On Jan. 14, the Las Vegas Chapter of SMPS hosted the 16th annual Public Works Roundtable, featuring 11 different speakers from municipalities across southern Nevada talking about their upcoming capital projects and funding. The roundtable was moderated by Ryan Holden of Concord Group.
The following article recaps the discussion.
RTC Capital Program Relies on Fuel Tax
Gena Kendall, manager of Engineering for Streets and Highways, Regional Transportation Commission of So. Nevada, started the discussion off with a quick explanation of how roadway projects in the region are funded: via a combination of local fuel tax and sales tax. The RTC manages funds and distributes them to local agencies. The RTC does not identify priorities, leaving that up to the local municipalities.
Since 2014, the fuel tax has been tied to inflation through the Fuel Revenue Indexing, which sunset in 2026. There is a legislative effort underway to extend this local tax, which will greatly impact the ability to fund future roadway projects. According to Kendall, “FRI 2” is the funding mechanism that will bring forward more than $2.2B in projects over the next 10 years.
The 10-year Capital Improvement Plan for RTC is roughly $1.5B, which is trending downward due to lower fuel and sales tax collections. Each year the CIP will go to the RTC board in June, with the program taking effect July 1.
Clark County Flood Control District has $2.3B More Facilities to Build
Steven Parrish, PE, general manager/chief engineer, Clark County Flood Control District, spoke second at the event. Their ten-year CIP comes in at $2.1B, with approximately $200M allocated for year one. Altogether, their building will comprise more than $2.3B in today’s construction cost dollars. Most projects for the FCD are centered around drainage: the first phase of its overall 25-30 year buildout was what Parrish referred to as ‘easy’ – detention basins in less populated areas. As they enter urban areas, the projects will become more difficult, with intensive utility coordination and working around existing development. Similar to RTC, FCD expects its capital budget to decline along with corresponding tax revenue declines.
FCD prefers to have the entire cost of the project funded before construction begins so they will never have a project left unfinished due to funding. Currently, FCD has one RFP on the street (see page x), for a condition assessment. As Parrish described, across the six member agencies, facilities are aging and a condition assessment is needed in order to prioritize future upgrades and improvements.
The Regional Flood Control District’s CIP documents are available here.
City of Henderson to Explore Using JOC
Lance M. Olson, PE, City of Henderson Public Works director, spoke next. Olson also highlighted funding challenges, stating the consolidated tax is coming in below projections, which is worrisome. His pointed comments on FRI 2 indicated that the City of Henderson street projects would take a huge hit if the existing tax is not extended. The cities budget approximately $36M – $37M per year for roadway projects, and if the shared RTC funds were to disappear, the cities’ budgets would shrink to roughly $12M – $14M per year.
Many of Henderson’s upcoming projects are roadway maintenance projects, such as mill and fill or overlay. The city is focusing on flood control projects in the west side of the City as well. There are four upcoming parks projects with the design firm not yet selected. On the facilities side, there is a Fiesta Fieldhouse in the works.
Henderson will be exploring the use of Job Order Contracting in the near future. That is a new contract type not frequently used by the City yet. The intent is to use JOC for smaller, maintenance-type projects.
Olson also described a big change in how the City will select design firms. For small projects with less than $100K in design fees, the City will directly select from its Statement of Qualifications list. For projects with design fees between $100K – $250K, the City will interview three off the SOQ list and select one. For projects with design fees expected between $250K – $750K, Henderson will require an abbreviated written proposal plus an interview. Only for larger projects with design fees of more than $750K will the City require a full written proposal and interview step.
The City of Henderson’s CIP documents are here.
NDOT Concerned with Rising Construction Costs
Tracy Larkin Thomason, PE, director, Nevada Department of Transportation, was next to speak. She described state-led transportation projects as funded about equally between federal funding and state funding. Thomason’s major concern centered around rising construction costs: she stated that the cost index has risen 28% in recent years, squeezing the department’s ability to fund projects, since revenue has not risen at the same pace.
Major projects Thomason highlighted include:
- Brightline – high-speed rail between LA and Las Vegas. She stated that the developer is nearing the end of putting together the fiscal package and should break ground by end of 2025;
- Neon 2 – Northbound at Sahara with interchange upgrades – roughly $450M – $500M;
- Tropicana Interchange should finish by the next Formula 1 event in November;
- Study – I-15 from Stateline to Sloan is wrapping up soon;
- Study – I-11 to Mercury, and
- I-15 Centerline will be complete sometime in 2027-2028.
City of Las Vegas Upcoming Projects Include Utilities, Civil and Parks Projects
Shelly Hayden, AIA, City of Las Vegas, spoke next. For design professionals, the most recent two-year SOQ took effect in July 2024 and will extend until June 2026. The City expects to open up the Request for Qualifications in February 2026 for that on-call contract. There are no expected design-build or CMAR projects expected to be procured in the near future for the City of Las Vegas. There are several parks, streets and utility projects, however. These include:
- 215 Trail Pedestrian Bridge – estimated to procure Q1 2026;
- East Las Vegas Family Park – estimated procurement in the next month;
- Oakey/Rancho Dog Park – expected Q2 2025 procurement;
- West Las Vegas Library Renovation – estimated Q1 2026 procurement;
- NW Regional Park – end of 2026 procurement, and
- Bruce Street, from Bonanza to Owens – design will be a standalone RFQ.
