After receiving just one bid that far exceeds the budget allocated for the Pahrump Fairgrounds Water System, Nye County officials have decided not to take the outside contractor route and will instead move forward with the project in-house.
The town of Pahrump and Nye County have been working to develop the Pahrump Fairgrounds property for several years and much of the construction that has taken place has been funded with dollars from the Community Development Block Grant program.
Nearly $600,000 has already been spent on items such as an environmental assessment and drainage study, as well as the construction of a detention basin. The next steps involve the establishment of a sewer and wastewater system and a water and well system. Both projects have block grant monies just waiting to be put to work, with $147,225 awarded to the county for the sewer system and a further $500,000 awarded for the water system.
During its Tuesday, Oct. 4 meeting, the Nye County Commission addressed an agenda item regarding the awarding of the fairgrounds water system contract. However, with the sole bid, from Double M Construction, coming in at over $1.3 million, it was clear from the start that the project would need to be tackled another way.
“Let’s talk about what we do know,” commissioner Debra Strickland stated as the item was opened. “We do know that this is too high a price tag because we have about $500,000 worth of grants… We do know that superintendent Darrin Tuck, who is here with us, built our current system that is operational at what you know as your park, Petrack Park. He did that system in-house, himself, and he believes that he can do that like and kind with the money we have.”
Nye County Utilities Superintendent Darrin Tuck confirmed that Strickland was correct, remarking, “I was shocked at the numbers on this.”
Tuck noted that in 2018 when the town was looking to redo the water system at Petrack Park, the situation was very similar, with only one bid submitted, also nearly double the allotted budget. At that time, the decision was made to utilize county staff for the upgrades and Tuck said he was able to complete that project within the given budget. “I think we can do that again with this. I think we can get right in the $500,000 range,” he said.
Reassured that the fairgrounds water system project could be successfully handled by county staff, commissioner Leo Blundo made the motion to reject the bid of $1,369,825 and direct staff to pursue the project in-house, which passed unanimously.
The Pahrump Fairgrounds consists of 427 acres of land southeast of Highway 160 and E. Dandelion Street. The property currently acts as a venue for the Pahrump Fireworks Shoot Site and future development calls for sports fields, a rodeo arena, a large community center and more.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com