Sandoval has high hopes for final year

Tpast seven years were a road well-traveled by Gov. Brian Sandoval when it comes to Nevada’s transportation infrastructure.

In his role as chairman of the board of the Nevada Department of Transportation, Sandoval pushed for several vital projects, including the $1 billion overhaul of the Spaghetti Bowl interchange in downtown Las Vegas, along with the first leg of Interstate 11, which might someday serve as a critical trade route between Mexico and Canada.

During the NDOT meeting held last week, Sandoval said Nevada was in the midst of a “transportation renaissance.” But with a year left in office, the governor acknowledged there’s a lot of work left to do.

Sandoval sat down last week for a one-on-one chat with the Road Warrior to discuss his legacy on transportation projects across the Silver State. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What would you consider your biggest achievements in transportation over the last seven years?

I’m really excited about the fact we’ve been able to do a comprehensive transportation package for the state, particularly Project Neon. It originally would have been built out over 20 years, but why would we build something that would be obsolete by the time it was finished? We were able to put together a financing package that allows us to get it done in five years.

Up north, we’re planning to do the same thing in Reno for their version of the Spaghetti Bowl. I’m also proud that we constantly rank within the top of the country for the condition of our roads and bridges, and we’ve done a good job in getting federal funds that are competitive.

What types of road improvements would you like to see for the Raiders stadium set to open in 2020?

We certainly want to make sure everybody can navigate around there and have a pleasant game day experience. You’re going to see some changes, and I think it’s

WARRIOR

age compared to some of these guys who are 20 or 21, and it’s even taken a toll on them.”

The newest batch of North Las Vegas firefighters are expected to graduate in March after enduring 24 weeks of rigorous training, marking the second round of hiring for a department that was nearly depleted during the recession.

Filling positions

North Las Vegas had a staffing high of roughly 200 firefighters a decade ago, but a ballooning deficit and an economic near-collapse caused that number to plummet to 140, Fire Capt. Jeff Hurley said.

City officials started replenishing the Fire Department last year with 18 recruits hired through a $3.7 million grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Adequate Fire

and Emergency Response program.

For the current fiscal year, the North Las Vegas City Council erased the final remnants of a long-term deficit that skyrocketed at one point to $152 million. It agreed to hire 57 full-time employees — including the newest round of firefighters.

“We’ll be able to provide a better service to the community,” Hurley said. “Public safety is always a priority, but we’re also helping to attract businesses, because increased coverage means lower insurance costs.”

By 2014, as officials cut their way to solvency, the city’s workforce had fallen by half from a high of roughly 2,200 in 2006. North Las Vegas is slowly restoring many of those lost positions. Its current workforce is about 1,300.

Hurley cautioned that it might take several more years for his Fire Department to be fully staffed at 200 firefighters.

“As much as we need firefighters, we also need more police officers.

We need more public works employees. We need more people in parks and recreation,” Hurley said. “I would like it done tomorrow, but we’re all growing together, and we have to do it responsibly.”

‘Together as a team’

North Las Vegas does not have a firefighting training center, so the city’s new recruits practiced extinguishing flames at an instruction facility in neighboring Las Vegas.

The trainees, ranging in age from 21 to 37, come from diverse backgrounds, officials said. A handful transferred from other Fire Departments. Some recently graduated from college, and others, like Jason Coates, previously worked as paramedics for private ambulance companies.

“I’ve been on a lot of calls with North Las Vegas, so having that history helped build my training as a firefighter,” Coates, 30, said. “Nothing we’ve done so far is easy, but I like the fact that we’re working hard

everyday together as a team.”

Learning how to extinguish fires is only part of the intense training North Las Vegas’ newest firefighters are receiving.

The recruits are also learning how to drive water-filled rigs, cut into wrecked vehicles and — as several of them were surprised to learn — a lot of math to determine the size of rooms engulfed in smoke and flames.

“They come into training with a lot of enthusiasm, but I want to see that same level of excitement on the first day they hit the floor, and I want to see it five years from now,” Fire Capt. Dennis Mclane said.

“We’re trying to instill in them to enjoy what they’re doing,” Mclane said. “We have the best job in the world, but they’re always going to keep learning.”

Contact Art Marroquin at amarroquin@reviewjournal.com or 702383-0336. Follow @Amarroquin_lv on Twitter.