Noise levels legal in study at long-planned shooting range

By Joe Schoenmann (contact)

Sunday, Feb. 15, 2009 | 2 a.m.

Whatever happened in the dust-up between the county and the neighbors who were upset about the potential noise from the long-planned Clark County Shooting Park?

A rough draft of the long-awaited noise study reports that sound from gunfire in the park will fall well within county limit of 56 decibels in residential areas.

“It came back better than it needed to be,” said Commissioner Tom Collins, a major supporter of the park. “Even when they shot off 50-caliber rifles. The sound from vehicular traffic nearby was louder.”

Located between Decatur and Buffalo, just north of Moccasin Road at the base of Sheep Mountain, the 2,900-acre complex, when finished, will include tactical ranges, pistol silhouette ranges, a cowboy mounted shooting arena, a high-power rifle range, an archery range and 125 trap and 24 skeet ranges. The first phase is slated to open in June, but the entire park is expected to take years to finish.

Are some neighbors of the park suing?

They are. A group of nearby homeowners filed a lawsuit against the county in August, complaining that the shooting park, which has been in the works for more than 20 years, is too close to neighborhoods. They also say when buying their homes, real estate agents did not tell them about plans for a gun park nearby.

That’s not the county’s fault, officials say. They’re confident the county will prevail.

“Nothing will stop the shooting park short of the world coming to an end,” Collins declared.

Collins also says the gun park, which will have hookups for customers who want to park their RVs there overnight, is going to be a huge hit.

“There are people who just can’t wait for this thing to open,” he said.

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Whatever happened to Chip Maxfield?

Clark County’s District C commissioner from January 2005 to January 2009 is trying to get some of his former colleagues to hire him as general manager of the Clean Water Coalition. The salary range is $108,449 to $162,672.

The coalition’s board will make the final decision on who gets the general manager job. The board is made up of members from each participating jurisdiction. Maxfield was the county’s representative on the board until Larry Brown took his place on the commission in January. Brown is now chairman of the Clean Water Coalition, and his fellow board members are Henderson City Councilman Steven Kirk, North Las Vegas Mayor Michael Montandon and Las Vegas City Councilman David Steinman.

What is the Clean Water Coalition?

Formed in November 2002, it is a quasi-governmental agency with a

$160.6 million budget. The Clark County Water Reclamation District — whose board members are the county commissioners — provides 46 percent of that money, Las Vegas kicks in 30 percent, Henderson 14 percent and North Las Vegas 10 percent. The coalition’s charge is to develop and maintain a system to flow treated wastewater into Lake Mead. It is currently working on the Systems Conveyance and Operations Program, which accounts for 83 percent of its budget in 2008-09.

What the heck is that?

It’s a plan to construct a series of tunnels that will collect treated wastewater and reintroduce it into Lake Mead. When completed, in October 2012, the project will send treated water to Lake Mead at five locations, officials say. It is expected to meet the valley’s needs for the next 50 years. It will also generate electricity. Water being returned to Lake Mead will fall 400 feet, the force of which will be used to spin electrical turbines.

What’s the price tag and how is it being paid?

The expected cost is about $828 million. Wastewater connection fees are expected to cover 66 percent of that. The other 34 percent would come from sewer fees. Of sewer fees paid by each customer, about $8 goes to the coalition each year, Hawkins said.

Are we going to get hit with rate increases?

Sure looks like it. Connection fees are going to increase 1.5 percent every six months until January 2012. The coalition board also recently adopted a guideline to allow member agencies to adjust user charges “to meet the financial obligations of the Clean Water Coalition.”