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A view of the Craig Ranch Regional Park, currently under construction, Wednesday April 4, 2012.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012 | 11:20 p.m.
Sun coverage
- NLV breaks ground on Craig Ranch Regional Park (05-02-2009)
Craig Ranch Regional Park
A recreational oasis filled with ponds, skateboard ramps and soccer fields is being established in North Las Vegas, but city leaders are still deciding on whether to charge admission.
The North Las Vegas City Council was presented with a list of options Wednesday night regarding the maintenance and upkeep of the Craig Ranch Regional Park, a 150-acre park at the northeast corner of Craig Road and Commerce Street.
“I’m still not in favor of charging an entrance fee,” said Mayor Shari Buck.
The park would cost about $2.3 million to operate annually, and charging park visitors entry fees would offset the price.
Renting out the park for events and concerts would help fund the annual cost, but Buck said without an admission fee there would be a $500,000 bill that the city would have to foot.
“We don't have the general budget to do it,” she said.
The city faces a $15.5 million budget gap in the coming 2013 fiscal year.
Mike Henley, the city’s parks and recreation director, presented various options to the council, including having the park being privately owned.
Another option was turning the park into a conservancy like New York’s Central Park, where the park would be both publicly and privately owned.
“The conservancy is a good plan, but that’s a long-term thing,” said Ward 3 Councilwoman Anita Wood.
A short-term option would be to charge admission such as $2 to use the skate park, $5 to park a vehicle or an hourly rate.
Though Buck wasn’t sold on the idea of an admissions fee, the council agreed to revisit the issue after more information was collected.
“I don’t have any problem exploring all of these,” the mayor said.
Councilman Wade Wagner said the park will attract residents from all reaches of the valley.
“This is going to be the premier park in the Las Vegas Valley, ” he said.
Wagner was opposed to placing the tax burden on residents of the struggling city and said he considered charging admission as an option.
“We want to save our taxpayers money,” the Ward 4 councilman said. “Unless you use it, you don’t have to pay for it.”
Wagner said construction of the $120 million park wasn’t paid for by taxpayers but from funds received from the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act. The act allows the federal Bureau of Land Management to sell public land within Las Vegas, and a percentage of the sale goes back to the state.
Government officials hope to have a maintenance and upkeep policy in place long before the soccer players, joggers and skateboarders are unleashed into the park.
The park is tentatively set to open in late 2012, according to the city’s website.
Wagner said the park would be “a feather in the cap of North Las Vegas.”
Everybody already pays an admission fee.... taxes
Just open the park!!!
It was already a beautiful golf course, all they needed to do was fill in a few holes and open the green areas. Build what you will and close down sections, but having 3 years to pay to water and up keep the park without one person in the Valley able to use the park has already cost the taxpayers too much. I pass by the park every day on my way to work and I can't wait to take my kids there and play. Just open the gates. Waiting till the "END OF 2012" after summer is way, way, way too long.
Just charge a Fee for On Site Security, Clean-Up, Facility Maintenance, etc... Do Not short change the Amenities. Make annual Family/Individual/Senior Passes (Picture ID Required) available. The Park should be fixed so commercial partnerships and Festivals can be held.
I do think an admission fee must be part of it to pay for security, so disastrous events like the Fourth of July at Seastrand Park do not become commonplace in this Park.
The North Las Vegas Council CAN NOT charge park fees to use this park since it was built using SNPLMA funds, period. As usual, these morons do not know how to run their city, and all their staff that started these projects have quit or been laid off. The new city manager and a couple of new department heads still do not know what the heck they are doing!!!