By Mark Waite
Nye County Commissioner Gary Hollis said abolishing the elected Pahrump town board form of government wouldn’t mean a money grab by the county for use anywhere in the county, during a candidates’ forum at Artesia Community Center Thursday night.
Pahrump Town Board member Vicky Parker was asked why voters shouldn’t abolish the town board.
“If you do away with the town board, you’re going to lose your local representation. The town board would become merely an advisory board. They would be selected by the county commissioners,” Parker said.
She added, “All of the funds and resources would be given directly to the county and the county would be free to spend the tax dollars now collected in Pahrump and spent in Pahrump; they would be free to spend that money anywhere else in the county. So I think that you need to think seriously about keeping your money at home.”
Hollis said that’s a false statement.
“Let me assure you, the town board money does not go to Nye County, it stays in the town board’s account and all we do is OK their expenditures. We can’t use their money and we never used Beatty’s money; we never used Amargosa’s money,” Hollis said. Those two towns have advisory boards.
He didn’t answer a question from Margarie Hansen about why Amargosa Valley residents sought to have an elected town board with more autonomy from the county, other than to say any advisory board can ask the county for that status. That gave the Amargosa Valley Town Board the authority to make resolutions, ordinances and approve expenditures. Hollis said 99 percent of the time the county commission approves the requests from the town advisory boards.
Hollis said the county commission could deal with it no matter how people voted. “It’s always best if you put it on the ballot and let the people make a decision,” he said.
Pahrump Town Board candidate Amy Riches said she had mixed feelings about the ballot question.
“If the town board is dissolved you brought it on yourself when you took away the people’s right to talk before an agenda item and by spending people’s money recklessly. On the other hand there’s no guarantee that we’re going to like what the county commissioners do either,” she said.
Pahrump town board candidate Frank Maurizio said if the people voted for it he could live with it.
Parker said for the last seven months the town board has let people speak on individual agenda items, if they are brief, polite and refrain from personal attacks.
Robert Hansen, with the Progressive Democrats, said there were mistakes on the wording of the ballot question for passage. It erroneously states the town and county both manage animal control and police services, he said. There is wording suggesting duplication on management of trash collection, water and wastewater services.
Riches, Maurizio and Hollis admitted they hadn’t read the question.
Pahrump town board candidate Bill Dolan said he’s been working with a group that’s been trying to bring a green energy manufacturing plant here for the past 18 to 20 months. Every business that comes here will create one and a half jobs, he said. But Dolan was asked by Linda DeMeo about a meeting with State Sen. Mike McGinness, R-Fallon, she claims was an attempt to backdoor incorporation.
“My wife and I were on vacation in New York when I was told I was attending this meeting which I knew nothing about until I made some phone calls,” Dolan said. The town board had instructed Pahrump Town Manager Bill Kohbarger to prepare a bill draft request to the state Legislature allowing the town to take over planning and zoning, he said.
“I understand incorporation was talked about at that meeting,” Dolan said.
“I’m not for incorporation I’m not against it,” he said. “What I’m for is the freedom of speech to let people have their say at the ballot box.”
Maurizio said he’s against incorporation. “We can’t afford it, the taxpayers are footing the bill. We don’t have an industrial, commercial tax base that will carry it.”
Riches said, “we are not Las Vegas, we are not California, we are Pahrump. I am strongly against incorporation. I am strongly against any attempt to meter or tap our wells or to force anyone to hook up to any kind of city water or sewer.”
Parker didn’t address incorporation. But she said the town will be building a road, soccer fields and a parking lot at the fairgrounds site next month. After that the town will work on facilities at park property on Kellogg Road, Parker said.
Parker said she has also been working with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management since 2006 on Last Chance Park, which could preserve areas all the way up to Shadow Mountain as recreational land in posterity for our children and grandchildren.
Riches accused the town of paying hundreds of thousands to a company to design the fairgrounds project that is questionable and spending money on incorporation that people don’t want.
“Before I spend $844,000 on soccer fields I want to make sure that the doors to the bathroom stalls at Petrack Park, both inside the Bob Ruud Community Center and outside close the way they should because they don’t work now,” Riches said.
Parker said the money spent on the fairgrounds project is room tax money that can only be spent on bringing tourism into town.
Dolan said, “yes the town is looking at a fairgrounds project. I’m wholeheartedly for improving and bringing things to this town. However I don’t believe we should be biting the entire elephant in one bite without a secure revenue stream from private partners.”
Maurizio said, “I’m against theme parks, there’s three new ones being built in Las Vegas to be finished sometime next year. They’re not going to come an hour away to a theme park here.”
Parker said her other passion is watching out for people’s money. Together with Pahrump Town Board member Harley Kulkin and before that Dolan she said they went over every invoice.
“I can tell you when the town spends 29 cents for a screw at Home Depot. We watch your money, the town comes in under budget every year,” Parker said.
