Henderson City Council briefs

By Jeremy Twitchell

Thursday, April 16, 2009 | 4:56 p.m.

New park in the works in southeast Henderson

The Henderson City Council unanimously approved a $49,500 contract Tuesday with landscape architecture firm Edge Industries to create the master plan for the future McCullough Vista park.

The 5.6-acre park will be located at 993 Greenway Road, on the northwest corner of Greenway Road and Mission Drive. It has a construction budget of slightly more than $6 million, which is funded by the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act.

The act allows Southern Nevada municipalities to use a portion of the proceeds of local federal land sales for parks, trails and conservation projects.

Edge Industries has three months to prepare the plan.

Major Avenue repaving contract approved

Major Avenue and some of its surrounding areas will be getting a $3.8 million facelift in the coming months.

The City Council unanimously approved a contract Tuesday with Las Vegas Paving to repave the two-mile road that runs from Van Wagenen Street to Warm Springs Road, improve traffic signals and drainage along the way, improve the lighting and parking lot at Morrell Park (Major and Harris Street) and install water and sewage infrastructure for a future senior housing complex at Major and Coronado Drive.

The Regional Transportation Commission funded about $3.1 million of the project, while the city is contributing about $370,000 from its gas tax and Utility Services funds. The Morrell Park improvements are funded for $148,000 through the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, the senior housing developer is contributing $120,000 for the water and sewage improvements and the city will use $50,000 in developer contributions to pay for the traffic improvements.

Henderson Police Department to seek stimulus grant

The Henderson Police Department is applying for a $300,000 grant that has been made available through the U.S. Department of Justice as part of the federal stimulus package.

The purpose of the grant is to aid local law enforcement in hiring personnel, combating violence against women, fighting Internet crimes against children, improving the justice system's functionality, assisting crime victims and supporting youth mentoring programs.

The application process requires the governing body that oversees a law enforcement agency to approve the application before it can be submitted; the Henderson City Council unanimously approved the department's application Tuesday.

New park plaza to be named for former resident

The community plaza at the soon-to-be built Heritage Park at Racetrack Road and Burkholder Boulevard will be named for Ben Stepman, a prominent resident of Henderson who passed away in 1999.

The Henderson City Council unanimously approved the proposal, which had been suggested by the city's Facility Naming Committee, on Tuesday.

Stepman moved to Henderson in 1976 and set up Ben Stepman Hyundai on Boulder Highway. He was known for his role in the business community, as the dealership owner and president of the Henderson Chamber of Commerce from 1982-1984, as well as for his charitable contributions to the Henderson Senior Auxiliary, St. Rose Dominican Hospitals and other local causes.

His efforts to improve Boulder Highway became the forerunner of the city's Boulder Highway Beautification plan and the recently improved Boulder Highway Investment Strategy.