Judge orders county to award contract in beltway construction project

By Kyle B. Hansen

Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010 | 8:12 p.m.

A judge has ruled a controversial Las Vegas Beltway construction project should be awarded to Fisher Sand & Gravel, despite the Clark County Commission’s latest vote to start the bidding process fresh.

Fisher said federal Judge Clive Jones made the ruling Tuesday. The project to widen the highway from Tenaya Way to Decatur Boulevard has been the subject of lawsuits since April.

The dispute emerged after commissioners voted to award the contract to Las Vegas Paving, even though its bid was $4.6 million more than Fisher’s $112 million bid.

Mary Ann Miller, the county’s legal counsel, sent an e-mail to county officials Tuesday afternoon informing them of the ruling.

“The Court had a wide variety of options that it could follow, but taking the decision completely out of the Board’s hands is not probably not one of them,” Miller’s said in the e-mail, obtained by Sun columnist Jon Ralston.

“When we get the court’s formal order, we will set a closed door session to determine if the Board wants to appeal or alternatively, let the decision stand and award the contract to Fisher,” Miller said.

After the project was awarded to Las Vegas Paving in April, Fisher filed a lawsuit in District Court, where a judge ordered the commission to vote on the project a second time.

The commission again awarded the project to Las Vegas Paving after Commissioner Steve Sisolak brought up other concerns about Fisher, including the convictions of three former employees on tax charges in North Dakota, a discrimination suit filed in New Mexico and allegations that the company violated water and air quality laws on projects in Arizona.

Fisher then sued in federal court, and the commission was ordered to vote once again. The judge also ordered Collins and Sisolak to abstain from the vote, saying they were biased against Fisher.

In November, the commission voted to reject all bids on the project and start from scratch.

Fisher says it will employee more than 150 local construction workers on the project.

“This is a good day for the employees, future employees and the families of Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. and we are very appreciative of the ruling in Judge Jones’ court this afternoon,” company President Tommy Fisher said. “Our main focus right now is getting our employees back to work. We look forward to working hard and providing a quality project to the residents of Clark County.”