Proposed park to highlight water, energy conservation

By Jeremy Twitchell

Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009 | 1:59 a.m.

Residents of southern Henderson got their first look this week at a unique park concept the city is developing along with the Southern Nevada Water Authority and NV Energy.

Mission View Park is a proposed seven-acre facility that wraps around and between an NV Energy substation and a SNWA water reservoir at Annet Street, south of Horizon Ridge Parkway.

SNWA donated the land for the park, and the federal government is funding its $4 million price tag through the Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act, which allows local governments to use a portion of the proceeds of federal land sales in Southern Nevada for development of parks and trails.

The park site posed design challenges because of its odd shape: a strip of land between the power substation and water reservoir, with one wing on the southwest side, running along the substation, and another wing on the northeast side, alongside the reservoir.

Henderson Park Planner Patricia Ayala said despite the odd shape, the site also offered a number of opportunities, most notably a sweeping view of the Las Vegas Valley. To capture that view, Ayala said, the centerpiece of the park will be a covered viewing deck.

“We thought that this would be a good place for a park,” Ayala said. “A good, reflective place where people could come just to enjoy the view.”

Other features at the park include an open field for youth sports practices (but no organized competition is planned for the field, Ayala said), a basketball court, walking trail, playground, picnic areas and a dog park with an obstacle course.

One corner of the park will also have an educational pavilion that SNWA and NV Energy will use for displays detailing how and where the valley gets its water and power and how to better conserve those resources.

Ayala said Henderson Parks and Recreation regularly works with SNWA and NV Energy on routine issues such as utility placement around parks, but that this is the first project on which the three entities have cooperated to this degree.

“(SNWA) does a really good job educating people on issues relating to water; we just thought this would be a way to further enhance those efforts,” Ayala said.

Beyond the educational area, Ayala said she hopes that the park users will learn something from Mission View itself. Turf usage will be kept to a minimum, she said, and it will use “smart” irrigation systems that limit water usage and adjust watering schedules based on the weather.

“We’re going to be practicing what we preach as far as conservancy goes,” she said. “I think the park itself will be the example, not just the demonstration area.”

Mission View Park is expected to go to the city for approval later this year, and is scheduled to be complete in fall 2010.