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	MV Mortuary Project Hits Another Snag

	By Vernon Robison Moapa Valley Progress The Moapa Valley Mortuary is facing another major hurdle in its continued attempts to rebuild. On Thursday, March 13, Mortuary owner, Brian Rebman, received word that his building permits were at the county offices all ready to be issued; all except for one thing. The Clark County Fire Department had red tagged the permits requiring that all necessary fire prevention infrastructure be in the ground before the permits could be issued. This represents the last, and perhaps the most disastrous, of a long string of red tape in which Rebman’s project has been entangled over the past year. One afternoon in May of last year, the Mortuary building caught fire. Volunteer firefighters rushed to the scene to discover that the Mortuary’s entire neighborhood was served by only a two inch water main; not nearly enough to adequately fight the fire. Despite the innovative efforts of the firefighters that day in bringing water to the fire, the Mortuary burned nearly to the ground. After the fire, Rebman sprang immediately into action to start rebuilding from the ashes. His business fire insurance benefits paid for placing temporary office facilities on site so that he could continue at least some components of his business there. Rebman then began the process of filing for new building permits to rebuild his business facility. This is where things began to get sticky. He was told that, in order to build a new commercial structure, he would need to provide the necessary fire prevention infrastructure. This meant that an eight inch main water line with the capacity for enough pressure to adequately feed either a fire hydrant or a commercial sprinkler system would have to be installed. The cost for this infrastructure is estimated at between $100,000 and $150,000. This high utility cost causes all kinds of trouble when trying to finance the project. “The problem is that after spending all of that money installing the new water line, it doesn’t raise the appraised value of my property by one penny,” Rebman said. With the customary borrowing limit set at 80% of appraised value, the water line project pushes Rebman very close to his borrowing limit. “Every step of the way, we are wondering whether we can afford to do this at all,” Rebman said. “We may find ourselves over the limit to the point that we simply won’t be able to construct a new mortuary in the community.” This, added to Thursday’s development might just be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Holding up the building permits until the fire hydrants are in place could delay Rebman’s business re-opening by an additional 4-5 months. And that could make all the difference as to whether the business can continue locally, Rebman said. “Usually they would permit our building to start construction at the same time as the water main is being installed,” Rebman said. “That way we could be finished within 3-4 months with the whole project and be up and running.” Instead, under current circumstances, the water main installation alone could take 3-4 months on its own to complete. Then, and only then, could Rebman begin construction on his new building. Meanwhile the one year anniversary of the Mortuary fire is right around the corner in May. That means that Rebman’s insurance company will be finished paying its benefit at the one year mark. It also means that the whole cost of those temporary structures that are currently being used to run the business on site, will be dropped squarely on Rebman’s shoulders as yet another business expense. Under those circumstances, the mortuary probably won’t be able to operate locally for very long, Rebman said. Rebman is puzzled as to why his permits are being singled out to be held up in this way. In recent months other commercial building projects in the community have been allowed to go forward without the hydrants in the ground. Brad Huza, General Manager of the Moapa Valley Water District, said that he was aware of at least three projects that come across his desk in the last three months including the new Senior Center which began construction last month. Officials at the Clark County Northeast Office were likewise unsure of why the mortuary should be singled out. “The permits are all cleared as far as we are concerned,” said county inspector Malcolm Kirk. “It is the Clark County Fire Department that is requiring the fire hydrants in place before construction started.” Officials at the Clark County Fire Department were unavailable for comment. Partly in desperation, Rebman approached the Moapa Valley Water District Board of Directors on Thursday afternoon at its meeting and pleaded for any help that could be given. Board members felt that it would be appropriate for the district to send a letter to the Clark County Fire Department explaining that sufficient water lines and hydrants were planned to be installed at the same time as building construction took place. “This would be the first time I’m aware of that they would require fire hydrants on sight before the combustibles are onsight,” said Huza, at the meeting. “It seems like to me that it would be inherently unfair to single out this project when other projects have started construction without fire hydrants.” The Board recommended that Rebman also meet with Huza and the District’s legal council to discuss what might be done to assist in the process of installing the infrastructure and then to bring some specific requests back to the Board for approval.