County sticks to schedule on opening of Justice Center

Stephen Curran

Friday, May 6, 2005 | 10:24 a.m.

County officials say they are sticking by their timetable to move into the beleagured Regional Justice Center, even as workers stay busy plugging holes in the roof and repairing shoddy electrical work.

County Aviation Director Randy Walker, who was tapped to oversee the $185 million project that is now more than three years overdue, had said officials from the Nevada Supreme Court and District Courts hoped to begin moving into the 17-story complex by Oct. 1.

By Thursday morning, that date was still a goal, he said.

Commissioners on April 19 voted unanimously to remove Las Vegas construction firm AF Construction from the project, a process Walker said would allow inspectors to move forward with a battery of tests needed before it can receive the necessary certificate of occupancy.

The county stopped paying the county in March 2003 and has assessed $12,000-a-day damages on the firm, fines that now total more than $14 million.

Paul Faulkner, owner of AF Construction, did not return calls from the Sun on Thursday. The last of the company's workers left the site earlier this week.

Walker said he counted 38 separate leaks in the roof, which was topped with sharp landscaping rocks that have poked holes throughout a protective membrane meant to keep courtrooms and offices below dry.

The holes have caused a "waterbed effect" as water that has seeped under the roof causes rippling above, he said.

"That's obviously not supposed to happen," Walker said while standing on the roof Thursday.

County officials had required the company to use a special, smooth rock meant for rooftops. The fix is expected to cost several hundred thousand dollars, money the county hopes will come from an extended arbitration process that may last into next year, he said.

Walker also pointed to what he called several "Mickey Mouse fix(es)" to problems including seismic bracing of internal piping and mismatched paint that was never repaired. The county will hire new subcontractors to add or repair the braces, he said. The mismatched paint is likely only to be fixed if money is allocated in damages from the company, he said.

Previous requests from the county for the company to repair the piping and paint had been continually rebuffed, Walker said.

"That's part of the frustration," he said. "... What I'm not used to is a contractor who doesn't make the effort."