In Carson: State OKs $267 million for prisons, universities

Prisons, handicapped access to the Nevada State Museum and a virtual reality research complex highlight the projects included in the $267 million in bond sales approved by the state Board of Finance on Thursday.

The list includes $96 million for prison projects and $53.8 million for university system projects as part of the 2007 capital improvement projects list.

Deputy Treasurer Robin Reedy said this is the first time the board has been asked to move this quickly on bond sales after a legislative session. Prison officials especially have been warning of the need for these projects is critical because of inmate overcrowding.

Overcrowding is most seriously affecting the female inmate population. To remedy that, the bonds will fund $36 million of the estimated $59 million needed to double the size of the Southern Nevada Women's Correctional Center in North Las Vegas.

That institution is getting some relief in the form of a 240-bed modular housing unit that will be ready for occupancy by January.

The list also includes Phase V of High Desert for $28 million and a conservation camp at Indian Springs for $22 million. Both those amounts are about half the total cost of those projects, but Deputy Public Works Board Manager Evan Dale said that is the amount he estimates can be spent in the coming fiscal year.

An Americans with Disabilities Act compliant entrance and connecting structure between the two buildings that make up the Nevada State Museum in Carson City will get an additional $2.8 million in funding. That project already received a $3.2 million appropriation but was put on hold because the actual cost came in much higher.

When completed, the museum project will connect the two buildings and provide an elevator designed to look like the frame structures built to transport people and equipment into Nevada mines 100 years ago.

The structure will, for the first time, provide full disabled access to the museum.

"This solves the issue of one of the most prestigious buildings in state government, where we have to take the handicapped around and wrestle them onto a freight elevator," said architect Robert Oxoby when the original project was funded in 2005.

The university projects on the list include completion of the Greenspun building at UNLV and completion of the Desert Research Institute's CAVE virtual reality research complex.

The agriculture department's new headquarters and lab is on the list for $15.8 million and $1 million in start-up money is included to design the weapons of mass destruction readiness building.

The board also approved $4.5 million in Question 1 bonds for state parks acquisition and improvement projects including work at Fort Churchill, Lahontan and Washoe lakes, Dangberg Ranch and several projects at Lake Tahoe, including work on the visitor's center at Sand Harbor. Finally, it includes $3 million in cultural affairs grant bonding for a long list of work on historic structures in the state.

In a move that could change the results of theft investigations, one Carson City pawn shop has agreed to provide an electronic copy of its daily pawn receipts to the Carson City Sheriff's Department.

"We can immediately check pawned property for stolen property," said Undersheriff Steve Albertsen.

As mandated by state law, all five of the pawn shops in the city are required to give a copy of their daily receipts to the sheriff's department, and they do that in the form of paper copies, Albertsen said.

But SuperPawn, on Highway 50 East, took that idea one step further and will send its records electronically in a format for easy input into sheriff's department computers.

Albertsen said the department receives up to 1,000 paper pawn receipts per week and then it's up to the department's employees to manually input the information into a database that can be cross-referenced in the event of a theft.

With such a large number of receipts, there is a backlog of months, Albertsen said.

He said SuperPawn's electronic reporting should eliminate any delay in processing.

Joe Ledworowski, market manager for Northern Nevada SuperPawn, said the electronic transfer of the data saves everyone time and money.

"If someone's goods are pawned, those goods aren't going to be out on the (shop) floor for the 120 days," he said. "The beauty of this system is that the items will be found immediately. The information is right there in the format the police department needs."

Ledworowski said less than one-tenth of one percent of his entire business involves the pawning of stolen merchandise.

"We go out of our way to make sure we do not take any stolen merchandise. We will pass on a loan if we suspect an item is stolen," he said. "If someone brings in a musical instrument, they are going to have to play it. If they bring in a video recorder, they will have to show me how to use it."

But despite those safeguards, Ledworowski admits that some thieves will use pawn shops to fence their stolen loot.

"We don't like the bad guys either, we want to keep the bad guys out of our store," he said.

With electronic receipts sent daily, Ledworowski said, if an identifiable item is stolen Monday and pawned Monday night, the deputy who takes the theft report on Tuesday can immediately input the item into the system and see if it's at SuperPawn.

"It's going to be an efficient program and will save a lot of time," said Albertsen. "We are hoping that the other pawn shops in town will follow suit."