Mike Lasorsa was no sooner elected the new Beatty Town Board chairman, with Bert Bertram as vice-chairman and LaRene Younghans, secretary-treasurer, than questions about the ongoing fire hall project were brought up.

Quite a bit of the meeting was consumed with a discussion of expenditures covering work on the fire hall. Board member Teresa Sullivan said she did not feel comfortable putting her signature on vouchers from the fire department -- or from any other organization -- without signatures from the officers to show they had been reviewed and approved.

Lasorsa, who is the town's paid fireman, and oversees the construction project and makes most of the purchases, spent most of the time on the defensive.

Some of his defensive posture seemed justified, especially given the tenor of questions from some in the audience, but Younghans interjected, "We need to be able to question each other about things we don't understand without ruffling feathers."

U.S. Ecology manager Bobby Marchand wanted to know what the budget for the fire hall project was and when it was supposed to be completed.

Lasorsa said there was no budget.

The fire department started it with a $34,000 grant from the county, which paid for cement and the steel building kit. Approximately $40,000 in additional funds has been spent over the intervening four years, and Fire Chief Jim Benshoof said the building is almost finished.

Nye County Director of Emergency Services Brent Jones said the facility, built mostly with volunteer labor, is worth about $250,000 dollars.

Jones was on hand to address the need for a new ambulance barn in Beatty.

A site has been chosen on county land near the fire hall, between the Lion's Club building and the library. The proposal is for a 60-by-60-foot, two-story building with three bays. It would also include some amenities not in the present barn, including a biohazard clean-up room, lockers and quarters for volunteers who come from outside Beatty.

Jones said the old ambulance barn not only lacks some needed facilities but has a bad roof.

Initial funding would come from a grant from a low-level nuclear waste transportation program, along with whatever funding the county might provide.

The board indicated the town could be approached for assistance when other sources of funding had been exhausted and voted in support of the project.

Something it did not support was Bertram's idea of installing pew seating in the Beatty Community Center's small meeting room. Bertram thought the pews or benches would be a nice addition to the newly painted and carpeted room.

A succession of audience members, however, pointed out that such seating would be awkward for older citizens with limited mobility and would limit the flexibility of the room, including its use as a polling place.

After hearing the objections, Bertram said, "Perhaps it was a bad idea, and we won't do it." The proposal died for lack of a motion.

Samantha Brashears said work on the Beatty Clinic renovation has been progressing, but workers had been temporarily pulled to handle an "emergency" project in Pahrump.

Sullivan said negotiations are continuing between the county and Nevada Rural Health for a new contract addressing clinic operation. She said it was clear the cost would be greater than in the past. She also said the proposal to supply a new doctor's residence was "off the table for present."

Bids had come in too high, and the town currently has a doctor.

Lasorsa said he had been working with Assistant District Attorney Ron Kent on the nuisance complaint concerning Owens Trailer Park.