$346M slated for Nevada infrastructure projects

CARSON CITY — A budget subcommittee on Friday approved $346 million in state construction, maintenance and planning projects for the upcoming biennium, including funding for a northern Nevada veterans home and a new engineering building at University of Nevada, Reno.

Of the total project costs, $213 million will come from state funds, either through general fund appropriations or state bonding. Nearly $130 million is federal funding or other sources, and $4.2 million comes from the Nevada Highway Fund Agency.

The projects were approved by a joint Assembly Ways and Means and Senate Finance subcommittee. The full committees are expected to approve the projects Saturday.

Assemblywoman Maggie Carlton, a Las Vegas Democrat and chairwoman of Ways and Means, noted that fiscal staff is trying to find money to begin planning for three Southern Nevada projects requested by the Nevada System of Higher Education. Those include an engineering building at UNLV; education building at Nevada State College; and a joint health sciences building for Nevada State College and College of Southern Nevada in Henderson.

Roughly $5 million is sought for each project to begin design and planning work.

UNR’s engineering building includes $41.5 million in state funding to complete design and construction of the 92,000 square-foot building on the Reno campus. The university would fund the rest of the $85 million price tag.

About $37 million in federal funds was approved by a National Guard Readiness Center in North Las Vegas.

The panel agreed to appropriate $36 million in state funds to advance a 96-bed veterans home in Reno that will be built on the grounds of the Northern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services campus in Reno. Nevada expects to recover most of the cost if the project is approved by Congress.

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3821. Follow @SandraChereb on Twitter.