During the public comment portion of the Sept. 12 Beatty Town Advisory Board meeting, Shirley Harlan commented on dissension and factionalism in the community.

She said that she was told by an unidentified long-time Nevada resident that, because of this, "people rolled their eyes" whenever the subject of Beatty came up in discussions elsewhere.

This comment could well have characterized much of this town board meeting, as several items gave rise to contention.

Harlan's remarks were directed at reluctance on the part of some local leaders to accept a Question 1 grant from the state to help pay for land-use planning. She said that state land use officials had asked the town to apply for the money in the first place and said she felt it would be foolish to turn it down.

Marlene Rogoff, representing Victoria Capital Corp., came before the board with a raw land parcel division map for approval. The piece of land in question is just off Highway 95 on Vanderbilt Road.

Rogoff said that initial plans by the company to develop an 80-room hotel on the property had not proven feasible. She said that there are currently no plans to develop the property.

One reason for this particular division of the parcel, she explained, was to split off the five acres on the north side of Vanderbilt Road next to Bombo's Pond.

Rogoff said she wants to work with several parties, including the county, BLM, and an unspecified conservation organization, to get the land made available for a county park. The company is interested in selling the piece to get some debt relief.

Some of those present were dubious, so Bert Bertram's motion to approve the parcel map died for lack of a second.

Lew Harris gave a brief presentation on his plans to develop a botanical garden on 10 acres held by the Beatty General Improvement District. He said his goal for this year is to get bids on a survey, electricity and fencing so that there would be infrastructure there for the development of the garden or for something else.

Harris also objected to the board's holding Saturday workshop meetings, saying fewer people could attend. The board responded that the days and times for the workshop had been chosen by consensus at regular meetings.

Chairman Larry Gray wanted a progress report from the mural committee, which is concentrating on completing the mural to be installed by the Janda Ribbons building and does not have much funding left.

Gray suggested it might be possible to have more murals by using vinyl ones similar to one recently installed in Tonopah.

The board gave $8,500 out of the tourism fund to the Chamber of Commerce for Beatty Days. The chamber had lowered its request from the $10,000 approved last year. The Chamber also received $300 to fund the Christmas lighting contest.

The board approved several other expenditures, including up to $1,499 for LED lights for the town Christmas tree. The 25-foot Mondale pine is due to be planted in the new town square Oct. 7.

The board also gave the fire department $4,983 to pay for half of next year's Fourth of July fireworks, and agreed to spend up to $700 for a video projector for the Community Center.