake, the beam could give way, but it would not collapse under everyday use. Other structural damage appears to be repairable as well, he said.
Councilwoman Lynette Boggs McDonald directed Wilkins to request from the VA a copy of its engineering report to compare the two documents.
John Hempel, chief executive officer of the Veterans Affairs Southern Nevada Health Care System, who was not at the council meeting, said it is a moot point because the VA voided the contract after the landlord did not fulfill its obligation to repair the building in a timely manner.
Hempel said the VA on a number of occasions has let the owner's work crews into the building to make some repairs.
He also indicated the VA would have no reason not to have wanted to stay in a centrally located building to treat its thousands of patients.
"Our intention was to stay here for at least the 10 more years we had left on the contract," Hempel said. "We asked the owner for a comprehensive solution to the problem and we never received that plan. They defaulted. The issue is no longer germane."
Attempts to reach a spokesman for the Mooreland Corp. in California for comment were not successful.
Hempel said that for at least the next three years the VA will be located in "multiple locations" but will continue to add services and grow.
'We are in the process of signing leases right now," he said. "We intend to be out (of the Guy center) by the end of January."
Hempel said if Mooreland Corp. disagrees with the VA's decision, the company has legal recourse. It also can repair the structural damage and rent the building to another agency.
Councilman Lawrence Weekly has expressed concerns that once vacated, the Guy clinic, which is in his ward, could fall into decay, be vandalized or be overrun by vagrants unless security measures are taken.
For that reason, Weekly and Mayor Oscar Goodman had asked City Manager Doug Selby for an action plan to be presented at Wednesday's meeting. There Wilkins presented his findings. It was an informational matter, not an action item, so no vote was taken.
Hemple did not refute whether the building is safe: "I won't comment on the city's findings other than to say that, as a person who works in this building, I'm glad the inspector says it's safe. But this was not an issue of safety. It was an issue of compliance with a contract."
Nevada's congressional delegation have asked Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Principi to consider a full-service medical center to replace the clinic.
The Mike O'Callaghan Federal Hospital at Nellis Air Force Base has been selected by the VA to house the clinic's surgical specialty services while the primary care, medical specialty care, mental health clinic and administrative offices will be moved to yet-to-be-announced sites.
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