By Selwyn Harris

The results of an Environmental Impact Study will determine when and if a proposed general aviation airport will ever get off the ground in Pahrump.
Last month, town board members took a big step forward by amending Pahrump Town Ordinance 32, and voting unanimously to use room tax revenues to help fund the project.
Town Manager Bill Kohbarger said the money will come from a portion of the town’s fairgrounds fund, which receives about 3 percent of the room tax dollars.
“Now the fairgrounds will get 1 percent because the town board realizes we needed to create a revenue stream for the airport which will now have $100,000 annually coming in. We still have $50,000 in the fairgrounds.
“The town board also realizes that if we build some multi-million dollar project on the fairgrounds, taking $100,000 away from it right now, it’s not going to hurt it in the long run, but it will help the airport in the long run,” he said.
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 facility.
Kohbarger said issues with federal agencies, including the Bureau of Land Management, are to blame for delays in getting the project started.
He noted most if not all of those issues have been settled.
“The BLM was a problem. They are no longer a problem because they have figured out through the Nye County District Attorney and through the Federal Aviation Administration’s attorney that the town does have the legal right to own and operate an airport, and to create funding for that airport. Those were the two major concerns the BLM had. Now that they have been addressed legally, they’re happy and 100 percent on board,” he said.
The EIS is a slow moving process.
Kohbarger noted that it still may take up to two years before the results are published.
“EIS’ are very difficult and very time consuming,” Kohbarger said. “They can take as little as 24, and as many as 70 months. We are looking right now between 24 and 30 months, which is what our consultant advised us during the interviews. They have been working on it for roughly six months, so that leaves 24 months left, so hopefully, God willing and the creek don’t rise, and everything falls into place, we could start construction 26 months from now,” he said.
Provided the BLM’s EIS report comes back with a favorable assessment of the land, the FAA will match funds with the town to begin building the facility at a ratio of 95 to 5.
“Ninety-five percent of this will be paid for by the federal government and five percent will be paid by local match from the town of Pahrump,” Kohbarger noted.
Cost of the airport is still up in the air.
Allen Parker is a business consultant for the Rural Nevada Development Corporation and has been involved with the airport project as a technical advisor for several years.
Parker said he believes a general aviation airport would be good for the community.
“There are other communities around the Las Vegas area that are smaller than we are. For example Mesquite, which is half of our population, has a small airport. It would make sense that on the west side of Las Vegas, where we are, we’re double the population. And with the fact that we will increase our population over time, I think it would help us from a business point of view and an economic development point of view,” he said.
When pressed on what he’d like to see developed first; the fairgrounds or an airport facility, Parker replied both.
“If it had to be an either/or type of thing, that would be tough decision if you asked me to prioritize it. I’m in favor of both. I think Pahrump would benefit by having both of these. They serve different purposes to some extent. The airport I think would be more of an economic development impact to the town of Pahrump. The fairgrounds would have a value from a tourism point of view, from an entertainment value and quality of life point of view, depending on what you wanted to put at the fairgrounds.
“It would certainly be something that I think not only the local people here would go to, but I believe it would also draw from Las Vegas,” he said.
Charlie Gronda, a former Pahrump town board member has also been involved in the project for many years.
He noted the price tag for the facility could easily run into the tens of millions of dollars.
“The total building of the airport will run roughly $25 million. This money from the FAA goes for building the stuff on the ground. It doesn’t cover the hangars. You have to go through other sources to get the hangars. That’s figured into the price. It’s not for the big airplanes. It will take years to get this built. It’s not all going to be done at once,” he said.
Gronda noted there is quite a bit of support for an airport facility in Pahrump.
Kohbarger said he has received letters urging the town to move forward with the project.
“We have received 90 letters all from owners of aircrafts and/or pilots. Three of them happen to be business owners here in town. The other 87 are people who visit Pahrump anywhere between two and six times a year and want to fly into Pahrump instead of flying into Henderson, North Las Vegas or Las Vegas and driving over,” he said.
Golden Gaming’s Chief Operating Officer Steve Arcana sent one of the letters.
Golden Gaming owns and operates the Pahrump Nugget.
In the letter, Arcana lended his support for the facility.
“The Proposed Pahrump Valley General Aviation Airport (PVGAA) will provide a great service to the entire Pahrump Valley. The PVGAA would provide a hub for additional customer traffic to our properties and other businesses in the Pahrump Valley. Additionally, the PVGAA would provide easier access to the entire area and in doing so, potentially attract and drive investment in the Pahrump Valley from individuals and businesses outside southern Nevada. Therefore Golden Gaming gives its fullest support and commitment to the proposed PVGAA,” he noted.
Not everyone is behind the project.
During a Dec. 13 town board meeting local resident Judith Holmgren told town board members that she thought the facility would “benefit only a few at the expense of many.”
Kohbarger dismissed that notion.
“It will benefit a lot of people. The more people we get into the community the better off we are. And if people have an opportunity to fly into this community and stay in this community, and eat in this community, does that not benefit this community? Right now people from Front Sight, and Spring Mountain Motorsports come in for four, five and six hours and then go back to Las Vegas and stay and eat. Wouldn’t it be nice if they could park their planes here and stay in a hotel here and eat  here?” he said.