Coronavirus block grant proposals presented

Nye County is in the midst of another Community Development Block Grant process, this time with the grant program focusing solely on projects that are specific to mitigating or responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Entitled the Community Development Block Grant - Coronavirus, the program is better known simply as CDBG-CV. This particular portion of the CDBG program focuses on rounds two and three of the program, with round one already having been completed in 2020. Under round two of CDBG-CV funding, a total of $9.96 million has been made available in Nevada and Nye County has already been guaranteed $208,221 of that amount. The round three funding provides $2.47 million in funds to the state and though Nye County did not receive a direct allocation in that round, it can still submit applications requesting funding from the third round.

Nye County is allowed to submit two applications on its own behalf and sponsor two on behalf of another entity for each round, for a total of eight applications. Throughout the past month, Nye County commissioners have addressed three items relating to the program, including one to introduce the CDBG-CV program and two during which project proposals were presented.

The first of the project presentation meetings took place during the commissioners’ meeting on Jan. 20.

Tonopah Administrative Manager Chris Mulkerns kicked off the item by detailing the pre-application submitted by the town.

“In Tonopah there is a need to provide an adequate emergency location that will enable us to prevent, prepare for and respond to the effects of any emergency, but specifically during the current pandemic situation,” Mulkern stated. “The Tonopah Convention Center could be used to accommodate testing, vaccination distribution in response to the prevention and mitigation of the coronavirus in our community. With the emergency power that a generator would provide, this facility could provide continuation of such services in the event of a prolonged power outage. It could also provide a socially-distanced shelter, with sufficient heating or cooling for those who must have power to operate medically required equipment. It would also provide needed refrigeration of medication in the kitchen facility and sufficient bathroom facilities in an emergency.”

The town of Tonopah’s request comes with a price tag of approximately $150,000.

Mike Cottingham, of Amargosa Valley, which had submitted three applications for the program, was not on hand for the meeting but Nye County Grants Administrator Samantha Kramer provided a brief overview of what that town was applying for.

“The first… is the emergency generator for the community complex. The estimated cost of the project is $124,500. Their second request was the HVAC system for the community center with an estimated cost of $86,800 and the third is the fire department tender, with an estimated cost of $190,000,” Kramer stated.

A fifth pre-application was submitted by Dave Hall with Amargosa Seniors Inc. That group was seeking $45,000 in order to renovate the commodities distribution building in Amargosa Valley.

“For those of you who don’t know, we (Amargosa Seniors Inc.) privatized about five years ago and put our own facility up. We started a second facility, with the support of commissioners, in 2018 and we built an 1,800-square-foot steel building to distribute commodities to the people in Amargosa,” Hall explained. “We also have an area where we can put facilities for bathrooms and showers. We have, in our community, a lot of people who need a place to do laundry, a place to take a shower.”

Hall said there are roughly 137 families, accounting for about 539 residents or 40% of the total population, that are supplied food every month through the commodities distribution building, statistics that clearly show that such a project would in fact benefit low-to moderate-income individuals and families, which is one of the objectives of the CDBG-CV program.

There were also two pre-applications submitted by departments within Nye County, including one focusing on emergency generators for multiple locations, submitted by the Nye County Department of Emergency Management and Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Services. The second would benefit multiple county departments and calls for no-touch locks on county buildings, which would allow staff and elected officials access to the buildings without having to punch in a code or use a traditional key. The emergency generators would come at a cost of $36,000 each and with nine total locations selected, the total would be $328,680. The no-touch locks would be a bit more pricey at a total of $608,850.

The second round of project presentations took place on Feb. 2 with just one presenter, Richard Minch, deacon at Our Lady of the Valley Roman Catholic Church.

“Some of you know, we are committed at our parish to building a life center building at our location at Pahrump Valley Boulevard and Gamebird Road,” Minch told commissioners. “Nye County has informed us that if we want to build a new building at our location or to make any changes to our existing structures, we have to increase our stored water capacity. In this instance, we have 20,000 gallons of stored water capacity and we have to go to 40,000 gallons stored water capacity.”

Minch said the project would not only allow the church to better care for people’s spiritual needs and potentially help to increase the ability of the church to conduct its low-cost fish fry meals, it would also offer a benefit to the surrounding area, as it could provide water in the event of a fire. This, therefore, could result in an increase in economic development, Minch said. The total cost for the church’s water storage project comes to roughly $171,000.

Each of the pre-applications will now be sent to CDBG-CV officials for an eligibility review and all projects determined to be eligible will be up for prioritization next month. During the Nye County Commission’s Tuesday, March 2 meeting, the commissioners will decide which projects will take precedence and for which round of funding they will be submitted.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com