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OHV program to modernize grants, adopt NIFS and hold $1M annual grant level; staff warns of reimbursement delays
Summary
Program manager Caden Barnmore outlined a plan to move grants to the Nevada Infrastructure Financial System, modernize the grant manual and outreach, while finance staff projected a conservative $1,000,000-per-year grant level and approximately $2,000,000 carried forward into 2026.
OHV program staff told the commission on Jan. 9 that they are rebuilding the grant program from the ground up: moving applications, reporting and reimbursement requests into the Nevada Infrastructure Financial System (NIFS), modernizing forms and the grant manual, and expanding outreach to rural communities.
Program manager Caden Barnmore said the division has 16 grants currently open (from about 40 when he started) and has completed extensions for projects including Far East Off Road Park (extended to Sept. 30, 2026) and the Sierra Buttes connectivity project (extended to the end of 2026). He described removing outdated map pages and integrating Nevada Trail Finder as the commission’s single authoritative map source.
Barnmore outlined two near‑term workstreams: (1) a multimonth project to review grant documents, manuals and procedures (including training materials and a public training video) and to deploy NIFS as a centralized portal to replace Excel and email workflows; and (2) a renewed solicitation and outreach push to recruit more applications, especially from rural partners.
Miss Fogg presented the financial update: staff propose holding $100,000 in a reserve and project carrying about $2,000,000 forward into 2026. She recommended a conservative grant level of $1,000,000 per year for the foreseeable future while awaiting more registration‑revenue data. During Q&A commissioners probed rising administrative costs; Fogg attributed part of the increase to departmental cost allocations (consolidated IT services charged by FTE) and to adding program personnel.
Barnmore acknowledged some outstanding reimbursements tied to fiscal turnover and process changes and apologized for delays, saying staff are completing final documentation. He said the NIFS portal will let grantees upload receipts and documents in one place and allow program staff to flag single issues instead of exchanging multiple versions of spreadsheets.
Commissioners supported creating short, public‑facing snippets and training materials to help prospective grantees and suggested partnering with other state grant‑training resources while the program builds its own content.
Staff will return with updates on the NIFS transition, grant manual revisions, training schedules and a report when reimbursements are current.
