A third grant of $198,400 was accepted by Nye County commissioners last week to help pay for infrastructure at the Pahrump/Nye County fairgrounds.

The grant will be added to two grants of the same size already received.

Pahrump Town Manager Dave Richards said the grants are fairly open-ended and are meant just for infrastructure development. Together, the three grants make up almost $600,000.

"We're trying to build up the bank so we can do something significant out there," Richards said.

The 426-acre property has sat vacant since it was deeded to the town by congressional action in 1998.

Last month, Michael A. Jenkins, president of Leisure and Recreation Concepts Inc. (LARC) made a presentation to the town board about a possible water park and western theme village on the site. A Knoxville, Tenn., consultant hired in 2000, Bullock Smith and Associates, had presented plans that included soccer fields, a rodeo arena and Little League diamonds.

Richards said the town board asked that the two previous grants be held until it decides to move ahead on fairground development.

Richards said he will soon bring a proposal to the board to hire consultant Mary Ellen Giampaoli to perform an environmental assessment. Nye County Natural Resources Director Jim Marvel reported the fairgrounds would be removed from a zone requiring desert tortoise mitigation -- a significant step since mitigation fees amount to $754 per acre.