West Las Vegas Library consultant withdraws after records reveal ties to staff
A contractor who would have raised funds and helped secure naming rights for a new Las Vegas library has withdrawn from her agreement after records revealed her ties to a library district administrator.
Late last year, the Las Vegas-Clark County Library District board of trustees voted 5-4 to award Schafer Company, LLC a one year contract not to exceed $110,400 for capital campaign funding and naming rights consulting for the new West Las Vegas Library.
The $35 million project, which broke ground last week, will relocate the current West Las Vegas Library to 1861 N. Martin Luther King Blvd., between Lake Mead Boulevard and Owens Avenue.
The planned 40,950 square foot building will house an art gallery, event center, teen zone and tech lab.
Maureen Schafer, namesake and owner of the company initially awarded the contract, worked at UNLV’s Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine from 2014 until December 2018. She was removed from the position after a 2017 memo alleged she created a hostile work environment, according to records obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
The day after library trustees approved the contract, the Las Vegas Review-Journal filed a series of records request for documents related to the decision.
Records showed that JoAnn Prevetti, development and government relations director, sat on the two-step bid evaluation process.
Prevetti worked at UNLV’s School of Medicine from 2017 to September 2019. She listed Schafer on her resume as a reference, records showed.
According to the request for proposal, the contractor would work directly with Prevetti.
At both stages of the library contract evaluation, Prevetti gave Schafer’s company the highest score, according to records obtained by the Review-Journal.
Executive Director Kelvin Watson said Prevetti and Schafer’s connection did not rise to a conflict of interest, according to district policy.
“Even if an individual does not violate the law, it does not necessarily mean that they eliminate the appearance of a conflict or potential impropriety to the public,” Justin Stritch, associate professor at the Arizona State University School of Public Affairs, said in an email.
Nevada ethics law lists five categories of relationships that constitute a conflict of interest. A sixth category is for a relationship that is substantially similar to one of the other five.
During a December 2022 meeting of the Library District Foundation Board of Directors, Prevetti nominated Schafer along with two others as possible honorees at a fundraising gala that never happened.
“She just has high standards. High quality person,” Prevetti said during the meeting. “Been involved in giving back. She’s again someone of wealth who doesn’t need to work but does and works for the community.”
Ross Armstrong, executive director of the Nevada Commission of Ethics, said he could not comment on a specific case that could be heard before the commission.
“Those could all be facts that the commission could consider,” Armstrong said of Prevetti nominating Schafer.
John Pelissero, director of government ethics at the Makkula Center of Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, said since a year had passed between the nomination and Schafer being awarded the contract it was more likely that the connection with Prevetti did not benefit Schafer.
“The optics of the two events are likely to be concerning to members of the public, who want to trust that Prevetti is acting in the best interests of the library and its tax payers or patrons,” Pelissero said in an email.
Before the vote to approve the contract, some trustees asked for more background information about Schafer’s company.
Trustee Elaine Sanchez voted against the motion and said trustees were not provided with a disclosure of ownership document prior to the meeting.
“I was asked to vote on an agenda item without knowing if I had a conflict of interest,” Sanchez said in an email. “It’s an important document that each board member should have to make an informed decision.”
Tamar Hoapili, chair of the Library District Foundation, spoke during public comment about the foundation being the fundraising arm for the district and asked that the foundation be included in these types of decisions.
“This is the first time that I remember that I’ve heard of the district looking to hire a capital campaign and naming right consultant,” Hoapili said.
Stritch said it is not unusual for government agencies to use contractors for short-term initiatives if the agency lacks the capacity or expertise for a project.
Trustee Felipe Ortiz voted against approving the contract and also sits on the foundation’s board. He said the foundation should be the fundraising arm for the district because it is authorized to give donation letters for tax deduction purposes.
“Yes, a private group can raise/solicit money, but they nor the LVCC Library District (public entity) can give out tax deductible donation letters (limiting the fundraising opportunities),” Ortiz wrote in an email.
Schafer did not attend the December meeting. She signed the contract with the Library District on Dec. 19, according to records.
Schafer beat out four other bids for the district’s contract.
Late last month, Schafer acknowledged seeing Prevetti for the first time in eight years at a 2023 library district event.
Schafer said her time at UNLV overlapped with Prevetti’s for about a year, but pointed out that there were about 400 employees at the school of medicine at the time.
Prevetti said she disclosed at both evaluation stages her connection to Schafer. Staff members on the evaluation committees who responded to the Review-Journal via email confirmed Prevetti’s disclosure.
The district’s legal counsel Gerald Welt could not be reached for comment.
At a Feb. 15 meeting, after a question from Sanchez on the status of the contract, General Services Director John Vino said that Schafer had withdrawn her company from the contract.
“At this time, we have not made a decision about any future RFPs for a possible fundraising consultant,” Vino said Thursday in an email.
Schafer said that she withdrew after meeting with staff and realizing there was a disagreement within the district about how the fundraising should take place.
“A library board meeting occurred where dynamics emerged that needed to sort themselves out,” Schafer said in a statement. “I wish the library much future success.”
Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com.