Lamar Walters was elected chairman of the Beatty Town Advisory board at its July 9 meeting.

The board held off electing a vice chairman, anticipating filling a vacancy on the board before the next meeting, at which time that position could be filled.

There was still palpable friction on the board over a couple of issues.

Bert Bertram said he had received more information on the process of purchasing a home that might help attract a doctor to town, and he seemed much more comfortable with what was being done.

He had expressed concerns about the final cost and the lack of written agreements concerning the land on which the house would be placed and the ownership and maintenance of the property. (See related story on page A12.)

Teresa Sullivan said Bertram had failed to receive some of the information through a secretarial oversight. She also said that they were working on all components of the process at the same time to move it along.

The other point of contention had to do with the process of designing the new town square park and placement of the town clock.

Bertram and volunteers from the fire department had installed substantial footings for the clock in a location Bertram had sited to be the most visible in the park from various approaches.

Sullivan and Joannie Jarvis objected to placing the clock before the final plan for the park was completed by David Spicer. There was also disagreement over how utilities to various items in the park could be installed, and whether it should be held up until the plan was complete.

Spicer said Bertram had been talking with him about the placement of the clock, and it could be moved later if necessary.

After quite a bit of discussion, Jarvis moved to allow installation of the clock on the footings, but to hold up running power to it until the park plan is complete, which they anticipated by the board's next meeting.

The board unanimously agreed to place $95,531 in refunded excess hospital taxes in the town's general fund and to earmark it to be used for medical purposes, whether it be for the town clinic or for emergency medical services.

Commissioner Joni Eastley reported that the commissioners had identified Richard Osborne, of Ohio, as their preferred candidate for the county manager position, saying, "You are going to like him."

She said an expansion project is under way at the Beatty airport, with the apron being widened. She thanked town secretary Janet Rogers and custodian Ricardo Lopez for work they have done pulling weeds and doing other cleaning up the airport.

Eastley said getting fuel at the airport is a chicken-and-egg problem.

There is not enough demand for fuel to attract suppliers who insist on delivering at least 30,000 gallons, and lack of fuel availability discourages the level of traffic that would create the demand.

She also said improvements are under way at Rhyolite, including trenching to direct rain water away from the Bottle House. Architectural engineering is about complete on the re-roofing of the railroad depot.

Eastley said Rhyolite has been identified as one of the 11 most endangered historical sites in Nevada for 2008.

On health care, the commissioner said a new item has been added to the bid package this time around. Prospective providers will be bidding to also include on-site health care to jails, so officers will not have to transport prisoners to the clinics or hospitals for care.

Nevada Health Centers representative Liliam Shell talked about the trouble her company is having attracting doctors for its rural clinics. She said it's a national problem.

Rogers questioned NHC's definition of "rural," since a clinic in Carson City was included. Jarvis also suggested the company could close its operation in Las Vegas, where residents have their choice of several hospitals to visit, and use those personnel in rural areas where there is no other provider and it is a matter of life and death.

Ed Ringle suggested Costco might be persuaded to redirect some of its charitable activities toward the funding of rural health care. He said he has tried talking with the company about it in the past, but has not been successful.