Cles Sanders asked about the town tax increase this year.
The town board received figures it would collect less in property taxes for 2012 when the budget was sent to the state, Parker said. She said the state calculates the tax rate to meet the same revenues and sends it back to the town board, what she called a static budget.
Hollis outlined his platform: promoting Yucca Mountain, not raising taxes, building county infrastructure and paving roads. He said 60 to 70 miles of road have been paved or chip sealed in his current district three.
“By resuming the Yucca Mountain project we would be saving approximately 7,000 new jobs that would be created in Southern Nevada,” Hollis said. He said Pahrump has the only training center for its volunteers, the multi-purpose training facility on East Mesquite Avenue.
Nancy Lord, a candidate for Fifth District Judge, asked Hollis about his abstention on ordinance 430, the animal control ordinance, which requires people with more than five dogs or cats to get a residential kennel license.
Hollis said he went to the bathroom when the vote was taken.
“I’m not in favor of putting limits on dogs and cats, but something has to be done,” he said. “If all the people were doing what they’re supposed to do, keeping their pets in the fence, spayed and neutered and so forth, we wouldn’t have to be making any laws.”
His opponent, Frank Carbone, wanted a waiver for animals of a certain age that wouldn’t be alive much longer. He said state law already dictates how many dog or cats a resident can have.
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- Mark Waite / Pahrump Valley Times – Pahrump Justice of the Peace candidate Louis DeCanio speaks during a candidates forum at the Artesia Community Center Thursday night.
Vicky Parker is blowing smoke and is only interested in maintaining her little power post on the town board. She claims the board diligently watches the town’s pennys and dimes and at the same time was not even aware that $150,000 in federal matching funds was slipping through our fingers. And this after how many years has she been on the board?
I feel obligated to step in and address the assertion made by Mrs. Parker that the tax revenues collected in Pahrump would be available for use in other Nye County communities if the town board form of government were to be discontinued. It is absolutely not true. The “Pahrump Town” rate on your tax bill would continue to be collected and used exclusively to support the needs of the town, which is exactly what the law requires. The only difference would be that the advisory board would first have to get the approval of the board of county commissioners before they could spend money in excess of a certain amount. Commissioner Hollis is absolutely correct– no tax revenues collected in any other community with an advisory board form of government are used for anything except to support that community’s operations.
It is unfortunate that this incorrect information is being spread throughout the community. As opposed to claiming that Mrs. Parker is spreading untruths, I prefer to believe that she is simply ignorant of the laws that dictate how taxes collected by the county can and cannot be used.
Thank you Joni, it seems Mrs Parker will pretty much say anything to scare people into keeping this disaster of a town board.
I know me and my friends will be voting to put the town board as advisory only, but if we HAD to have a town board, I will vote for Amy Riches all day long.
She “gets” Pahrump, she understands what 99% of us want here.
Dolan on the other hand, would sell his soul to Incorporate this town and force a HUGE burden on all of us, more laws, fees, taxes, and aggravation.
Pahrump works AS IS, Yes, it needs more jobs, and no, we are all not against new businesses opening up, but NONE of us want to be paying 25 to 40% more on our property taxes, as well as a higher income tax and NO ONE wants to re-name Pahrump just because it doesn’t have some slick California style name.
Are you kidding me? We have one of the most controversial issues (disbanding the town board) on the ballot this election cycle and Amy Riches, Frank Maurizio and Gary Hollis said they haven’t even read it?! And as far as Amy Riches goes, isn’t she part os the CCSC crowd that is pushing this whole thing? And she hasn’t even read the argument in favor of removing the town board?
Also, could someone please tell me who wrote that argument?
Amy Riches and Frank Maurizio have absolutely no business holding a public office. Please, please, please make these two go away.
From your post here, We can tell you are a person with limited gray matter. It is apparent that you did not listen to the candidates answers to the questions. Mr. Maurizio was asked his stand on Ballot Question #2. He stated that he did not want the Board to be dissolved. Maybe that is why he did not read the explanation under the question. Or maybe he knows how you react to answers you do not like and just let you look like an ???.
Hello: ROBERT
Read the Article, I gave my opinion on it.
At Artesia i explained that i had not read it on the ballad because i had been ill.
And had just gotten on my feet.
Why do you feel that i should not be elected to the town board.???
IS IT THAT:
A) I am truly for the people
B) That i am against incorporation
C) That i want to protect our wells
D) That i am fiscally responsible
As for CCSC YOU BETCHA I know each and every person in there.
AND I AGREE WITH THEM WHOLE HARDILY.
They stick up for peoples rights and they believe in the constitution.
Have you ever been to one of their meetings ???.
If not then I suggest you go and see for yourself.
I am A direct descendent of Abraham Lincoln.
Not through marriage but through blood
Abraham Lincoln once said It is better to be thought a fool and remain quiet.
