Sheriff’s plan for new offices supported

Wednesday, May 19, 2004 | 11:24 a.m.

The Clark County Commission lent its tentative support Tuesday to a plan to replace the existing county courthouse downtown with a new Metro Police headquarters.

The commission gave Sheriff Bill Young 120 days to come up with a plan to finance the demolition of the courthouse and construction of the headquarters. Young told the commission that essential functions of his department, which is jointly funded by the county and city of Las Vegas, are spread throughout the urban area.

Young's office is in Las Vegas City Hall, but his detectives, the evidence vault, ballistics laboratory, human resources and other services are in 38 other offices. Young said his officers spend tens of thousands of hours yearly simply driving between the different offices.

"It costs a lot of money to have these very important people driving around the valley to get their job done," he said.

"Currently evidence is collected at eight different places around the valley," Young said. "Some things just belong together. That's what we've lost in the current situation."

A plan in place since the administration of the previous sheriff, Jerry Keller, calls for construction of a Metro headquarters on 10 acres just south of the County Government Center. Young said that plan has problems because it would still require police to drive about a half-mile into downtown when they needed to appear in court.

The downtown site, appraised at about $10 million, would be readily accessible to the courts and the new jail. The judges and staff of the existing courthouse are to move into the long-delayed $185 million Regional Justice Center, still under construction and more than two years behind schedule. County officials hope to move in some time this summer.

Commissioners supported Young's proposal to explore the financing of the project. Young does not have a price tag for the project, but he said it might be financed and constructed privately, then Metro would move in with a lease. The project also could be financed with bonds, he said.

"I don't think there's any question that we should give you time to look at this, to take this to the next level," Commissioner Rory Reid said.