By Doug Puppel
Clark County Sheriff Kevin McMahill took the long way to the groundbreaking for the Metro police substation for the Skye Canyon area. He came eight miles from the Northwest Area Command, the police station that currently serves the community.
He said lowering response times — frustratingly long in rush hour — is a years-long goal that’s now in sight. “It will be a game-changer,” he said.
Bringing police closer to the people was a theme that ran through the late-October ceremony, which attracted several other elected officials, including Las Vegas Mayor Shelley Berkley, and community VIPs.
Clark County Commissioner April Becker had the best line of the event: Surveying the tent full of police officers, she said the substation “will provide residents with the same safe feeling I have right now.”
McMahill came in a close second when he quipped that he was extra happy that sunny morning because “it’s not a fire station we’re building here.”
Las Vegas Councilwoman Nancy Brune, who represents the area, commended the large turnout from neighbors and said that a strong partnership between residents and police is a powerful tool to keep crime low.
Green Valley Grocery, which has a store nearby, received good neighbor kudos for contributing $1 million toward the $27 million project at Hualapai Way and Grand Teton Drive.
Along with the 13,300-square-foot substation, the city-managed construction project will include a two-acre park with a skate park, shaded play area, and walking trail. It is expected to be completed in early 2027, a few months later than had been earlier announced.
Core Construction is the contractor, and its rep worked the crowd with stress-relief squeezies shaped and colored like little police cars.
CHARGED UP: Nearly 200 people turned out for an informational meeting about the proposed 400-megawatt battery storage project near the base of Kyle Canyon Road. A public approval process is expected to kick off early next year.
Doug Puppel is a writer, model, and longtime Las Vegan. Reach him at [email protected]