Food service contract canceled at Pahrump jail

New Nye County Sheriff Sharon Wehrly was successful in her bid to cancel the inmate food service contract at the Pahrump jail, as a cost savings measure as the county looks to trim projected budget shortfalls.

Pahrump inmates will not be without a food and nutrition plan. Wehrly said she expects the Pahrump inmate nutrition program to operate similar to the one at the Tonopah jail. Wehrly explained that the county purchases the food and trustee-inmates prepare meals for the inmate population. The contract, she explained, is for the company to provide oversight of the processing and preparation of the food.

Commissioner Dan Schinhofen was the lone vote against the measure saying he could not support an undocumented plan that had no fiscal comparisons. “I’m loathe to cancel a contract without knowing what we are doing,” he said.

Schinhofen said that he believed the reason for the initial contract with Trinity Services Group, Inc., was to eliminate the need for salary and benefit package for a kitchen oversight position.

Wehrly cited the large difference between meal cost in Tonopah of $1.50 to $2 per meal, where there is no contract to that in Pahrump, where meal cost is nearly $5 per meal.

The contract cancellation clause requires a 90-day notice. Wehrly was directed by the commission to have a concrete plan, with figures, within that time frame.

Commission approves pot facility move to nearby location

The county commission also approved the relocation of a medical marijuana cultivation facility from Tillman Street to Oakridge Avenue in Pahrump.

County planning director Darrell Lacy told commissioners that both locations have existing special use permits and meet the requirements for medicinal marijuana establishments. Both locations have also received state approval, which permits relocation of a facility within a five-mile radius. Lacy told the board that Nye County seeks to mirror state regulations, and recommended the transfer of the special use permit from the Tillman Street property to the the Oakridge Avenue property.

The transfer will allow two facilities to operate at the Oakridge Avenue location. The operation of two medicinal marijuana facilities at the same location is not prohibited by Nye County code and the property is large enough to support both facilities, Lacy said.

The applicant, Tim Smits Vanoyen of CW Nevada, LLC, said the company has been granted a total of seven state licenses for the operation of three production facilities, three cultivation facilities and one dispensary.

In related business, commissioners approved a temporary beer and wine license for the Thai Coconut Bay Restaurant located at 270 Dahlia St. and an additional liquor license for the Dollar General Store at 2750 Highway 160.

In other county business:

• Henry Blackeye, Sr. was appointed to the Railroad Valley Advisory Board and John Koenig was appointed to the Regional Transportation Advisory Board. Both terms expire Dec. 2016.

• The board authorized the recruitment and interview for a vacant grant manager position at a county cost of $13,095.57. The position will not yet be filled.