Long-delayed expansion of Nevada governor's mansion to start

CARSON CITY - A bogged-down effort to raise $5 million to renovate the Nevada governor's mansion has finally produced enough money to allow construction to start next week.

The fund raising started nearly two years ago and finally hit $3.1 million, thanks mainly to a $2 million stock donation from Anchor Coin chief Stan Fulton and $500,000 from an anonymous Nevada philanthropist.

"No taxpayer dollars are going toward this project," Gov. Bob Miller said Wednesday. "It is only through the generosity of several prominent Nevadans that we will be able to go forward."

"While we remain slightly short of our funding goal, we are going ahead with work on the main house so the next governor will have a proper home to move into," he added. A new governor will be elected in November and be sworn in next January.

Miller said he's prepared to share the mansion with construction crews as long as possible, but he and his family also plan to use their own Las Vegas home.

The two-story southern colonial mansion, built in 1909, was last renovated 30 years ago during the administration of Gov. Paul Laxalt. That was followed by painting and wallpapering in 1987.

The project also includes a new 6,000-square-foot, 300-seat meeting room to the north, where a garage is now located. A new garage will be built on the south side of the home.

Now, dinners and receptions are held on the main floor, and furniture has to be moved upstairs to make room for guests.

An estimated 1,500 people a month visit the mansion for charity events, political functions or sightseeing.

A group of private citizens started the fund-raising effort in late 1996, hoping to begin construction in July 1997. But that was put off because money trickled in more slowly than expected.

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