Churchill County Parks and Recreation will submit three potential projects next month into Round 20 of the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act grant program now that the county has been included as a qualifying local government.
As part of mitigating any adverse effects on the local community of modernizing the Fallon Range Training Complex, the U.S. Navy agreed to several concessions during negotiations with Churchill County on the FRTC that were included in the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, one being making Churchill County eligible for SNPLMA funding each year.
Projects One and Two, estimated at $20 million each, will focus on improvements at the 3C Complex and Oser Regional Park at the Churchill County Fair Grounds. At the same time, Project Three will be submitted in conjunction with the City of Fallon and provide improvements to the ballparks on North Maine Street, both the adult field on the west side of the street and the girls’ areas on the east side.
Project proposals will include conceptual plans, budgets, and drawings and will be submitted by September 15 for a 30-day review and feedback period. The county will have 30 days to make changes and finalize its proposals for the program’s November 5 deadline.
Jorge Guerrero, Director of Parks and Recreation, reported on the application process at last week's Parks and Rec Board meeting. “This is a great opportunity for our community to provide better facilities and create work in the community. We are hoping to get local bids for these projects and put people to work.”
Improvements at the fairgrounds under Projects One and Two include expanding 250 campsites off Miners Road, expanding parking, installing a splash pad, pickleball courts, installing sports turf on fields, a large BBQ area, a central arena stadium, improvements in the area of the Bottle House where the Cantaloupe Festival is held, and a competition-sized outdoor pool. Guerrero said these facilities will all provide opportunities to continue the mission of attracting multi-day, all-day events with overnight stays, furthering economic development opportunities.
“This funding will continue the efforts of the county to provide economic impact through the fairgrounds facility,” said Guerrero. “The 3C Complex has had great exposure and draws people from out of town to support local business and provide an infusion of dollars into the community.”
The project on North Maine Street includes expanding the footprint of the girls’ fields and moving the t-ball fields to the park on North Broadway Street, installing splash pads at both the adult and girls’ fields, batting cages and bull pens, BBQ and improved concession stands and announcing booths at each field. A skywalk will be installed over Maine Street between the adult fields and the girl’s fields to prevent crossing on the street.
“When the SNPLMA team was here and touring the potential projects,” said Guerrero, “they said they would require that for safety reasons.”
The SNPLMA became law in October 1998 and allowed the Bureau of Land Management to sell public lands around Las Vegas. The revenue from the land sales is split between the State of Nevada General Education Fund (5%), the Southern Nevada Water Authority (10%), and a special account available to the Secretary of the Interior to be used for parks, trails, and natural areas; capital improvements; conservation initiatives and other uses.
Since land sales began under the act, almost $4 billion has been generated for improving communities through nearly 1,500 projects.
“After the 3C project, you don’t really think you’re going to get the opportunity to do a project that big for a while,” said Guerrero, “but this will continue to improve these facilities and bring revenue to the community. The last time these facilities had any work done on them was the ‘80s.”
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