Nye County entering negotiations for new Community Center
This month, Nye County commissioners authorized staff to begin negotiations for the first phase of construction on what will become the new Nye County Community Center at the Pahrump Fairgrounds.
A project more than 25 years in the making, the Pahrump Fairgrounds is located on a 427-acre parcel extending southeast from near the intersection of Highway 160 and E. Dandelion Street down to Gamebird Avenue. Throughout the last two and a half decades, the vision for everything that the property will include has evolved but one feature that has taken the main stage in recent years is the Nye County Community Center.
Commissioners had two design-build proposals to consider during their Nov. 15 meeting, one from Core/Knit and another for Korte Construction Company. Both companies provided bids for a multi-phase construction plan, with the first phase of development the focus of the commission’s discussion that afternoon. Core/Knit’s estimate for the first phase came in at around $11.47 million while Korte Construction’s was price tag was just over $7.26 million. Core/Knit’s proposal outlined a total cost of approximately $43.55 million for all phases and Korte Construction provided a figure of about $18.47 million to complete all phases.
It was the vast difference in these estimates that caught the attention, and hesitation, of commissioner Donna Cox.
“Well, there is a need for this facility in this area, there’s no doubt about… I’ve looked forward to seeing this facility built for years. I know we’ve piecemealed it but at least we’ve gotten somewhere – we’re not sitting where we were 10 years ago,” Cox remarked. However, she said she was concerned enough about the price gap that, “I’m really torn on this because something just seems off about the whole thing to me and I can’t quite put my finger on it.”
She was apparently alone in her concerns, though, as there was little other discussion to be had.
Commission chair Debra Strickland, who has championed the fairgrounds project since becoming a commissioner, handed the gavel over to vice chair Ron Boskovich so she could make the motion to award the bid to Korte with the specific amount of $7,266,825. But Nye County District Attorney Brian Kunzi quickly interjected.
“I think that’s premature, given the nature of this,” Kunzi advised. “I have a problem with you stating a number. If I could offer a motion that I think is appropriate – motion to award project to Korte Construction Company for construction of a civic/community center as the most qualified applicant, and direction to staff to begin negotiations for a contract.”
Finding this acceptable, Strickland made the motion to that effect and commissioner Frank Carbone offered a second.
“I’m going to be in support of this because A: we need it, drastically, for the community and B: it will not house homeless folks,” Boskovich added before calling for the vote.
The motion passed 4-1 with Cox the dissenting vote.
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
A brief history of the Pahrump Fairgrounds
The town of Pahrump received a Congressional land patent for the Pahrump Fairgrounds property in Sept. 1999.
The first element added to the area was the Pahrump Fireworks Safety Site, with a simple parking lot and fenced in open space to allow for residents and visitors to launch otherwise illegal fireworks.
To date, infrastructure such as a water and well system, sewer and wastewater system and detention basin, have been completed, along with the necessary drainage and flood control design plan and environmental assessment, all of which were funded through Community Development Block Grant dollars. With the help of Nevada Off-Highway Vehicles Program funding, an OHV Park is currently under development.
Due to a recent clarification by the Bureau of Land Management, a strip of the fairgrounds parcel that fronts Highway 160 has now been earmarked for commercial leasing, too, a move intended to bring revenue that will be used exclusively to continue the development at the fairgrounds.
In addition to these elements, the concept as it stands today includes the Nye County Community Center, sports fields for football, soccer and baseball, a rodeo and agricultural events center and a proposed oval dirt racetrack to replace the old Pahrump Speedway.
Various funding sources, such as American Rescue Plan Act grant dollars, Congressionally allocated funds, local room tax, Fireworks Safety Site permit sales and town of Pahrump funds, have been pooled to bear the cost of the fairgrounds development.
