‘Blueberry farm’ to come back before board

A “farming project” proposed for the Pahrump Valley may return before the town board later this year.

Last summer, Julian Muller and Jeannie Vaughn presented the board with information on a proposed blueberry farm project.

Both are with Muller, Bohlin Associates, a firm founded in New Jersey.

This week Town Manager Susan Holecheck said the scope of the project has significantly changed since the pair first approached the town last June.

She noted that the proposal went well beyond what the town can legally offer to the firm.

“Originally they wanted about 10 acres and when we gave them some possible sites, all of a sudden I got a proposal back from them stating they want 59 acres for $2,000 a year. When we started talking logistics, they wanted that for 25 years. The town cannot lease land for that period of time without getting the land appraised. The town is also under an obligation not to lease for less than 75 percent of the appraised value,” she said.

The town manager also said she would prefer to see the firm take control on some of the chief elements involved in the project.

“I explained to them that somebody will have to pay to get the appraisal and I wouldn’t recommend a 25-year lease at $2,000 a year. After five years, they are saying that they will give us $100,000 or a percentage of profits, but again, we have to wait five years for that,” she said.

Holecheck noted another issue that will play a significant role in the proposal is the issue of alluvial fan water rights east of State Route 160.

“Our attorney was on the phone with their attorney stating they are going to need fan water rights but their attorney said they didn’t know what fan water rights were. We don’t have fan water rights and more importantly, the water rights that we have, we are already using. We need them for Kellogg Park, the fairgrounds and everything else so we don’t really have water rights for them. If they can buy water rights from somewhere else, that’s fine because it’s up to them,” she said.

Town Board Chair Harley Kulkin said the group expressed an interest in property on the far north end of the valley but the issue of water appears to be a problem.

“The town owns those parcels but they didn’t understand the fan water rights. I am told the town doesn’t have fan water rights. The town does have valley floor water rights. You can use fan water rights on the valley floor but you cannot take floor water rights up here. They have to purchase and that might be more money than what they are prepared to pay,” he said.

The chairman also noted that the proposal as it stands is not exactly “dead in the water.”

“We are still going back and forth with some additional ideas so it’s not a dead issue but when we say something to them, it seems like it takes a long time for them to respond but they still have an interest,” he said.

Holecheck, meanwhile, said there are still too many questions that need to be answered before the project can move forward again.

“I was tasked with bringing it back by the end of February but I am absolutely unable to bring it back until some of these questions are answered. The property in question has no roads and somebody has to build the roads to transport the blueberries. We are not going to build a road for them for $2,000 a year. I am just trying to be cautious and not give away the farm,” she said.

Requests for comment from Muller, Bohlin Associates about the proposal were unsuccessful by press time.

When the group first proposed their plan it looked as if they were not really in the business of growing blueberries but instead were offering various grant-writing efforts in exchange for a fee.

The town can write grants for itself without paying outsiders to do it for them, officials say. However, town board member Bill Dolan has repeatedly pushed to move the blueberry idea forward despite reservations by some officials who report that anecdotal evidence suggests the proposal is a potential economic development scam a la Adventure Springs, which cost taxpayers $350,000.