By Selwyn Harris
A local project that has been in the works for decades is slowly advancing.
The Pahrump town board approved establishing a Cost Recovery Account CRA for the town's proposed airport during its June 12 meeting.
The action will facilitate the completion of an Environmental Impact Statement EIS of the BLM land located about 11 miles northwest of the Hidden Hills Solar Electric Generating System site in Nye County.
The statement is expected to cost no more than $62,000.
The approval, according to Town Manager Bill Kohbarger, was necessary to get the airport project moving forward.
He also referred to the passage as unfortunate and at the same time unavoidable.
"In order for the Bureau of Land Management BLM to do any work on the airport, we must pay them even though they are getting paid by the federal government. It is one of those necessary evils that we have to do in order to get the airport project going forth. It does not make sense to me why we have to pay the BLM to check work that the experts hired by the Federal Aviation Administration FAA are doing. It doesn't make sense to me, but that's the BLM. They feel that they own the land instead of managing it and it's a shame," he said.
Kohbarger also said he would welcome the federal government to look into the actions of the BLM on such matters.
"Hopefully one day Congress will open up and see what the BLM is doing and change a few rules. It passed 4-0 and I was very happy that it passed because the town board knew that if the CRA did not pass, there would be no airport because the BLM would absolutely refuse to do any work on it and they would delay it. The town board stepped up even though it didn't make sense," he said.
In December, town board members took a major step forward by voting unanimously to use room tax revenues to help fund the airport project.
Kohbarger noted that the BLM is an agency that must review all studies of public lands managed by the BLM, even those conducted by FAA experts.
The town is responsible for the cost of the review, which will be paid through the CRA.
Any unused portion of the money will be refunded back to the town.
The idea of constructing an airport in Pahrump has been up for consideration for more than two decades. In 1987, a California-based company rendered a final site selection plan for the proposed facility.
Also on June 12, town board members gave the go-ahead to provide additional lighting at Petrack Park's field 'C' for various public events scheduled in the evening.
Engineering and surveying work was just recently completed after board members approved moving forward with the project last November.
The board voted 4-0 to approve funding for additional lighting at the park, which will be a venue for soccer and other community-related activities.
Kohbarger said the town received two bids for the project.
"The bids came in at $250,000 from LaHaye Electrical here in Pahrump and ROBOC Electrical in Las Vegas for $511,675.90. LaHaye Electrical is what we feel is the most responsive and responsible bidder. All the specs have been met," he said.
Board member Harley Kulkin said he was puzzled by the monetary disparity between the two bids.
"It seems awful strange that the other bid was over twice as much but if we are confident we are going to get the same quality no matter what company does it, this certainly speaks for itself. I just want to make sure that we are not going to get shortchanged for paying less than half of the other company," he said.
After a brief discussion, the board unanimously awarded the contract to LaHaye Electrical.
Park Impact Fees will cover the cost of the project.
A popular annual event is returning to the valley once again.
Board members unanimously approved funding the Pahrump Movie Night series, which will kick off on Tuesday, July 3.
Kohbarger said the town was more than happy to bring back the annual summer event for the community.
"Two movies will be at Petrack Park and the rest will be at Ian Deutch Memorial Park. We actually expect about 600 citizens to attend. It is absolutely a great time for families and friends to get together and just come out and picnic, relax and watch the movies. You can't have any open fires but you can bring a cooler with cans or plastic bottles. No glass bottles please. My favorite thing is to go to KFC and bring a bucket of chicken and some cole slaw and sit there and eat and watch the movies," he said.
The town board met again at its regularly scheduled time yesterday. Look for news about that meeting in Friday's Pahrump Valley Times.
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