State considers cutting back on leasing office space

Friday, Jan. 21, 2005 | 10:03 a.m.

SUN CAPITAL BUREAU

CARSON CITY -- The state pays $10.2 million a year in leasing private office space in the Las Vegas area, but a preliminary study suggests it would be better to construct two more state buildings in Southern Nevada.

Daniel Smith of Daniel Smith & Associates of Sacramento, Calif., presented a draft copy of a Las Vegas master plan for the state Thursday, predicting the number of state workers is expected to grow from 5,186 to 8,026, a 55 percent increase in the next 20 years.

One goal, he said, is to centralize some of the government agencies to produce more efficiency; currently there are 89 separate locations leasing 608,000 square feet of private space.

As a solution to reducing leased space and preparing for future growth, Smith told the state Public Works Board that the state Gaming Control Board and Commission could construct an 85,000-square-foot building. The board and commission could then move out of its 66,000-square-foot space in the Grant Sawyer Building, freeing up that area for other use.

At present, the state Department of Business and Industry has offices scattered throughout the Las Vegas Valley. That department needs to be centralized, he said.

Additionally, the consultant said that thought should be given to centralizing the various independent state boards and commissions in a 200,000-square-foot building.

Dan O'Brien, manager of the public works board, said there could be a lease-purchase financing plan for a building for business and industry, much like the construction of a new headquarters in Carson City for the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

O'Brien said the master plan he present, once completed, will help future boards and the governor in planning buildings for Southern Nevada.

I. R. (Renny) Ashleman, vice chairman of works board, praised Smith for his report but said it was a "resounding status quo" and "It was not what we wanted."

Ashleman of Las Vegas suggested that more of the staff of state agencies may be located in Southern Nevada. "My impression is that there is more staff per capita in the north than in the south," that has more than 70 percent of the population.

Smith replied there are more direct service employees in Southern Nevada and more regulatory officials in the north.

Ashleman complained there was a "great deal of travel" between the north and Las Vegas by upper level state officials and private individuals who have to do business with the state government in Carson City.

Of the 608,000 square feet of leased space in the Las Vegas area, about 335,000 is used by the state Department of Human Resources. There are many branch offices of welfare, health and mental health.

Smith recommended Human Resources continue to lease some of this space because of the "mobility" of the clients. For instance, he said there are seven welfare offices. "You don't want to build your own," when five years from now the population served may have moved away.

In addition, Smith said, there is "volatile funding" for such social service programs and money may shift to or away from them. Smith recommended the state work closely with Clark County, which is developing a master plan that includes these services. His firm, Smith said, is helping the county in this project.

Smith said the population in Clark County is expected to grow by 70 percent in the next 20 years, based on state forecasts. But Ashleman said the experts have always missed the growth in Clark County where the population has exploded.

Part of the master plan suggests phasing out the state's 60-bed Desert Regional Center that cares for the mentally retarded. Smith said the national trend is to not have large institutions but to use group homes supervised by the state.

The state now occupies 1,960,000 square feet of owned or leased space in Clark County. And it will need 2,790,000 by the year 2024, Smith said.