Board of Examiners reviews plans for Stewart complex

When the Carson City bypass is completed, it will pass right by the old Stewart Indian School complex - making that property some of the most attractive for state offices in the entire area.

State Lands Administrator Pam Wilcox told the Board of Examiners on Wednesday that's one reason why she and her counterparts at Buildings and Grounds and the Public Works Board are planning Stewart's future now.

That process, she said, will include Carson City officials, the public and potential users such as the Washoe Tribe, which already has a presence at the historic Indian boarding school.

"There's a lot of potential here for this to become a multi-cultural tribal site," she said.

She said a public hearing will also be held to get more comments on Stewart once the master plan is further along.

Buildings and Grounds director Mike Meizel told the board much of the basic work to support greater state use has been done at Stewart.

"Basically what the state has done at Stewart is the infrastructure," he said. "The state has spent its money getting Stewart ready for the future."

He said water, electric and other utilities are in place and much of the road repairs done.

Now, that infrastructure is serving the Department of Prisons, Highway Patrol, Police Officers Standards Training academy for police training, and different divisions of the Department of Motor Vehicles.

It is also home to several non-profit groups including the Indian Museum and Friends In Service Helping.

Wilcox said the plans must take into consideration the fact that Stewart is on the National Historic Register and its buildings must be restored rather than torn down.

Ronald Crook of the Public Works Board said the plans include not only restoration of the existing stone buildings but construction of new buildings.

But he said those new buildings should be designed to "protect the pre-World War II atmosphere of the campus."

He said initial plans show there is room for the state to put up another 450,000 square feet of office space on unused portions of the 110-acre site at Carson City's southern border.

With the bypass in place, Wilcox said, commuters would find it quicker to get to Stewart than the Capitol Complex downtown .

Gov. Kenny Guinn, Secretary of State Dean Heller and Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa all said they support the project. Guinn said Stewart can provide much needed expansion space for state government over the coming years, including the opportunity to consolidate some departments now scattered throughout the city.

They promised to return to the board with more detailed plans.