Henderson Council news briefs for April 16, 2003

Wednesday, April 16, 2003 | 10:12 a.m.

Vote scheduled on handbill law

While handbill laws in neighboring jurisdictions have caused a stir in the past, Henderson is set to go without handbill regulations for several months.

The Henderson City Council on Tuesday scheduled a vote to repeal the city's handbill ordinance for May 6.

Ron Sailon, an assistant city attorney, said the city's current law is difficult to decipher and hard to follow. So the city could go without such a law until a new one is drafted, which will take about 90 days, he said.

The problems with the current law stem from changes made about three years ago, when the city removed a requirement to have a license to distribute handbills in the city, he said.

However, the changes did not make it clear that those giving out handbills need to register with the city even though they don't need a license, he said.

Sailon said the lack of a handbill ordinance for a few months should go unnoticed in Henderson, as no one has ever registered to give out handbills.

Handbill laws in Clark County have been contentious in recent years, landing the county in court over its efforts to restrict the distribution of handbills along the Strip.

Parking garage dispute settled

A dispute over the $7.2 million parking garage next to Henderson City Hall is over now that the City Council has agreed to accept a $420,000 settlement to cover fines assessed because the construction company missed the completion deadline.

The 4 1/2-story parking garage was scheduled to be finished on July 18, 2001, but wasn't substantially completed until more than 119 days later, Andrew Urban, a city assistant attorney, said.

The contract with Korte-Bellew and Associates included a provision so the city could fine the company for missing the deadline. The company, known as KBA, is now out of business so the city has been negotiating the amount of the fine with KBA's bonding company, The American Insurance Co., according to city documents.

After taking into account changes made mid-contract and other factors, the city and company agreed the contractor was responsible for being 109 days late on the project, Urban said.

Under the settlement, the city will keep $420,000 from the contract, and the bonding company will pay up to $80,000 to finish the parking garage, Urban said.

The work that still needs to be finished includes painting stair railings that have begun to rust and cleaning and sealing some minor cracks, Urban said.

The new parking garage, which is part of the overall City Hall renovation and expansion project, has about 460 parking spaces on four stories plus a basement.