By Mike Trask (contact)

Mon, May 12, 2008 (2 a.m.)

North Las Vegas is expected to annex its first section of the Apex Industrial Park in two weeks.

Last Wednesday the City Council introduced an ordinance to take possession of 1,446 acres in the park’s southeast corner, including some developed land and property used by a paving company. The final vote will be May 21.

There appears to be no opposition to the annexation, an idea driven primarily by the prospect of easier access to water and sewer lines to the park, which could allow new industrial development. A Clark County hookup would cost about $10 million more than the city’s, which has a $25 million price tag.

More than two decades ago the county created the park to confine industries that were either unattractive or posed safety concerns — or both — to a zone far from residential development.

But bringing utilities to the 21,000-acre site along Interstate 15 has proved difficult. With thousands of acres remaining vacant, the park, 20 miles from downtown Las Vegas, cannot be considered a success thus far.

North Las Vegas’ master plan calls for only industrial development in the area, and city officials stress that is the only option being considered. Nellis Air Force would oppose any residential construction in the area.

The annexation’s financial effect on North Las Vegas, which has the highest tax rates in Southern Nevada, remains undetermined.

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Henderson likely will have some help building the 22-acre Whitney Mesa Nature Preserve near Galleria Drive and Patrick Lane.

The city expects to get up to $3 million under the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act to finish the park, scheduled to open in early 2009 with trails, shelters and picnic areas. The area is home to prehistoric remains and artifacts from the Spanish Trail.

A cleanup process is ongoing in the area, which has been used for years as an illegal dumping ground for old vehicles, broken appliances and other trash.

If the land management money comes through, a second phase of the park may include an amphitheater and more trails.

Comments on the federal funding may be submitted to the Bureau of Land Management through June 2.

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The strange and sometimes contentious race for three seats on the Sun City Anthem board of directors has ended.

Voters have picked the so-called Unity Team — Carl Weinstein, Roger Cooper and Shirley Cheri — to lead the Henderson retirement community. The three will serve two-year terms on the board.

The race was peppered by accusations of lying and a mini-scandal about signs on front yards.

Weinstein complained to the homeowners association during the campaign that the opposing slate of three candidates was putting more than one political sign on each lawn, violating HOA rules.

The Unity Team listed all three of its candidates on one sign.

Weinstein claims his complaints arose not from his desire to win, but rather from concern that the upcoming presidential election could see a proliferation of signs if the one-sign-per-yard rule is not enforced.

That could be a sign that, although this election is over, the kind of sniping heard in it is not.