The Pahrump Incorporation Advisory Board appointed two new officers after accepting two resignations.

Charlie Gronda, former chairman, proffered his resignation for health reasons.

In addition, Margaret Long, alternate, also resigned.

The loss of two members did not stunt the continued progress of the board, however, as it continues to tackle the gargantuan task of completing an incorporation feasibility study.

Robert Aberle was quickly voted in as the new chairman, and Darce Wilson was elected to be the new vice chairman.

Having appointed the new officers, the group quickly got back to work, breaking up the mountain of tasks to be completed into more manageable segments by forming subcommittees.

Contrary to what some may believe, the board was not created to promote or advocate incorporation.

In actuality, as its mission statement puts it, the new panel is assigned "to act in an advisory capacity to the Pahrump Town Board and town citizens to develop information needed to make a decision as to remaining unincorporated or to incorporate the existing town of Pahrump."

The board plans to do this by compiling a feasibility study to present to the town board.

The study will include the town's history and background, including demographics (current and projected), an overview of the legal requirements to incorporate, prior incorporation attempts, and studies of other Nevada towns that took the leap into cityhood such as Elko, Mesquite and Fernley.

In addition, the study will explore the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating.

The legal subcommittee (Aberle and Wilson) gave the board a time-line of issues that must be addressed for incorporation.

The two board members recommended that emergency services (such as police and fire stations), street maintenance, water, sewage, and garbage services be addressed first.

"Let's tackle the big ones first," Aberle said.

As such, Bill Verbeck and Aberle will research police services and departments, Wilson and Billy Toler will be looking into water management and Bob Irving and Janice Painter will examine street maintenance.

While forming the subcommittees, the board's purpose in acquiring this information was repeatedly brought back up.

All board members said they merely want to answer fundamental questions about incorporation, not the least of which include funding.

For example, if Pahrump were to incorporate, would it contract service out from the Nye County Sheriff's Office, or would it be cheaper to form its own independent police department?

If the town were to incorporate, would there be additional revenue available for street maintenance?

How would the town, if it became a city, handle infrastructure and utilites? How much would infrastructure cost to establish?

Ultimately, the advisory board's recommendation to its parent panel of whether or not incorporation is feasible at all will be contingent on the answer to these and many other questions.

Fortunately, the board is not without the knowledge history has to offer.

A technical report from the University of Nevada, Reno titled "Legal and Economic Considerations for Incorporation of Nevada Towns" has been distributed to all the members and is expected to be useful as the board continues working.

In addition, the incorporation efforts of Fernley and Mesquite will be closely examined.

One thing is certain: even this early in the process, the board members have plenty of work cut out for them.

The next meeting will be Nov. 5 in Pahrump Town Annex at 7 p.m.