Nevada Public Works administrator retiring in August

By Cy Ryan

Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017 | 1:27 p.m.

CARSON CITY — The man who has overseen billions of dollars of state construction projects during the past decade is retiring this year.

Gus Nunez, administrator of the Nevada Public Works Division, plans to step down in August, saying “it’s time for somebody else to take over.”

Nunez has been with the agency since 2001 and has headed it since 2006.

He has seen hundreds of projects to completion over those years, the latest being the new Department of Motor Vehicles building on East Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas.

His agency is involved in project design and soliciting bids from private contractors to carry out the work, which it oversees to make sure the job is completed on time, within budget and according to specifications.

Projects that have come under supervision of the Public Works Division include buildings at the College of Southern Nevada, Nevada State College, UNLV, UNR and state prisons.

Nunez owned an engineering firm in Reno for 16 years and served on the Reno City Council for 10 years before joining the state.

He intends to serve during the upcoming Legislature, explaining the projects that will be recommended by Gov. Brian Sandoval.

He said he doesn’t know what he will do after his retirement, but “I won’t be sitting on the couch.” At 69, he said, “I’m still a young man.”