New town signage now welcomes drivers

Drivers coming to and going from the town of Pahrump are now greeted by all new signage bearing the phrases, “Welcome to Pahrump - true Nevada” and “Thank You For Visiting”, with each of the eight new, modernized signs crafted in the town’s branded color scheme of orange and blue and placed at all of the entrances and exits to the valley.

The new welcome signs project was initiated early this year by the town of Pahrump Tourism Department when tourism director Arlette Ledbetter approached the Nye County Commission, sitting as the governing board for the town, to have a new design selected.

At that time, Ledbetter said her department was anticipating a grant to help fund the project but once the COVID-19 pandemic hit Nevada, that had all changed.

“The tourism department had applied to the Nevada Commission on Tourism for a Projects Related to Tourism grant. The grant cycle was deemed incomplete due to COVID-19 and room tax having fallen dramatically,” Ledbetter explained for the Pahrump Valley Times. “In the meantime, this project was moved to capital improvements projects for the town of Pahrump because it was important to our Nye County Board of County Commissioners and our community to have the entryway beautification. Our original signs had deteriorated with sun damage over the many years.”

The new signs are eight feet tall by 12 feet wide and made of 0.080 aluminum that has been electrostatic coated for protection. They came at a cost of $30,708.19 and were paid for out of the town of Pahrump’s General Fund Capital Project Fund.

There was also an additional invoice for reflective tape, which Ledbetter said was paid from state room tax funds. That invoice came to a total of $3,892 and covers reflective vinyl for all of the white lettering on each of the eight signs, making the words much easier to see when driving past the signs at night.

“The artwork for this project was created by Braintrust Marketing and Communications through the Pahrump Tourism Department, Pahrump Tourism Advisory Committee and Board of County Commissioner liaison John Koenig.

The project was approved by the Nye County Board of County Commissioners with High Impact Signs being awarded the bid for sign creation and installation,” Ledbetter detailed.

She also noted that High Impact had generously upgraded the signage from vinyl to automotive paint for no cost to the town of Pahrump, for which she and her department were very appreciative. With proper annual maintenance via wax coating, the paint on the aluminum panels will have a seven-year warranty.

The new signs were installed around town on Monday, Dec. 7. Town and county officials, along with members of the media, were invited out to watch as the very first sign to be replaced, located just east of Manse Road on Highway 160, was removed and the brand new sign secured to the existing base.

“We are excited to have our beautiful new welcome signs in place,” Ledbetter said following the event. “This gateway beautification project adds a sense of community pride for our residents and it’s also an important first impression to our visitors.”

Commissioner Koenig was onsite for the placement of the first new sign as well and he was obviously pleased to see the culmination of a project that has been in the works all year. “These signs replace ones that were at least 10 years old, sun-faded and dirty. They are new colors and a new design, approved by the Pahrump Tourism board after asking the public and others to chime in. They should greatly enhance the entrance and exit to/from Pahrump for our tourists,” Koenig stated.

The signs are in place at each of the entrances and exits to Pahrump, including North Highway 160, South Highway 160, West Bell Vista Road and West Highway 372.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com