How much will the Nye County Community Center Cost? Officials will soon find out.

How much is it going to cost to build the new Nye County Community/Civics Center?

It’s a question that’s been preying on the minds of many residents lately but as officials pointed out this week, that figure cannot be nailed down until an actual design for the facility is agreed upon. With a $581,000 contract in place, the formal design delineating the detailed specs is now expected to be ready this summer.

The community center is intended to be a main feature of the Pahrump Fairgrounds, which has been on the docket since the late 1900s when the town of Pahrump received a congressional land patent for the 427-acre property extending southwest from Highway 160 near East Dandelion Street to Gamebird Avenue. Several million dollars has already been invested in developing the property but aside from the Fireworks Shooter Safety Site, the expenditures have focused on infrastructure needed to support the overall development, such as flood control plans, water and sewer.

The community center design and preconstruction services contract went before the Nye County Commission on Wednesday, Feb. 19. Nye County Manager Brett Waggoner, who formerly headed the Nye County Planning Dept., provided an overview of the item.

“A few months ago, the board… had selected this company to move forward with,” Waggoner stated, referring to the commission’s November 2024 vote in favor of the Korte Company as the community center-design builder.

“The design is important because without a design, we can’t figure out what it’s actually going to cost, to determine if we’ve set aside enough funds or if we would have to do more fundraising,” Waggoner explained. “This is just step one, to figure out if it’s even a feasible project to move forward with at this time. It does not authorize starting construction or anything like that.”

“So, it’s going to cost us half a million dollars to find out what it’s going to cost us,” commissioner John Koenig remarked sardonically. “I know what my vote is.”

He was not the only one critical of the item, either, with much public comment aired against the project and his fellow board member, commissioner Ian Bayne, announcing his opposition as well. However, Bayne said he felt he had no power to stop the project in its tracks and therefore, he would not be voting on the item at all.

Commissioner Debra Strickland was obviously frustrated by the pushback, asserting that she did not understand why there were so many questions being asked.

“I realize there were two members who were not sitting on the board when we decided to build this facility,” Strickland said. “Three of us were present and we decided that we were going to move forward with phase one… That was the determination that we made as a board prior.”

“And keep in mind also that this design-build is far-reaching, it will address a whole lot of other issues for much of that [fairgrounds] property,” commission chair Ron Boskovich interjected. “So, you’re either going to do something or you’re going to do nothing.”

Strickland made the motion to approve the design and preconstruction contract in the amount of $581,343 and commissioner Bruce Jabbour, after an extended pause, offered a second. The motion passed 3-1-1 with Koenig voting against and Bayne abstaining.

The contract outlines milestone dates of Aug. 25 for 100% design completion, Sept. 19 for submission of the design-builder proposal and Oct. 10 for the issuance of permits. If all continues to move forward, completion of phase one of the facility is pegged for July 2026.

“Once the final design, drawings and specifications have been completed, a design-build amendment must be executed to award the contractor a Guaranteed Maximum Price for the construction phase of the project,” county staff noted.

Previous coverage on the Nye County Community Center concept and the Pahrump Fairgrounds overall is available at pvtimes.com

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com