Sat, Dec 9, 2006 (7:07 a.m.)

It's safe to say that Melissa Henry's vision of a vacation resort in Southern Nevada is unprecedented.

She promises an "exquisite and peaceful place, away from loud urban crowds," a "parklike picturesque small town," and a "fairy-talelike town with its enchanting fountains, ponds, little bridges and flower beds."

Henry, a Las Vegas artist who said she's from Belgium, wants to build her resort around an artisans' village and call it "Nova Town." She wants it to spring forth on about 24 acres near the saloon in Goodsprings, a dusty little unincorporated town about 35 miles southwest of Las Vegas.

And if you want to help her as a founding benefactor, she'll gladly accept your donations, starting at $1 million.

She hired environmental lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to come to Las Vegas on Thursday to help raise money for Nova Town while pitching his new book.

The 60 attendees at the Stirling Club dinner at Turnberry Towers paid $350 to hear Kennedy, the son of assassinated Sen. Robert F. Kennedy known for his work on disparate environmental issues, rail against the Bush administration before shifting gears and offering a first glimpse of Henry's project.

The artist's rendering depicts a toylike castle with round portholes and flags flying from various towers.

"It will be an amazing place for everyone to visit and discover how some of our most peaceful, wise and creative thoughts throughout history from antiquity to postmodern times can be incorporated in humanly intelligent and practical style of joyful living," she said in a written statement.

Various levels of memberships in the Nova Town nonprofit can be bought at prices ranging from $10,000 (bronze) to $100,000 (platinum). Lesser buy ins earn the title of "friend." It's unclear what membership would bring .

Henry called her project "a new, different world" and said it would be partly designed during a spring symposium for "internationally acclaimed scientists, architects, environmentalists, politicians, educators, economists, builders/developers, artists, actors for cross/sector discussions over the most innovative ideas."

She won't discuss details such as the number of guests it could accommodate, but promises that it will be an environmentally sensitive resort. Henry says the project will include homes, rooms for visitors, restaurants, a market for artisans and other elements.

That claim raises eyebrows among her Goodsprings neighbors.

"We're all pretty astounded," town board member Liz Warren said. "The big question, among many other questions, is going to be water. She is not going to get the water for those kinds of amenities. There is very limited water, and you can only drill wells for culinary purposes.

"The whole thing is perplexing to me," she said.

Chris Munhall, a liaison between Clark County government and the town board, said potential development in the area has hurdles, including water.

"This is a commercial enterprise and would require municipal water, not currently available, or a commercial well permit, which I don't believe the state water engineer will issue due to limited ground water resources in this basin," Munhall said.

Henry said she has enough water to launch her project. She and a partner, Las Vegas structural engineer Charles Whitley, bought the land for $1 million in January.

Henry is reluctant to talk about her background or the source of the funding for the land purchase. She said she was born in Brussels, Belgium, and has lived in Las Vegas for about seven years.

Henry said the construction start depends on the flow of donations to her group or a bank loan.

She said she hopes to enlist the support of environmentalists such as Kennedy. Kennedy, however, said after his talk that he doesn't know anything about Nova Town and has not endorsed it.

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