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A view of the Craig Ranch Regional Park, currently under construction, Wednesday April 4, 2012.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013 | 2 a.m.
Sun coverage
Map of Craig Ranch Regional Park
Craig Ranch Regional Park
629 W Craig Rd, N. Las Vegas
Although the opening of North Las Vegas’ Craig Ranch Regional Park is just months away, the cash-strapped city is still figuring out how it’s going to pay to maintain the $126 million park.
Craig Ranch Regional Park, an oasis in the desert, is designed to be the crown jewel of the city. The 150-acre facility is filled with lush green fields, ponds, basketball courts and baseball diamonds, playgrounds and a skate park, among other amenities.
Yet, it also comes with a hefty price tag. Park upkeep and maintenance is estimated to cost North Las Vegas $2.2 million in its first full year of operation. For a city that is one year removed from a financial emergency to close a budget deficit that exceeded $30 million, the cost raises concerns about how the city can afford to keep the park open.
Still, City Manager Tim Hacker insists the park will be open on Labor Day and the city will be able to afford it without charging residents.
“We are really excited about the park and the attention it is getting,” Hacker said. “There’s been a lot of scrutiny on the staff here to make sure our operations plan is as nimble and realistic as we’ve had to become with the wide array of services we provide here in the community.”
A lot has changed since North Las Vegas in 2005 purchased the land that made up Craig Ranch Golf Club with a Bureau of Land Management grant, which also paid for construction. At the time, the city was growing rapidly and thriving. Undertaking a project to build a state-of-the-art park made sense for a city on the rise, public officials reasoned.
Then, in the midst of construction on the park, the economy crashed. North Las Vegas struggled with home foreclosures and declared a financial emergency. City officials cut back on numerous city services, including closing two public pools and limiting library and recreation center hours.
“If I had the ability to have projected what was going to happen to the economy, to the extent that it happened and the duration it happened when it did, we’d probably still be playing golf out there,” North Las Vegas Parks and Recreation Deputy Director Michael Henley said.
During a special parks board meeting called to discuss Craig Ranch Park, Henley mapped out a plan for how the city will pay for the park.
The business plan, which has yet to be approved by the City Council, relies heavily on the park producing its own revenue. Henley said the basketball courts, baseball diamonds and picnic shelters could all be rented out for tournaments or family events.
Revenue also could be generated from charging people to use the park’s highly anticipated skate park. The city has also looked into outsourcing some park maintenance to limit the number of employees it needs to hire and equipment.
In all, Henley said the park would pay for about 40 percent of its operating costs, which also includes six new full-time positions and 20,000 part-time hours, after the first year of the park’s operation. The rest of the funding would come from the city’s general fund.
Eventually, the city plans to look into having nonprofit groups support operating costs. Henley insisted the money to pay to maintain and operate Craig Ranch Park would not come at the detriment of its other parks.
“All I can say is this is what I need to run the park and that the council is very committed to the park,” Henley said. “They’ll have to make the decision if the decision has to be made where the funding will come from.”
Hacker said no decisions have been made as of yet about how much of the general fund would be used to support the park, but the city is committed to keeping the park open. He expects the park to provide an economic boon to the city.
The park is expected to draw thousands of visitors, which could lead to increased business for the restaurants surrounding it and a marketing opportunity for the nearby Texas Station casino. It may even lead to people moving to North Las Vegas, Hacker said.
All of that could help pay for services in the fire, public works and police departments that have been cut.
“You have to invest in yourself to get a return on your investment,” Hacker said. “I think that’s what you’re seeing here.”
While most of the parks board appeared to agree with the plan, board Vice Chairman Ken Kraft was skeptical of opening the park.
“There have been cuts after cuts,” Kraft said. “Citizens want to see resources restored before a shining jewel is opened.”
Henley said the City Council is committed to getting the park open, but he also knows the nothing is certain in this economy.
“I’d like to say there is no concern, but I can’t say that,” Henley said. “We’ll just take it a budget at a time.”
The parks department’s budget plan will be presented at the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board meeting at 5:45 p.m. today at North Las Vegas City Hall.
I'm with Chairman Kraft. Given the sad state of affairs in NLV, they currently need a " shinning (sic) jewel" like a hog needs a songbook.
I think that land could be a great site for a prison, within the next 5 years, over 50% of the NLV population become inmates.
First, the Texas is nowhere near the park. The Cannery is the closest major casino, and it's about a half mile or so east. (Who proofs these things?)
Second, six full time positions? Whose brother/cousin/friends are we hiring? Try one or two, with part-time term/temp positions filled from students enrolled in NLV HS, CSN or UNLV (give local kids a chance to work their way through school -- with employment contingent on passing grades); supervised community service; volunteers.
Finally, the park will not be even partially self-sufficient renting out playing fields, picnic shelters or the skate park. That's a joke. Better come up with a better plan than that or find someone who can!
is that the mike henley that used to be a reporter
"At the time, the city was growing rapidly and thriving"
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Thriving? What a crock. It may have been growing but it was all "thriving" on a bogus real estate boom fueled by loans to people (and investors) who should have never received loans. Let's be real here. North Las Vegas is a blight of inner city apartment complexes and a few developers who bought up cheap land and corralled a bunch of neophytes into thinking buying a home there was a sound idea. As soon as I hear someone say "I live in North Las Vegas"...my sympathy meter goes up.
It amazes me that this project has continued through the depression. It also amazes me that there was no thought to how this park would generate money for itself. If it needs any positions, it needs a full time event planner to try and rent it out to organizations and make some money off of it. But even then, it might not make enough money to support the position let alone the park itself.
Parking meters would also be a good idea.
Personally.....it will take more money to police the homeless and opportunistic away from the park, than the park is likely to make. It would have been better left as plain dessert.
I suggest charging a reasonable fee to enter. That will increase revenue and keep the homeless from loitering there. The park is needed!
Sell concessions
Was ANYBODY thinking? Developing an excessively large park in an area that is NOT self supporting? At some point, you have to stop raising taxes to pay for recreation.
Mayor Buck is a disaster and has destroyed our town! My neighborhood pool has been closed for 4 years. If the city can afford to open this park, they can afford to re-open my pool.
I was wondering when this would come up. The city is broke, assessments are going down again, and they haven't a clue yet on how to pay for this boondoggle. The leaders of this city must have blindfolds on and cross their fingers a lot to run NLV.
The solution would be to find a playing Delorean equipped with a flux capacitor, travel back in time, and leave it a freaking golf course.
At least we know where the next homeless tent city is going.
This is what happens when California transplants run the city council.
I've already noticed that the current NV parks are no longer up to standard. The restrooms are dirty, toilets missing and no water for washing hands. What is troubling is that these parks are not that old.
This was not an investment. Anytime government talks about investments, hold onto your wallet, taxes are soon to rise.
What happened to the last skate park near Hammer and Clayton?
Give Tim Hacker a lawn mower & a rake & he can cut the lawn. Problem solved.
Parks are always thought of as free to the general public and are an expected amenity in any city that takes itself seriously. To expect people to move to N. LV because of a new park or to even expect people to pay to enter or park is ridiculous.
They should sell the park back to the BLM.