Is the Pahrump Splash Pad project moving forward?

Two and a half years after town and county officials held a ceremonial turning of the dirt at what will become Pahrump’s first splash pad and more than nine months since the contract for the project was awarded, construction is now finally underway.

The new splash pad, slated for Simkins Park on the northern end of the valley, has been a longstanding desire of local residents, particularly families with children, as well as a project town and county staff have been working toward for several years. Members of Pahrump Mother’s Corner brought the idea to the forefront in June 2023. Just a few months later, the project took its first major step forward, with a $50,000 T-Mobile Hometown Grant awarded to support the splash pad endeavor. With that grant secured, a formal announcement was held in October 2023.

Hopes were to have the new community amenity ready for use by the following summer but the project stalled when officials rejected two construction bids in May 2024. These bids, from CG&B Enterprises and Oasis WaterPlayGrounds Inc., had come in at $1,070,032 and $250,000, respectively. However, the bid from Oasis WaterPlayGrounds was deemed unresponsive as it was missing numerous key documents, leaving CG&B the only bidder. But the more than $1 million price tag from that company was far above the amount that had been budgeted for the project and it, too, was rejected. Officials then instructed staff to more clearly define the scope of the project and go back out to bid.

By February 2025, the town had issued its new Request for Qualifications but this, too, did not have the result that officials were looking for and yet another company was sought. Ultimately, Great Western Installations, which already had a contract in place with the city of Charlotte, North Carolina, submitted an RFP and on July 1, a contract in the amount of $299,349.32 was awarded to that company. Covering the cost of the project are the T-Mobile Hometown Grant and the town of Pahrump Capital Improvement Fund.

In February, the Pahrump Valley Times reached out to Nye County Public Communications Manager Arnold Knightly for an update on the status of the splash pad project, with Knightly explaining that the town was waiting for equipment to be delivered. It wasn’t long afterward that construction crews began excavating the plot of land at Simkins Park that had been selected for the splash pad and the bones of what will become Pahrump’s newest recreational facility are now visible.

“Construction is underway for the splash pad. New chemical tanks and under-plumbing are installed,” Knightly told the Times on Monday, April 6.

As for the anticipated completion date, Knightly said this is currently unknown, remarking, “The timeline is flexible right now, so nothing is etched in stone.”

When finished, the Simkins Park Splash Pad will be 1,500 square feet in size with a 3,000-gallon water tank and water filtration system located on the western edge of the park. Great Western Installations will be using features from AquaWorx, a company specializing in the manufacture of aquatic play equipment, to include items such as a raining post, arching ground sprays, spider ground sprays, an aqua bubbler and geyser ground sprays.

When it comes to the location of the new splash pad, which is several miles from the center of town, the reason for this choice was two-fold. First, it will give residents on the northern end of town something close to their homes to enjoy. Second, and perhaps the biggest factor in the decision, the recreational water facility is not being built at a more centrally located park, such as Petrack Park, because of the presence of homeless individuals who might start using the facility for their bathing needs.

Watch for the announcement of an official opening date for the Simkins Park Splash Pad in an upcoming edition of the Times.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com