Las Vegas council briefs

Thursday, Oct. 21, 2004 | 9:26 a.m.

Sky-Vue owners get $137,000 bill

Las Vegas charged the owners of the Sky-Vue mobile home park $137,055 Wednesday, the cost the city claims for providing security and tearing down the park in September.

"It was a true nightmare ... I'm grateful no lives were lost," said Councilman Lawrence Weekly, whose Ward 5 contained Sky-Vue. The vote was unanimous.

The city did the work after it was unable to agree with the DiMarcos, the park owners, on how to proceed with the demolition. The $137,055 adds to a tab that includes Clark County Health District fines of $39,000, and city charges of doing business without a license, which carries a fine of $10,000.

The balance is claimed by the city for security and other details associated with the closing of the park April 30. City and Health District officials said the park was unsafe for occupancy because of unsanitary conditions and lack of fire hydrants. Following the closure, several fires broke out, leading to the urgency to remove the shattered trailers left behind.

The owners of the property have filed for bankruptcy, and the city has placed a lien on the land. The other lien-holders are contesting the city action. Elizabeth Delfante, one of the lien-holders, whose husband's company is named on the city complaint as being an owner of the property, told the council Wednesday that they were lenders.

More detention officers planned

The Las Vegas City Council approved Wednesday a plan to add 37 detention officers to cope with an influx of prisoners from stepped-up crime-fighting downtown.

The cost for the 37 additional officers is pegged at $1.8 million, according to city documents prepared for the meeting. Officials have said the additional officers are necessary because the jail population, which early in the year typically had been about 750, has swelled to as much as 1,400. Officers are using about $2 million a year in overtime, he said.

The officers would be phased in over the next two fiscal years.

The jail population is rising because of stepped up enforcement downtown, which has drawn the praise of merchants but has been criticized as a homeless sweep.

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, in comments just before the approval, directed the city staff to explore adding two social workers or sociologists to the jail staff. He pointed to other alternative programs run by the municipal courts, and said the detention center lacks the resources to explore such ideas.

SuperPawn sale is approved

The City Council gave temporary approval for a transfer of ownership of the SuperPawn chain of pawn stores Wednesday. The vote was unanimous but for the abstention of Councilman Michael Mack, whose brother owned the SuperPawn chain.

SuperPawn is being sold to Cash America International Inc. The $125 million sale of the largest privately owned pawn operation in the United States was announced in September.

SuperPawn has 21 stores in the Las Vegas area, as well as stores in Reno, Phoenix, Seattle and San Diego. The purchase is to be finalized in 60 to 90 days, City Council was told. The permanent approval of the change of ownership for a pawnbroker/pistol permit and class two secondhand dealer license is pending a full background investigation