Thursday, Sept. 9, 2004 | 9:22 a.m.
CARSON CITY -- An unexpected increase in the number of prison inmates and sharp rises in the cost of building materials are forcing the state Public Works Board to make some tough choices about the state's construction projects.
At a meeting Wednesday to put together a priority list for the next two years, the board put $237.4 million worth of projects at the top of the list to go to the governor and Legislature, with $205.4 million coming from tax money.
There were $629.3 million in requests, seeking $488.1 million in state money. Some projects, such as higher education buildings, also rely on private donations.
State Budget Director Perry Comeaux said he has been on the board for 11 years and "this is the most depressing thing I've seen," referring to the numerous projects that need money but won't get it.
"This is going to be a skinny program in terms of new construction," he said.
One project that may not make the list most likely to be funded was a request for $9 million to construct the first building at the Nevada State College in Henderson.
The Legislature last year agreed to allocate $13 million for the building if the supporters collected $10 million in private donations. But so far only $1 million has been raised, and the higher education system now is asking the state to fund the $9 million that is short.
The board directed its staff to prioritize health and safety projects, required maintenance and purchases of furniture for buildings that are expected to be completed in the next two years.
After getting the projected costs for those projects, the board will decide on what new projects to recommend to Gov. Kenny Guinn for inclusion in his budget.
The proposed Greenspun College of Urban Affairs at UNLV, to cost an estimated $40 million, is among the top ranked new projects in the recommendations of the staff. There would be up to $16 million for that project coming from the Greenspun family, which owns the Sun.
There is $5.9 million in the first tier of new construction projects for an additional wing at the Mental Health Psychiatric Hospital in Las Vegas. Construction on the $32 million main hospital should start early next year and the state Division of Mental Health and Developmental Services says its already clear that the initially proposed size for the facility will be too small.
Other Southern Nevada projects on the first tier that will be considered by the board on Sept. 21 are $14 million for a 200-bed re-entry center for women prisoners in North Las Vegas and $28 million to expand the Indian Springs Conservation Camp and convert it into a work center for 626 minimum custody inmates in Clark County.
The board will meet again Sept. 21 to make its suggestions.
But the board was told Wednesday that there are additional, unexpected expenditures looming on the horizon. Glen Whorton, assistant director of the state Department of Corrections, told the board there were 363 more inmates than were predicted in April. The prison population is growing at 88 inmates a month, Whorton said, and he doesn't know why.
That monthly influx was double what the estimate had been.
The state had not expected to be handling these numbers of inmates until 2006, he said.
The estimates of future prison population are prepared by JFA Associates of Washington, D.C. It was formerly associated with George Washington University. Representatives of the firm could not be reached for comment.
The corrections department had, for years, contracted with George Washington University for its estimates of future inmate populations.
Board member I.R. Ashleman of Las Vegas said George Washington had been "wrong repeatedly."
"This is not the first time they (the estimates) have been wholly inaccurate," Ashleman said. "The last time we built too much" prison space.
Officials of George Washington University involved with the estimates did not return repeated calls.
Whorton said it was difficult to make these projections. And he said the out-of-state inmates from Wyoming and Washington will have to be transferred out of the Nevada prison to make room for the influx of Nevada's own. Nevada gets paid to house those non-Nevada prisoners. In addition, Gus Nunez, deputy manager of the public works board, said rising steel and other costs are adding $7 million to what had been a $60 million Science, Engineering and Technology Building at UNLV. He said the school wants additional funding instead of the project.
UNLV will approach the Legislative Interim Finance Committee Sept. 15 to see if it will agree to put extra money into the project during the 2005 Legislative session.
Nunez said without the additional money, the building would have to be redesigned.
Comeaux said that of the proposed $250 million budget, nearly $92 would go to prisons with $63 million being spent for additional beds. He said the University and Community College System of Nevada may be funded for one building in the next two years and the design of another. He said the Department of Human Resources is looking at $23 million.
There's an estimated $55.6 million set aside for furniture and equipment purchases at buildings coming on line.
The staff of the public works board drew up a tentative list of priorities for the state's construction program in the next two years. It includes a $23.1 million Las Vegas Readiness Center to house five Army National Guard Units with $9.9 million to come from the federal government.
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