Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery Expansion

Boulder City’s Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery (SNVMC) has been offered a “grant opportunity” by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for up to $5,780,000 to expand the cemetery by seven acres. The Nevada Department of Veterans Services (NDVS) anticipates the cemetery expansion will be among the 12 conforming projects the VA says it will approve for federal funding. (The VA defines conforming projects as those that already have the required state legislation or matching funds in place.) The State of Nevada has already set aside $607,271 in matching funds for the project.

The current plans show the expansion will be adding 5,376 niches (12 new columbarium walls) and 11,481 in ground cremation plots (7 new burial sections). The additional acreage will be needed by 2023 to fulfill current demand. This project is the next phase of expansion according to the cemetery master plan.

“We can’t thank our VA partners enough for recognizing the importance of this expansion,” said Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak. “With this VA grant opportunity, we are one step closer to ensuring we are able to keep the promise made to our Southern Nevada veterans that they will be provided with a dignified and honorable final resting place when their time comes.”

The SNVMC expansion project is among a total of 100 projects placed on the VA’s FY22 Priority List. Of those, 43 were fully conforming projects with the VA saying 12 of the 43 projects were expected to be funded. The remaining 57 projects are termed non-conforming because they lack the required state legislation or matching funds to be eligible to receive this federal funding.

“Thank you to our Governor and State Legislators for supporting us by making sure we had the required State match in place to make us eligible and competitive to receive this funding,” said Kat Miller, NDVS Director. “The Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery is the second busiest cemetery of its kind in the nation and this funding makes sure we are able to keep up with the demand when our services are needed.”