The City of Las Vegas’s current CIP document is available here.
Clark County Aviation Supported by Enterprise Funds, Plans Big Reliever Airport
Layne Weight, PE, SE, managing director – design and construction, Clark County Department of Aviation, was next to speak. Airport capital projects are unique in that they are fully supported by enterprise funds—the fees added to each ticket passengers purchase—as well as leasing revenue from various vendors and airlines.
There is a large program for renovations and improvements in the works. Weight described Harry Reid International Airport as the first airport in the nation to recover from COVID, and in recent years, the airport has hit high-water marks for passenger activity, notching five months of more than 5,000,000 passengers using the facility.
There is a long-term plan for a Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport. A planning consultant has been engaged and the scope of work includes taking the plans to 15% design, which is expected to take the next two years. Once that stage is complete, a design and construction team will be selected to complete the buildout.
The Aviation Department has roughly $1B in its current CIP, with the majority of funds being directed toward maintenance and renovation projects. Altogether, there are 22 projects coming out soon.
The current year’s CIP is here.
Clark County Summary CIP
Water Management and Supply a Neverending Priority for So. Nevada Water Authority/Las Vegas Valley Water District
Janelle Boelter, Dir. Of Infrastructure Management for both the Southern Nevada Water Authority/Las Vegas Water District, spoke next. She stated the big project for the water authority is supplying water to and returning water from the Garnet Valley. Corresponding to the future reliever airport, the water authority will have to provide significant infrastructure to support the development.
They are also implementing their first-ever JOC program for small construction projects.
Boelter also told the audience a new version of Uniform Design and Construction Standards has been released, taking effect in March. The updated document is available online.
Clark County School Projects to Focus on Benefits to Students
Brandon McLaughlin, AIA, NCARB, ALEP, Clark County School District, spoke next. He described the district as being in transition. The district slowed down its pace, attempting to become the “owner of choice.” The school district is also implementing a JOC program, and its two-year SOQ for design services comes out in February. Major projects include a new elementary school CMAR in Q1 and a $150M new high school in Q3 2025.
The district is wrapping up a facilities master plan, which should be ready by end of 2025. That masterplan will greatly impact future construction of district facilities.
Boulder City Projects: Small but Mighty Impact
Gary Poindexter, director of Public Works, Boulder City, spoke next. Poindexter started with a quip about how much of his small city he could rebuild with the budget of just one project from some of the larger agencies that presented before him.
Boulder City still has plenty of upcoming projects, including:
- Swimming pool – design RFQ’s are due February 6, 2025. The project will be CMAR.
- Golf Course Turf Reduction – CM services is expected to solicit next month.
Beyond current and near-term procurements, the City needs a new police department facility, but that project is unfunded. Additionally, the City plans to rebuild Substation 3 in the future.
Clark County Department of Real Property Management Wants to Partner
Clark County Department of Real Property Management had two speakers present: Coleen Lyum and Dan Rakers. Rakers started by describing the County’s efforts to partner with other public agencies to stagger its procurements so the market has more time and space to respond.
The department publishes a list of upcoming expected bids updated approximately once a quarter. The link is available on this webpage (last updated October 2024).
Like many other agencies, the County uses a two-year SOQ for design services. However, it noted an effort to better match design firms from the two-year SOQ with the type of project the County needs. In the past, there was not a lot of thought on matching scope of work with capabilities. Rather, a round-robin approach was primarily used. Taking a more thoughtful approach to matching the project to the firm, the County expects to see better results.
City of North Las Vegas has Land, but No Infrastructure
Mike Hudgeons, PE, director of Public Works for the City of North Las Vegas, rounded out the roundtable. The City of North Las Vegas has 35 projects in design and 15 in construction. Highlighted projects include:
- Las Vegas Blvd. Full Repavement;
- Fire Station 51 Rebuild, and
- Two-year SOQ for design services – coming out this Spring.
The City of North Las Vegas has benefited from the abundance of developable land, but the parcels lack infrastructure to support the planned projects. Much of the public investment from the City is directed at preparing those sites for future development. Hudgeons highlighted the following private projects in the City of North Las Vegas:
- Hi-Lo Park – a $380M mixed-use development that will be comprised of housing, sports and commercial spaces.
- Apex Industrial Park – altogether projected at a $7B capital investment that would bring as many as 7,000 jobs to the region.
- Gateway project – 19-acre Agoura development – located at Lake Mead and Las Vegas Blvd.
All told, there are dozens of public agencies across the region, and all will have a continued need for infrastructure and public spaces.
