By Mark Waite

Bruce Earl was appointed to the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission Wednesday by a 4-1 vote of county commissioners to replace a vacancy left by former RPC chairman Terry Hand.

Commissioners held off on naming a Pahrump town board liaison to the RPC until the town board gets around to submitting a new nominee after its previous candidate was rejected.

County Manager Pam Webster said she was informed by Pahrump Town Manager Bill Kohbarger that the town board will nominate a liaison at its next meeting; commissioners previously rejected Harley Kulkin’s nomination.

Nye County Commission Chairman Butch Borasky said if the town board doesn’t act soon, he’ll consult with the district attorney about filling the town liaison position. Commissioner Donna Cox said Pahrump Town Board member Bill Dolan has expressed an interest in being the town’s liaison.

Earl’s application states he worked for 25 years in Las Vegas as an off-site inspector for Sprint and Central Telephone who oversaw the installation of buried cable, conduit, manholes and pull boxes.

Earl answered the county questionaire for RPC applicants. On code compliance, he said the Uniform Building Code is the minimum requirement acceptable. When asked what the major problems were affecting growth in Pahrump, Earl said it was using contract inspectors who don’t care about Pahrump.

Earl feels he can help plan Pahrump’s future by questioning infrastructure availability, the master plan, fire, safety and property use. His position on zoning is to protect property values for Nye County residents along with safety and fire protection.

Borasky said county staff didn’t submit a recommendation on Hand’s replacement.

Commissioner Dan Schinhofen wanted to pick Richard Marshall not the assistant sheriff , a member of the Nye County Board of Equalization for four years who retired from the city of Virginia Beach, Va. as a real estate appraiser after 31 years. County Clerk Sam Merlino said he did a good job for that board. But Borasky said Marshall didn’t fill out the questionnaire and didn’t respond to his phone call.

That motion failed by a 2-3 vote, with Commissioner Lorinda Wichman joining Schinhofen.

Schinhofen said his second choice was Walt Grudzinski, who served briefly on the RPC for about four months after his appointment in late 2011. He resigned to run for the state assembly. A retiree from 43 years with the Department of Defense, where he conducted planning for worldwide intelligence and military operations, Grudzinski has been a resident of Pahrump for two years.

Grudzinski was a councilman in Sierra Vista, Ariz. where he was involved with the planning commission in the late 1990s. Before that he was on the Prince William County, Va. I-95 Task Force and Planning Commission and vice-president of the Dale City Civic Association in Prince William County, VA.

The commission also appointed members to the Capital Improvements Advisory Committee by a 3-2 vote, with Schinhofen and Commissioner Donna Cox voting against. That board recommends how to implement a capital improvements plan, using impact fee money. Commissioner Lorinda Wichman made the motion to appoint members based on staff recommendations.

They include: Mike Floyd and Robert Mobley, representing the Nye County School District in terms that expire next January; Wendy Barnett, regional director of Utilities Inc. of Central Nevada as the representative for water and sewer utility companies for a four-year term expiring in January 2017; Pahrump Fire Chief Scott Lewis named to a term that expires in January 2015; Sheriff Tony DeMeo, representing the sheriff’s department, appointed for one year; Pahrump Town Manager Bill Kohbarger representing the town, who will serve until next January; John Koenig, representing the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission, named to a two-year term and contractor Russell Meads, representing the citizen at-large position, named to a two-year term.

Cox inquired whether those positions were advertised to the public. Merlino said the citizen at-large position was advertised, the others are filled by appointment from the various departments and committees.

Asked to explain his no vote, Schinhofen said, “there are two people in particular on that list I do not think it is in the best interest to represent the people in the valley.”