Justice center builder likely out

Stephen Curran

Tuesday, April 19, 2005 | 11:07 a.m.

The Clark County Commission was expected today to remove the embattled construction company in charge of building the much delayed Regional Justice Center, moving one step closer to opening its doors, county manager Thom Reilly said.

County Aviation Director Randy Walker, who has been overseeing the $185 million project, is expected to update the commission at its meeting today and will ask to declare the project in default, Reilly said.

The county stopped paying contractor AF Construction in March 2003 because of defects in the 17-story building, which will house city and county courts on lower floors and the Nevada Supreme Court on its top level. The firm has since been fined $12,000 a day for every day the project is not completed, he said.

The delays have brought what will likely be a years-long string of litigation connected to the project, Reilly said.

"There's already quite a bit of litigation and there will be litigation for years and years," he said.

By Monday afternoon, there were fewer than 10 AF Construction employees working on the project, Reilly said.

The building was expected to be completed in 2002.

Although Reilly said Walker has defaulted the company on portions of the project including the roof, removing them entirely would allow county workers to move forward with the necessary tests of water and electrical systems to receive the Temporary Certificate of Occupancy, he said.

"What this will allow the county to do is the tests" necessary to move in, he said.

County officials have said they anticipate moving into the complex by Oct. 1, a plan confirmed by an April 11 letter from Reilly to the state Supreme Court.

Walker did not return calls Monday. McCarran International Airport spokeswoman Debbie Millet said he was in a meeting.

In a November interview with the Sun, Walker said he saw 11 leaks in the roof of the building, one of what he said were numerous construction-related defects.

Reilly would not say whether he expected Walker's presentation to come to a vote today, although "all options are possible," Reilly said.

Commission Chairman Rory Reid could not be reached for comment Monday evening.