MARK WAITE / PVT One side of the sign marking the site of the Nye County Fairgrounds, erected in December, 2000, is still visible from Highway 160. Clearly no substantive work has been performed to bring the original dream to reality. Advertisement

When it comes to the Nye County Fairgrounds project, Pahrump Town Board member John McDonald envisioned a scenario that seemed to evoke the movie "Ground Hog Day."

In the plot to that comedy starring Bill Murray, the actor wakes up and every day is the same.

"My worry is we'll still be sitting here six to eight years from now talking about this," McDonald said.

The Pahrump Town Board took a couple baby steps toward completion of the project at a special meeting Saturday morning. They voted 4-0 to authorize town economic development coordinator Al Balloqui to ask the U.S. Bureau of Land Management if the town could use 10 acre feet of donated, quasi-municipal water rights for the facility. They also asked Balloqui to work with consultant Mike Jenkins, who is preparing a town tourism marketing study.

Ralph Purdy, who first came up with the idea of a county fairgrounds in Pahrump back in 1996, can empathize with that feeling of Ground Hog Day. U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D.-Nev., sponsored an amendment to a congressional funding bill in 1998 transferring the 426 acres for the fairgrounds.

"We need to make this a realization," Purdy said. "It's time now to put our money where our mouth is."

Purdy predicted, "It would be the biggest attraction in Nye County."

Scott Tibbits, a member of the arena committee, said the McCullough Arena is being used 39 out of 52 weekends in the year. He said Nye County could build a better facility than the Clark County Fairgrounds in Logandale.

Fairgrounds committee member Ed Hanson urged the board, "If nothing else is approved, buy water rights. We've been saying this for five years."

Hanson said his committee in the past suggested the town buy such rights. But he added, "Every time we came up with water rights the town board sat on it."

Meanwhile, the cost of water rights has gone up from $1,100 per acre foot to $12,500 per acre foot in the last offer.

Philip Huff said he attended a few fairgrounds meetings.

"I was enraged to see the agenda to see possible abandonment," Huff said. "It's priceless and it's years and years and years of good intentions. It's a real shame to see it go away."

Balloqui thought the project could be resurrected, like Punxsutawney Phil raising his head on Feb. 2. The requirements aren't as stringent on the conveyance of land by congressional action, Balloqui said. Normally federal land must be put to use within five years or it would be lost. The town has contracted a study with Civilwise Engineering to design an exterior perimeter road, as a sign it's doing something with the property.

"We have done things to show we're in good standing," Balloqui said.

Water and sewer lines are being extended near the proposed site, Balloqui said. There's a possibility of using gray water from the Mountain Falls project, he added.

"If we were able to get it started today I'd say we'd be looking at a five- to eight-year project," Balloqui said. He described the fairgrounds as "our greatest hope for economic development."

The town should look at increasing the rates for using an arena at the fairgrounds site, he said. The town board could look at developing 100 acres initially, asking, "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

Balloqui said there have been suggestions for a Cooperstown Field of Dreams, based on the Baseball Hall of Fame; an American West Old Town; or a water park on the site. But McDonald said a public-partnership wouldn't be possible under the federal legislation.

Even Balloqui's update presentation addressed the thorny issue of desert tortoise mitigation, though he said there's been talk about redrawing the boundaries of desert tortoise habitat.

Lou Holveck, past chairman of the fairgrounds advisory committee, said the town can't even drill a well in the ground yet because of a letter from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection about the water rights Holveck said his committee fought with Nye County Public Works Director Samson Yao, who wanted to use the 420 acres for a drainage basin.

The five-acre soccer fields alone would require 25 acre feet of water, Holveck said, a $312,500 cost at current prices. Holveck suggested the town build the amphitheater in the first phase. Other portions of the fairgrounds would be used for a rodeo arena, the Fall Festival and ball fields.

"I put together an estimate of expenditures that are going to have to be spent before you have an event and it's something on the order of $12 million," Holveck said.

The major six-digit expenses would be building the main roads, $2.25 million; constructing the exhibit building, $2 million; utility work, $1.5 million; sodding the fields, $1 million and building the amphitheater, $1 million.

Pahrump Town Manager Dave Richards said Nye County already committed $1 million to the project, of which they transferred $250,000 to the town to buy water rights. The county earmarked $300,000 in funds from Payment Equal to Taxes for water wells and $400,000 for fairgrounds development. There will be a push for $700,000 in congressional funding to help develop the project.

The town's 2006 budget lists $161,033 in room tax revenue collected towards the fairgrounds project with another $140,000 earmarked for that purpose in the current year budget. The town picked up another $25,000 from the fall festival.

"There is no plan at this time to develop the whole 420 acres. The plan from day one to develop this project is 100 to 120 acres," Holveck said. "There are additional portions of land that have been in reserve for a community center, performing arts center, things of that nature.

"Participation from the festival committee was absolutely zero. That's one of the hang-ups in the layout," he said.

While McDonald said the fairgrounds project was a good project and doable, town board Chairman Laurayne Murray said the town realizes the potential of the fairgrounds once it's built but hasn't found anyone to provide the $12 million.

Fairgrounds committee member Karen Spalding wanted the town to hire a project manager. But Murray said, "We're going to tell everybody in town you guys are asking for a consultant."

Murray asked town board members if they wanted to keep taking steps forward with the fairgrounds project or abandon it.

"It's definitely not affordable as a town project," Murray said.

Holveck suggested in that case, "There are a multitude of developers that would be happy to pay BLM millions of dollars for that property."