In Carson: New legislative warehouse will be done January

Miles Brothers Construction of Mound House is putting the finishing touches on the concrete panel building at the corner of Fifth and Stewart that will, in January, become the Legislature's new warehouse.

The $4.7 million structure is being built using a lease purchase arrangement much like that used to construct the Bryan Building just north of Nevada Department of Transportation's headquarters. Legislative Counsel Brenda Erdoes said the lease payments will be made with money that now goes to rented space around town.

She said once the warehouse is finished, the Legislative Counsel Bureau will be able to eliminate rentals at Stewart and along Highway 50, moving legal publications, general publications, bill storage and general LCB storage into the new 8,000-square-foot warehouse.

She said having legal materials, legislative bills and publications stored elsewhere creates problems, especially when the Legislature is in session. Once the new warehouse is open for business, all that will be just across the street.

The structure will also hold the paper used by the state Printing Office, which is connected to the new structure.

Erdoes said at present, paper must be transported from rented storage on Highway 50 to be used at the printing plant.

"It's going to be a lot more convenient," she said.

And she said the building was constructed with future needs in mind. She said it is designed so it can be cheaply and quickly converted from a warehouse into office space if needed. She said the possibility that the space may some day be offices is also why windows were installed in the structure.

LCB Director Lorne Malkiewich said during the 2007 session the long term plan is to build more office space for a growing LCB staff on the south side of Fifth Street across from the Legislature. Lawmakers approved $3 million in planning money to look at that project but haven't decided whether to go forward with what would be a $30 million project.

The Miles Brothers contract also covers renovation to make the existing print shop and the new building match.

To cap it off, Erdoes said workmen will install 30 kilowatts of photovoltaic solar collectors on top of the building. She said the solar panels will produce about half the electricity the print shop uses and, using net metering, reduce LCB's power bills by feeding power back into the grid when the print shop isn't using it.

Under lease-purchase, the building is owned by investors and the state makes payments just like homeowners do on a mortgage. After 20 years, the state takes title to the building.