Pahrump Fairgrounds ad hoc committee formation approved.

Whether residents are in favor of developing the property or not, the Pahrump Fairgrounds have been a hot topic in the valley in recent years as town and county officials work toward creating a recreational destination to serve both locals and visitors.

Just which elements will be incorporated and the order in which they should be developed has been an ever-changing landscape and now, residents will have the chance to get involved directly with that process.

At the Tuesday, June 2 meeting of the Nye County Commissioners, the board approved the formation of an ad hoc committee that will be charged with addressing the fairgrounds development, an action taken in an effort to ensure that the wishes of the public are taken into consideration.

The 427-acre Pahrump Fairgrounds was granted to the town of Pahrump via a Congressional Land Patent in 1999.

Over the years, many iterations and features have been proposed for this large property and as it stands today, the fairgrounds is home to the Pahrump Fireworks Safety Site as well as the beginnings of the Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) Park.

Officials are actively pursuing the addition of new fields for youth and adult sports, as well. Thanks to a clarification from the Bureau of Land Management in 2024 regarding the land patent’s reversionary clause, a swathe of fairgrounds property fronting Highway 160 could potentially become commercial development in the future, with any money generated to go toward supporting the fairgrounds.

However, the proposed new community/civics center, which has proven to be a sore point for certain residents, has been put on the back burner, with commissioners recently approving a redirection of all funds previously allocated for the center to other fairgrounds projects.

The request to form an ad hoc committee came from area residents Beth Borysewich and Maryann Hollis, both of whom have spoken many times at commission meetings on items relating to the fairgrounds.

“There was a pre-meeting yesterday with me and another lady in town [Hollis] and we spoke with commissioners [John] Koenig and [Debra] Strickland and the county manager,” Borysewich explained that morning. “We’re going to be talking about everything and we’re looking at putting together a town hall to get as many people in, so they can express their desires. But the first thing we need to do is, get the people who want to work on the committee to put in applications and then after that, we’ll have our first meeting and move on from there.”

“There would be an advertisement for people to sign up for this and then you, the board, would look through those applications and appoint the people you’d like to see,” Hollis said, adding, “And I will say this - to everyone who has been asking to see the half-million-dollar-plus design for the civic or community center, whatever you want to call it, it will now be made available. It’s been asked for and we’ve been told we will have it. So, that’s a start.”

Hollis had also broached the idea of a county commission liaison for the ad hoc committee but Strickland said she didn’t feel that would be necessary.

“They [ad hoc committees] don’t do agendas, they don’t spend money. They would bring ideas to the commissioners,” Strickland said, stressing, “I think that we need to be hands-off.”

“It’s very informal. It doesn’t have anything to do with open meeting laws or any of the rest of that stuff,” Koenig concurred.

Commissioner Ian Bayne agreed, as well, noting that he did not want one specific commissioner driving the committee or its direction.

“I hope that the people who are going to be interested in applying realize that ad hoc has different rules and regulations than another type of committee – advisory committee, elected committee, etcetera – and that it’s usually temporary,” commissioner Bruce Jabbour chimed in. “Once there are resolutions to the issues, ad hoc committees usually disband.”

Koenig made the motion to direct staff to form an ad hoc committee to advise on the development of the Pahrump Fairgrounds, with no liaison. The motion passed with all in favor.

As to how the new ad hoc committee will be filled, Nye County Public Communications Manager Arnold Knightly said the details are still being hammered out. Once the specifics are determined, additional information will be made available to the public.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com