Owners of A Child's Play Learning Center will be allowed to almost double enrollment at the child-care facility with the addition of a pre-school after action by the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission Wednesday.

Donald and Rachel Puckett received a conditional use permit to open A Child's Play, at 1081 Mount Charleston Drive, in August 2003. They received another conditional use permit for the addition last week. The property is located in a neighborhood master planned as medium-density residential.

The Pucketts submitted a map of reversion to combine two properties into one. They plan to add four classrooms for a pre-school onto the rear of the child care center. Each classroom will be capable of holding 20 children.

Donald Puckett said the facility will be able to hold up to 165 children; they currently have a license with the state for a capacity of 85.

RPC Chairman Mark Kimball said the child-care facility is in a good location, unlike other such facilities in residential zones that have had problems with county planners. Mount Charleston Drive is an access road to Pahrump Valley High School and the Pahrump Boys and Girls Club.

Operating hours of the child care facility are from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. The pre-school will include two to three hours of instruction per day, three days per week. Children ages 3 to 5 will be able to attend. Rachel Puckett said there will be teachers on hand rather than televised instruction.

The Pucketts estimate the addition will generate 100 more vehicle trips per day into the child care center.

A former schoolmaster, Kimball, however, had questions about educational certification for the pre-school.

Rachel Puckett said it would be a certified pre-school. In her application, she wrote there's only one other licensed pre-school outside of a private residence, which is affiliated with the Pahrump Community Church. The Nye County School District also operates a pre-school program for delayed learners and students studying English as a second language called Early Start.

"We're not a licensed pre-school, we are a child care center," she said. "We wanted to be able to meet the needs of the masses. We're hoping to give more options for pre-school."

Rachel Puckett said she is applying for the pre-school license with the Nevada Bureau of Services for Child Care. The classrooms are expected to be completed by mid-2008.

The enrollment at the child care is a little under the current capacity, Rachel Puckett said, due to the slowdown in the economy and construction jobs.

"We don't have a waiting list. That's not why we're doing the addition," she said. "We're doing it to keep A Child's Play on a fast track, moving forward."