Pahrump OHV Park Advisory Committee Meets April 2 After March Groundbreaking

Bob Adams has been working the grant circuit for years on behalf of Pahrump's off-road community. The results are stacking up: a $150,000 Nevada OHV Commission grant to break ground on a 40-acre park, an $81,900 professional design contract, and most recently an $88,000 Phase III grant to build a dedicated adult track. The Pahrump OHV Park Advisory Committee meets Thursday at the Veterans Memorial Building, 751 East Street, just two weeks after members stood in the dirt on March 19 to mark the moment construction officially began.

The April 2 agenda is posted on the Town of Pahrump's website and available at the Town office at 2100 E. Walt Williams Dr., Suite #100. The committee follows a first-Thursday-of-the-month schedule, with meetings open to the public.

What's being built is a 40-acre recreational facility carved out of the larger 427-acre Pahrump/Nye County Fairgrounds near Dandelion Street and State Route 160, a parcel the Town has held under a Congressional land patent since September 1999. The full build-out envisions four outdoor tracks. Phase I covered the heavy lifting: grading the entire 40-acre site, installing a parking lot, and constructing a kids' track with sound berms, all within a total project budget of roughly $277,000. Adams, the off-road ambassador for Pahrump and Nevada Silver Trails Tourism, was central to securing that initial funding.

The Phase III grant, $88,000 unanimously approved by the Nevada Commission on Off-Highway Vehicles in 2025, funds construction of the adult track. That money, like all OHV grant funding, originates from vehicle registration sticker fees. "Money that is collected from registering these vehicles by the state," Nye County Grants Administrator Jessica McCutcheon explained, noting it "will enhance the legal use of these toys."

The most consequential unresolved question heading into Thursday's meeting is noise and dust. An engineering study is underway for a sound wall planned along the south and west sides of the 40-acre parcel, alongside a water supply system for dust control. The Mountain Falls residential community sits in proximity, and sound mitigation has been framed as a prerequisite for full operations, not a secondary concern. Valley Electric Association has extended Nye County a $1 million line of credit for fairgrounds infrastructure, covering water and lighting for both the OHV park and the planned sports fields.

Nevada Offroad Association Executive Director Mathew Giltner has called the project a potential "crown jewel in Nevada's OHV infrastructure, adding a sense of pride for the community and visitors alike." The park has already hosted Youth Rider Day events, and at least one local rider, an 11-year-old off-road racer, has publicly pushed the committee for a firm opening date.

Committee members Ryan Williams, Brad Harris, and alternates Mitchel L. Peterson and Douglas D. Martin oversee the project alongside Nye County Public Works. Nye County Commission Chair Debra Strickland serves as the commission liaison.

Thursday's meeting is open to the public at 751 East Street. Written comment can be submitted through the Town office at 2100 E. Walt Williams Dr., Suite #100. The questions worth putting on the record: when does the sound wall engineering study conclude, when does adult track construction begin, and what specific milestone triggers an official opening date for the full facility.