With a couple of board members eager to go watch their children in high school basketball games, and after several agenda items were pulled or tabled, the Beatty Town Advisory Board's Dec. 12 meeting was a short one.

The board approved a bid on a clock for the town square. The design chosen is deemed historically accurate for the time when Beatty was established.

Bert Bertram said that he had a copy of a Power Point presentation on design work UNLV students have done for beautification projects in Beatty, and that it was available for sharing. He also posted architectural drawings by Beatty High School students working on possible town square designs.

As requested by Beatty resident Albert Verrilli, Valley Electric CEO Tom Husted, along with a few other VEA employees, came to the meeting to answer questions about the company's rates.

Husted said the company did not raise rates this year and does not anticipate raising them in 2008.

The co-op continues to deal with significant growth, which Husted said had dropped to only twice the national average this year, having been three times the average last year.

Verrilli questioned why Beatty, which is not experiencing growth, should have to help cover the expense of growth in Pahrump.

Husted explained that the company is making sizable capital expenditures throughout the system. He also said that it is the company's philosophy that infrastructure in the outlying areas needs to be stronger because it is farther away from headquarters and the bulk of service personnel.

He said that the company is investing $5 million in the next 12 months to improve transmission lines between Amargosa and Beatty and to upgrade the transformer station in Beatty.

Verrilli, who has 40 units in his Boulder Ridge mobile home park, was concerned about connect fees that must be paid whenever service is switched from one customer to another.

Husted said that the $60 connect fee does not actually cover the administrative and other costs involved in a change of service, and that the company had decided that those incurring the costs should be those covering them rather than doing it through a rate increase on everyone.

Janet Rogers asked about the company's attitude regarding solar power.

Husted said that the co-op is not required by law to purchase green power. He said they would be interested if it were competitive.

He also said he felt that green power produced in Nevada should be used in Nevada instead of being siphoned off by other states, principally California. He said if it allowed the power to go to California, then when it fell under a requirement to purchase green power it might not have any resources remaining to tap.

Ryan Tweney was concerned about light pollution from security lights. Husted said that the company has a policy that anyone living within 200 feet of a security light who is bothered by the light may notify the company, which will shield the light, or remove it if that does not solve the problem.

The company is also looking into the possibility of shielding all such lights as they are installed.

In response to a question from Verrilli about VEA's involvement in a proposed gas-fired power plant, Husted said the previous Times article was accurate on the subject. He said that the company would prefer to have the plant built in Nye County, which would involve building a gas pipeline.

He also said that Goodsprings, which is in Clark County was a possible site.