North Las Vegas proposes reallocating library funds

A July fire at a downtown North Las Vegas building may cost the city the opportunity to build a new library there.

The library project called for an old electric building to be renovated and expanded into a new 10,000-square-foot facility near East Lake Mead Boulevard and Fifth Street in downtown. But a fire in the building in July has substantially increased costs for the project, according to city officials.

Now, they are proposing a plan to reallocate the $1.97 million that would have gone into the library project, putting $970,000 toward North Las Vegas’ forgivable loan program for businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic and $1 million toward a grant program for nonprofits to purchase buildings that will be used as affordable housing.

“The second floor came down,” Public Information Officer Patrick Walker said of the fire. “To put it back together — it wouldn’t have fallen into the funding to do the project.”

On July 8, about 50 firefighters were called to put out the blaze. No one was injured and the building was vacant. Flames could be seen coming out from the second-floor windows, and it appears much of the interior had crumbled from the fire.

The funds for the library came from the Community Development Block Grant, and the city had a deadline to spend all the money by the end of the year, according to city documents.

Given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, city officials thought the money could be put to good use by helping out residents and businesses in a tough place, Walker said.

The council is collecting public comments on the plan until Oct. 19. It will go before the City Council for a vote Oct. 21. Plans will then be submitted to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for approval, according to city documents.

The downtown library has been temporarily operating out of a small area in the North Las Vegas City Hall since 2014.

“Wonderful use of money,” Mayor John Lee said of the alternative spending plan.

In other action, the council unanimously ratified the appointment of Rebecca Gipson as chief of staff, at a salary of $125,000, according to city documents. She’s been working at the city since 2017 as an executive assistant, according to Transparent Nevada.

The council also ratified the appointment of Jared Luke as the director of government affairs, also costing the city $125,000.

Contact Alex Chhith at achhith@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0290. Follow @alexchhith on Twitter.