Editorial: Poor record needs review

Wednesday, June 1, 2005 | 8:53 a.m.

Ten years ago a buoyant Clark County Commission chose the architect for a Regional Justice Center, its biggest project ever. Much of Southern Nevada's court system would be consolidated in one building, at last ending the years of state and city courts, and their staffs, being scattered about in multiple locations. With enthusiasm for the new building running high, design, bidding and construction were put on fast tracks amid predictions the building would open before 2000.

Today the yet-to-open building stands in downtown Las Vegas as a monument to failure. The county fired the contractor last month. Both the contractor and the county blame each other for the long list of problems with the building -- including $15 million in cost overruns -- that has rendered an opening date impossible to predict. The county's goal is to open the building by October. But we remember the spring of 2002, when the county's goal was to have it opened by September 2003.

As Sun reporter Steve Kanigher pointed out in an article Sunday, the RJC is not alone among public buildings in Southern Nevada with a history of missed deadlines, faulty construction and cost overruns. The Sawyer State Office Building, the Southern Nevada Veterans Home, UNLV's Lied Library and the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District's Sahara West Library are among the buildings whose construction flaws were legion.

Kanigher compared the botched public projects, which have cost taxpayers millions in budget overruns, with successful private buildings. He found that public buildings normally are designed first, and then put out to bid. This often leads to conflicts between architects and contractors. With private buildings it's common practice for architects and builders to combine and bid on projects as teams. This eliminates later friction, cuts costs by about 5 percent and allows faster construction. Kanigher also found that public buildings are hamstrung by set-in-stone laws about low bidders and preferences toward Nevada companies. He also reported that private builders and architects can generally go directly to the owners if questions arise, whereas the builders of public buildings must wade through layers of bureaucracy. Additionally, government buildings rarely , if ever, have enough building inspectors, who can spot errors before costly repairs are needed.

Many laws governing public construction are necessary to prevent discrimination and to ensure that all qualified contractors have a fair chance to win the bid. But given the dismal record of public-building construction in Southern Nevada, all the laws and construction-management procedures should be on the table for a thorough review.