An environmental survey concluded that 40 acres of county owned property on East Mesquite Avenue would be an acceptable site for a 1,000 bed federal detention facility, Nye County Manager Ron Williams told commissioners Wednesday.

The commission had hired environmental consultant Mary Ellen Giampaoli to do a $40,000 phase one environmental survey on the site.

Town officials also have been talking to contractors about building on a couple of parcels of town land. The town is allowing those contractors to perform their own environmental surveys to present to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Representatives of three companies that build detention facilities were on hand Wednesday as Nye County commissioners voted to set an April 18 hearing on a bill that would set up a new community facilities zone.That would permit such a facility to be built in Pahrump under the zoning code. It would also strike a provision mandating a 50,000-foot distance between a correctional facility and the nearest residence.

The April 18 approval date would be in time to meet the April 30 deadline for companies to submit their proposed site locations and phase one environmental studies to the U.S. Department of Justice.

"I don't think we actually have to be zoned today for any of the contractors to do the environmental phase one surveys," Williams told commissioners.

The county would like to take the opportunity of the building of a federal detention center to get more county jail beds built.

But earlier this month, Williams recommended the county not try to bid on building the federal detention center itself. That option was disregarded, since Nye County concluded it didn't have the experience to compete with contractors already established in the industry nor the revenues to construct it.

This week Williams also shot down a recommendation to join with the U.S. Department of Justice in revising the soliciting to include a proposal to build county beds as well as those for federal detainees.

"The county would be relinquishing control of the inmates while they're being controlled by the contractors. There's questions whether it would be possible to negotiate such an agreement or contract under the statutes," Williams said. "And there might be a high risk from an insurance standpoint."

Williams added, however, that the statutes do allow Nye County to sign inter-local agreements to put inmates in jails in other counties and cities.

"We're going to be asking the district attorney's office can we put them in a privately-owned, contracted jail," he said.

Williams held out the possibility a third option was still worth exploring: forming a partnership with a successful contractor to get a better deal for the county. He suggested hiring a consultant to deal with the private companies, a cost that could be absorbed into the project.

"The negotiations with the contractors are going to be very intricate and very complicated. I certainly believe that it would be in our best interest to at least speak with someone who has experience in this area," Nye County Comptroller Pam Webster said. "This is an area new to us. This is a huge project and we want to make sure it's done properly and we cover all the bases."

Pahrump Town Board Chairman Laurayne Murray said there would be a tremendous impact financially from a detention center. Construction costs of $75 million to $80 million would generate $5 million in sales taxes; there would be 200 to 250 jobs, most of which would pay salaries of over $50,000 per year among a total payroll of $9 million per year; property taxes, or payment in lieu of taxes would generate $800,000 per year, and operational costs would infuse the local economy with over $33 million in new income for local businesses.

"Time is of the essence," Murray said. "It's not just competitive communities within Pahrump, it's competitive communities within southern Nevada. It's urgent we take some action if we want to stay in the competition."

Murray said North Las Vegas is aggressively seeking the project. Laughlin and Bullhead City, Ariz. are also competing, but less aggressively.

After the meeting, Murray said the cheaper price of land makes Pahrump Valley look attractive, but when the cost of installing all the infrastructure is added, the cost savings may not be as great. Then there's the cheaper operating cost of only having to drive 15 miles to the Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse from a sight in the Las Vegas Valley instead of 75 miles from Pahrump.

The Mesquite Avenue site would be five miles from infrastructure, Murray said, making it more cost-prohibitive.

The two sites the town is proposing would only be one mile away, she said.

Companies that build prisons wouldn't disclose any other locations they were considering for the detention facility outside of Pahrump Valley.

Ken Fortier, representing The Geo Group Inc., one of the contractors, said there's only two issues his company looks for in building a federal detention center: community acceptance and the availability of a competent work force.

"Our primary focus is right here. We've been here for some time," said Brad Wiggins, Corrections Corporation of America senior director of site acquisition and development.

Wiggins' associate, Chris Ferrari, government and public affairs deputy director for R&R Partners, said there was a Las Vegas newspaper article recently in which judges expressed concern about the infrastructure in Pahrump. But he said, "Pahrump is an ideal location."

Representatives of a third company on the scene, Cornell Companies Inc., said a 40 acre site like that on Mesquite Avenue would be sufficient. A 50 acre site would be even better.