Than to speak and remove all doubt
AMY RICHE
Amy…First of all might I suggest you get a spelling dictionary. Second, it was Mark Twain who said that, not Abraham Lincoln. And to Ray Smith…I was there, I know what Frank said. And when another person pushed Frank on whether or not he was in favor of disbanding the town board Frank tried to have it both ways and started to get angry at the man who asked the question.
Were you there? .
Hello: Robert
I stand corrected it was indeed mark twain who said it.
And not my relative Abraham Lincoln.
If that is the biggest mistake i make in life, I will be okay.
But you still have not answered my question.
Why do you feel that i should not be elected ?????
I believe that i will be the best town board member this town has ever had.
Because i am truly for the people
The only reason that i think you feel that way is.
You must be for incorporation.
Or having your freedom of speech impeded.
Or maybe you like having the property tax cap raised.
Or in hard economic times you don’t mind buying Bill Kohlbarger a new vehicle.
AMY RICHES
The people of Pahrump are also about to loose 40 acres of property that sits right above the Winery & the houses in that area. The BLM leases the property to the Town of Pahrump for $1 a year.
If you drive up Winery Rd., there is a road that sits on the left side on Winery Rd. that is just before the Winery Development. There is a large wall there. It’s called Parsons Road if you look it up on Google.
Right where Parsons Rd. connects Winery Rd. with Industrial Rd. there is a curve. If you look towards Mt. Charleston and you are on the road between the end of the Winery Wall on Parson’s Rd. and the curve, you should see some large white plastic PVC pipes sticking up from the ground. The 40 acres starts from the end of the Winery wall on Parsons Rd. and goes 20 acres north and 20 acres east and again there are corner post up above the Winery you can see if you don’t believe me.
In 1999 or 2000 the BLM gave the Town of Pahrump 20 years to develop that 40 acres above the Winery into a public golf course or some other public use. The cost to the town would be to lease the property from the BLM for $1 a year and the Town had 20 years to develop it or it returns to the BLM for public auction.
So far there has been no mention of it from the Town Board, Town Manager. or the county as to what the Town or even County plans on doing with that property. I do remember there was once talk about Great Basin or some other public or state college building up there but that lost steam. They even mention a public golf course.
My idea is it that it would be cheaper to build than a them park, and the public would own the golf course. By using the Winery restaurant and doing some improvements, we could hope to have a good relationship between the Winery and the golf course. We could put the club house close to the Winery and that could be the starting area. It’s a beautiful piece of property and I would hate to loose it, especially when I see a great future for it. Even night golf. And I don’t even like golfing but I know the money it can bring to a community. Especially if they host golfing events.
All I know is the people who own property or just rent it in Pahrump will loose 40 acres of good property that sits on the fan above the Winery unless some of our public officials get their act together.
It make no sense to me for us to be wasting our money on building Them Parks in Pahrump and wasting money on studies when the biggest Them Park in the United States sits 65 miles east of Pahrump. Plus you are limited by the heat in Pahrump to even conceive that people will drive all the way to Pahrump to visits our “Them Park” when it’s 108 or hotter out. Unless they plan to build a them park in doors.
People use golf courses all year round and not Them Parks don’t. Plus we can have the kids use it to compete in school and have other schools come to use it. We could also look to adding a place like Scandia and other public uses like walking paths, parks and so many other types of public entertainment or use.
It’s just one idea and I think we should act on it quickly. If someone has a better one idea than mine then put it out there! We need something different that we know will work if managed it right. A public golf course that could be built up to be a top rated course over the years. Remember, we have 40 acres to work with.
WE NEED TO USE IT OR LOOSE IT SO THE BLM CAN NOT SELL OFF THE OF THE BEST PROPETY IN PAHRUMP TO PRIVATE COMPANIES OR PEOPLE. AND WE LOOSE 40 ACERS OF PRIME PROPERTY BECAUSE OF INCOMPENTANT GOVERMENT OFFICIALS.
We need rid of these bumbling useless, TAX RAISING AND SPENDING IDIOTS!!! THEN WE CAN LOWER OUR PROPERTY TAXES THAT OUR WONDERFUL BOARD RAISED EVER SO CONVENIENTLY!! TOWN TAXES, ON MY TAX BILL IT SAYS $1.49 FOR ROADS!! A DOLLAR FORTY NINE!! AND LIKE 600.00 FOR SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL DEBT!! I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE THE OTHER WAY AROUND. THE ROADS IN THIS TOWN ARE TERRIBLE!! AND NEED TO LOWER THE PAHRUMP TOWN TAXES TOO!! BUT THIS IS WHAT YOU GET WHEN YOU VOTE IN TAX AND SPEND DUMBO’S.
Hello: Christian
Thank You for making me aware of this.
If elected i will look into this.
AMY RICHES