The public hearings on the proposed federal detention center may be postponed until after the holidays, said Scott Stermer, assistant trustee of the procurement division for the U.S. Department of Justice.

Stermer conducted a public scoping meeting in Pahrump last June about the proposed 1,000 to 1,500 bed facility in which he outlined a fast track toward announcing a decision on the location.

Stermer told the sparse gathering at the Bob Ruud Community Center five months ago another public hearing would be scheduled after the draft environmental impact statement, which he estimated would take 45 days. Another hearing is to be scheduled after publication of the final EIS, which he estimated would take another 30 days to prepare.

"We are still in the evaluation phase. Basically it takes a little while, we have to do certain studies on the sites to make sure they can support a prison or a detention center," Stermer said.

"We have an aggressive schedule but some of the surveys are taking a little longer so we have not scheduled any hearings. It's a practice of ours not to hold public hearings during Christmas and New Year's because many people don't show up," he said.

"We want to ensure the public gets their chance to speak and sometimes during the holidays that isn't the best time when people are paying attention to what's going on. That may have an impact depending when we end up our studies and when we do the hearings."

Two of the five sites being proposed are on the northeast side of Pahrump, east of Highway 160. Nye County Commissioners July 18 approved the submission of a 40 acre parcel on Parque Avenue a half-mile east of Blagg Road and a 160 acre site not recommended by the Pahrump Regional Planning Commission, on East Mesquite Avenue and Power Line Road.

Other sites under consideration are in Apex, 20 miles northeast of Las Vegas and in Moapa Valley farther up Interstate 15. They must be within 75 miles of the Lloyd D. George Federal Building in Las Vegas.

Stermer told Pahrump residents based on past experiences a contractor operating a federal detention center could expect to spend $25 million to $28 million in the community on wages, with two-thirds of the personnel hired locally. Contractors would be required to pay at least $17.45 per hour for the lowest paid positions.

Pahrump Town Board Chairwoman Laurayne Murray said the site selection will probably be made in February. The day it's announced contractors will have 15 months to have it open, she said.