RTC wants fair share of NDOT funds

Officials: Clark County getting less proportionally

Money generated by the voter-approved fuel revenue indexing tax is helping to pay for road projects across Clark County, but local transportation officials said Thursday that they hope to continue receiving a fair share of state funds.

Members of the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada’s board of directors raised the issue during a discussion about the tax, which is projected to generate about $3 billion by 2026 to help pay for nearly 200 street improvement projects.

RTC board chairman Larry Brown said he was putting the Nevada Department of Transportation “on notice” to provide a detailed list of road projects that are considered a priority for construction, and how they are funded. NDOT uses a mix of state and fuel revenue tax funds to pay for projects in Clark County.

Brown also said that NDOT should be forthcoming when a project in Clark County is delayed and earmarked funds are diverted to another part of the state.

Several RTC officials said they believe that happened fairly recently, as NDOT fast-tracks an environmental review for a project that calls for reconfiguring Reno’s version of the Spaghetti Bowl interchange at Interstates 80 and 580.

“There’s enough money for public infrastructure, streets and highways that nothing should get pushed back

FUNDS

ed community of new houses.”

Representatives of D.R. Horton did not respond to a request for comment.

Price bought the bulk of Valley Heights in 2012 for $1 million, and property records indicate he still owns several lots. He could not be reached for comment.

Local contractor Jason St. John, owner of SO Construction, figures 20 to 30 houses are being built in the Moapa Valley this year, “which doesn’t sound like a lot to Vegas standards, but it’s picking up out here.”

The Moapa Valley had a population of 7,000 in 2010, according to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau figures. Clark County’s population overall was 2.2 million as of last summer.

St. John said there wasn’t much home construction in the Moapa Valley for some time after the recession clobbered Southern Nevada, and houses in Valley Heights haven’t been “selling like hotcakes.” But D.R. Horton has a bigger name than Elation and “deeper pockets,” he said.

Still, Brian Seely, owner of Brimont Construction in neighboring Overton, said other large builders aren’t launching projects there because they’d have to sell a handful of houses each month to warrant the investment. “I don’t see the valley growing like that.”

Overton has a small downtown area, and Seely said another three or four businesses closed in recent years.

“It’s kind of like atrophy,” he said. Contact Eli Segall at esegall@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0342. Follow @eli_segall on Twitter.