Lyon County Nevada - Saying Lyon County receives little or no financial benefit from the project, the Lyon County Board of Commissioners voted 4 Sep 2014 to reject a request from the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway for funding.
 
Commissioner Bob Hastings, Lyon County's representative on the railway commission, said he had missed the prior meeting of that commission but added, "I have concerns with this."
 
He went on to say Lyon County saw little or no financial gain from the railway, which comes through the western portion of the Mound House area, but where there is no stop in Lyon County.
 
The railroad travels between Carson City and Virginia City.
 
The commission requested Lyon, Storey, Douglas counties, and Carson City to contribute funding to the commission's budget, as stipulated in the enabling legislation that created the V&T Commission, now found in Nevada Revised Statutes (NRS) Chapter 354.
 
A letter from Rowe Hales Yturbide LLP, the attorney firm representing the V&T Commission, said if member counties don't contribute, the commission might seek legislation amending NRS to mandate that each member county contribute a specified dollar amount to the V&T Commission's budget.
 
In response to Hastings' comments, county manager Jeff Page said what he'd said was correct, and that if the funding request were not granted, the V&T Commission would seek legislation that he opined would be a request for an unfunded mandate upon the county.
 
The letter from the attorney noted the current legislation says the V&T Commission budget should be accompanied "by a proposed allocation of the net costs of the budget among the governing bodies who are members of the V&T Commission to be based upon the benefit of the V&T Commission or project to the jurisdiction of the governing body or another equally appropriate indicator."
 
Page said Storey County and Carson City seek benefits from the railway, as the two stops on the Virginia & Truckee rail line are located within those jurisdictions, and he added Douglas County is similar to Lyon County with no direct impact.
 
He said Lyon County never favored the original legislation that formed the commission, and he doesn't see an economic benefit the county gets just from the track passing through the county.
 
He recommended the board approve a letter explaining the county's position in denying the request, which it subsequently did.
 
Keith Trout.