On Wednesday, Aug.19, more than 50 people gathered to hear about upcoming capital projects from the Clark County Department of Aviation and the City of North Las Vegas at the BEX Leading Market Series “Upcoming Public Works in Nevada” event.
The panel was comprised of Brian W. Motes, construction and professional services contract manager for Harry Reid International Airport, and Bobby Mayes, deputy director of public works for the City of North Las Vegas.
The moderator was James McCarty with Nevada Sales Agency.
Each panelist started with an introduction and overview of their respective agencies, highlighting specific project opportunities in the near future.
Motes started off describing the status of Harry Reid International Airport as a “Mega airport,” the highest tier based on annual passenger counts, putting the facility in the same league as Atlanta and Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix, Ariz.
Despite recent dips in total passenger counts, the volume has surpassed pre-COVID levels. Major areas of focus for the airport include longer-range projects that will bring upgrades and renovations to both Terminals 1 and 3 at Harry Reid, and the eventual new build of the Southern Nevada Supplemental Airport in Jean, which is currently undergoing environmental reviews before any design efforts begin.
Mayes brought perspectives from the City of North Las Vegas. He highlighted the significant growth the city has seen recently, especially with the redevelopment in downtown North Las Vegas, the development of Apex Industrial Park and the Tule Springs East area.
The City’s most recent Capital Improvement Plan document surpasses $958M in the five-year total. Mayes touted stable funding for the CIP, noting that more than 20 funding sources go into the program, resulting in a long list of project opportunities and a backlog of projects the City is actively working to deliver.
The City’s focus on delivering capital projects has led it to contract with three consultants on staff augmentation contracts, with the intent of getting projects the required oversight to maintain quality standards, while also increasing the volume of projects the City can deliver to residents and stakeholders.
JOC Coming to Nevada
After a successful trial using the Job Order Contracting method of delivery, the state legislature has enabled the contract type to be used by more public owners via AB43 in 2025.
The City of North Las Vegas is initiating its first JOC procurement. Proposals were due Aug. 20 at 1pm, leading to joking that anyone attending the event on the 19th hopefully already knew about the opportunity if they were interested in submitting.
Mayes went into detail about what the City hopes to gain by using this new method of delivery: speed and efficiency for smaller projects. The City hopes to select between five and eight prime general contractors that can service various departments within the City, from utilities, parks and more. Job order contracts will be overseen by the Gordian Group, using a proprietary price list of more than 200K items.
The City, the selected contractor and the Gordian Group will all walk the job, agree on a scope of work, and, once the GC prices it and the Gordian Group reviews and approves the list of items, the City will then proceed with the task. Mayes hopes this will save weeks, if not months, off a typical project delivery schedule, while maintaining price oversight and quality standards. The qualifications-based selection process also ensures the work will be done by qualified professionals.
Mayes next described the Department of Aviation’s use of a similar program. While the County has absorbed all capacity on its JOC program, the Aviation department has implemented and maintained contracts for on-call, as-needed services for both civil and vertical projects at the airports.
Responding to Challenges Outside Their Control
When asked about the challenges facing their municipalities, both panelists were open that the biggest challenges mostly remain outside of their control. While Motes highlighted the ongoing risk of inflation adversely affecting capital projects, he also described the reduction of international travelers, especially Canadians, as a risk the airport must manage, but, ultimately, cannot control.
Mayes acknowledged some of the same risks of increased cost of construction. He also highlighted the constraints of supplying enough power and water to serve the projected development of North Las Vegas. He then described the need for staff engineers, saying it was tough to compete with the private sector, although public agencies have an outstanding benefits package.
Positive Outlook, Great Partners Needed
The conversation wrapped up with both panelists looking ahead at how their respective agencies are likely to grow into the future and how attendees can best position themselves to do work for their municipalities.
Mayes highlighted the City’s asset of available land to develop, which is rare for the Las Vegas Metro. Available land is a key ingredient missing in many growth projections in the region. He pointed not only to Apex for future industrial development, but also to the Tule Springs Master Plan area and the desire for the City to plan ahead for future growth, staying ahead of that growth with thoughtful water, power, roads and other infrastructure needed to support new residents and businesses alike.
Motes also reiterated the significant investment the Department of Aviation will be making not only in Harry Reid International Airport with Terminals 1 and 3 upgrades, but also with the Southern Nevada Reliever Airport.
Both panelists agreed that good partners from the design and construction communities will be needed to deliver a wide range of opportunities.
