Nye County officials have heeded the community’s request to “let there be light” at Petrack Park.
On Tuesday night, Pahrump and county officials were set to host an official “park lighting” ceremony at 8 p.m. with two local softball teams holding nighttime practice on the baseball diamond, 150 North Highway 160.
The lighting project has been an ongoing effort for roughly 10 years.
“Actually, we were a little ahead of the estimated deadline for completing the project,” Town of Pahrump Buildings and Grounds Manager Matt Luis said. “About two Thursdays ago, the crews were ready to put in the light posts, but they could not set the light posts due to the high winds that we had blowing through the valley, but now, it is all done.”
To get the project started, Nye County commissioners approved a $429,000 bid from Pahrump’s Industrial Light and Power for the replacement of poles and lighting at the park next to Bob Ruud Community Center.
That bid was paid for from Pahrump’s town fund.
Two other firms, Mesquite Electric and American Southwest Electric also submitted bids for $465,000 and $514,016, respectively.
Luis said the latest lighting project follows a previous lighting installation effort, which was completed several years ago at the park.
“When we did the lighting project on Field C, this lighting project was already in the pipeline, and we brought in a switch gear and everything else for this lighting system,” he said. “We are actually adding to what we had planned five years ago. We had this in mind when we installed the lights on the C field about five years ago. It has been on our hot list for the better part of 10 years. Now we can scratch that off our list.”
NO MONIES IAN DEUTCH PARK LIGHTING YET
Luis also spoke of efforts for lighting at the skateboard section of Pahrump’s Ian Deutch Memorial Park.
He said no monies have yet to be allocated for the lighting at the skate park on Honeysuckle Street.
For several years, Pahrump residents have been trying to raise money for the park as the venue currently lacks infrastructure.
Many members of the community over the years have expressed their wishes to have lighting provided for park-goers in the evening hours.
“As far as getting lights installed at Ian Deutch Memorial Park skateboard area, that has not been budgeted that I know of,” he said. “Right now we are just starting to do the budget so I’m not saying that it’s on or off the budget.”
Additionally, Luis commented on a comment made by a Pahrump resident during a recent commission meeting, who questioned why county officials were merely upgrading Petrack Park’s lights.
“He was really kind of confused why we are upgrading the lighting and not addressing the skate park,” Luis said. “This was not an upgrading project. We need to keep in mind and that after July of last year, when we had a set of cross arms on the one field blow off the pole and actually crash to the ground, that field was shut down where the adult softball league could not even finish their season.”
“I just want to make sure that folks realize we are making the lighting better. This is something that had to be done, and it’s been on my radar for over 10 years,” Luiz said.
Pahrump Valley Times reporter Daria Sokolova contributed to this story.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes