The town board will have its first meeting of the new year Tuesday, Jan. 8, and will hit the ground running with the election of new officers. But there are plenty of other reasons to attend, including the following topics of interest:

The county commissioners may have voted against the public safety sales tax, but the town isn't ready to give up yet.

The board could decide to direct the staff to investigate ways to fund the Pahrump Valley Fire Rescue Service and see if the sheriff's office could benefit from a tax levied by the town as opposed to the county.

Carl Joerger, town counsel, may be directed to investigate if the unincorporated town (as opposed to a city) has the authority to levy a tax.

If the board does approve consideration of the matter, a report has been requested by the Feb. 12 meeting.

A liaison from Pahrump Alliance Valley Economic Development (PAVED) could be appointed to work with county, town, and contractors for the proposed federal detention center to investigate the potential for a municipal water and wastewater facility to serve any site for such a detention center.

Commissioner Gary Hollis could make a cameo appearance at the board meeting to further explain the loan policy and application process for the National Museum of the United States Air Force Static Display Program.

In civilian terms, what that means in the long run is Pahrump could have an airplane to display and catch tourists' eyes in the future.

Generating further discussion, current Vice Chairman John McDonald's plan for the town to have two emergency generators in case of a regional power outage is back on the agenda.

McDonald has raised an eyebrow, and some questions, about the cost of the engineering for generators as estimated by WillDan Engineering, the firm with which the town has a service agreement.

At previous meetings, McDonald has argued much of the work could be done by general contractors with a far less expensive price tag.