New firm working on Justice Center

By Timothy Pratt

Wednesday, May 7, 2003 | 11:03 a.m.

A new company is working on the courthouse construction project downtown that is 15 months behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget.

The Regional Justice Center was to be completed in January 2002, three years after construction began, and was supposed to cost Clark County $170 million, but the unfinished project has already run up a bill of $185 million.

The delays and cost overruns have been points of contention between AF Construction, the company charged with completing the building, and the county.

Now the bond company behind the project, San Francisco-based Fireman's Fund, has hired a second construction company to help move the project along, said John Kozero, spokesman for the bond company.

The Maryland-based company, called Clark Construction, will be handling "day-to-day project scheduling and management," Kozero said. The spokesman also said he could not provide details such as how much Clark will be paid, when they were hired, or how many employees the company had on site.

Randy Walker, appointed by the Clark County Commission last year to oversee the project for the county, said he didn't know who the company is or what role it is playing in the project.

"I wish I had an answer for you, but I don't," Walker said when asked about Clark Construction.

Walker, director of the county Aviation Department, was named to oversee the courthouse project because of his experience with large construction projects at McCarran International Airport.

He said he had heard of a new company working on the project downtown for several months.

"We know they're here but we don't know what their role is," he said.

Walker said that the new company has approached the county several times, most recently on Tuesday.

"They have asked to meet with us but our answer is, 'Fine, but what's your role? Are you working for AF, the bonding company, or what?' " Walker said.

Terry Murphy, a representative for AF Construction, said the new company will be doing "a review that will get all of the facts on the table."

Clark has been on-site for about 11 weeks and its activities have included "going into documents, architectural plans and change order letters we received from the county," she said.

The AF Construction representative said she didn't know how long the review could take.

"After four years, a review could take a long time," she said.

The review could be setting the stage for the lawsuits that have long been expected in connection with the project, officials said.

David Roger, the Clark County district attorney, said he is hopeful that the differences will be resolved, "but there's always the possibility of litigation."

Attempts to reach a Clark representative in the company's Maryland headquarters were unsuccessful. A representative at the company's western regional office in California said "we have no idea about this."

Though Walker said he was "still kind of in the dark about what their presence means," he said he was "optimistic."

"If the bond company has brought them on it could be a good thing, since I think the job needs a management component," he said.