BEATTY -- The Feb. 25 Beatty Town Advisory Board meeting was lengthened considerably by lack of agreement or understanding on matters of legal interpretation and semantics involving a draft open space plan and the Nevada Revised Statutes dealing with such plans.

At least partially based on their readings of the applicable parts of the statutes, members of the board and Open Space Committee Chairman David Spicer had strong objections to some components of the plan.

Spicer said his committee had voted not to accept the plan, and he favored abandoning the idea of an open space plan altogether, although information from the Stantec draft could be used in the overall master plan currently under development.

Committee member Ryan Tweney said, based on his reading of the statute sections, he believed development would be prohibited on lands designated as open space.

Spicer had also said the law seems to indicate designation of lands as open space would make the county or community responsible for maintenance of them and would have an unfavorable impact on taxes.

County Planner Jack Lohman said this was not the case -- the designation of land as open space was actually a protection for the community and meant that whoever might purchase the land would be required to incorporate some open space, which could include parks, trails, or schools within it, and whoever acquired the land would be responsible for making arrangements for its maintenance.

Lohman recommended the board accept the draft document developed by Stantec, saying the company had fulfilled its contract and should be paid. He said he can work with the board and its committee to refine the draft into something the board can then recommend to the county commissioners for adoption.

The board, however, had a problem with the word "accept," interpreting it to mean approval or adoption of the document as it stood. Board member Bert Bertram said, "We don't want to commit this community to something that will jump up and bite us in the future."

Eventually, after consulting with Assistant District Attorney Marla Zlotek, the board passed a motion saying it was in receipt of the draft, that Stantec should be paid, and the county planning department would help to develop a final draft.

In the course of the discussion, Lohman also pointed out that, since the money for the open space plan had come from a grant from the state, there had to be an open space plan.

LaRene Younghans had placed an item on the agenda suggesting the board send a letter to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) asking that land around the airport be excluded from development to allow for future expansion. The BLM has received multiple right-of-way applications in the area for solar energy projects.

Younghans thought the county had applied for land for future expansion, but she was told by the BLM office in Tonopah it has not received such an application.

Commissioner Joni Eastley explained the purpose for requesting the land in question was not for expansion but to provide a buffer for safety.

Younghans also said solar reflectors near the airport would be a blinding hazard for pilots, and that land around the airport should be left open in case of a crash landing.

Eastley said the reason the BLM had not received the request was because the proposal to acquire the land had been sent to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and the commission is awaiting that agency's approval before applying to the BLM. Eastley suggested Younghans send the letter, which she had already drafted, to the FAA.

Teresa Sullivan said she strongly felt a sentence should be added, saying the board supports solar energy development, just not next to the airport. Younghans said she disagreed and did not amend her motion, which passed as it was worded 3-2, with Sullivan and Joe White in opposition.

The matter of paying for repair of the Beatty billboard at the exit from Rhyolite generated some discussion. The billboard was originally funded on an equal basis by the town and the Beatty General Improvement District. However, the town is now in control of the tourism and promotion portion of the room tax money, so it did not matter who owned the sign.

The board accepted a bid from YESCO for a new vinyl face and its installation.

The board briefly considered purchasing additional park benches to be placed at the front of the community center and outside the town office. Sullivan, however, wanted to know if there might be a dealer in Las Vegas who sold them so they would not have to pay high shipping charges, and White wanted to know why they even needed the ones they had.

"Why have eight? Why not six?," he asked. "How close together are they? A hundred feet?"

Bertram moved to table the matter and agreed to look into possible Las Vegas sources for benches.

LaMar Walters asked the board for three possible dates for the proposed Masonic cornerstone ceremony for the Community Center. He said it could be a good event for the community. The board favored the Friday in October just before Beatty Days and asked Walters to serve with Suzy McCoy and Debbie Baker as a committee to work out details.

Beatty Ambulance Coordinator Hal Waltz explained the recent downgrading of Beatty's service from intermediate life support to basic life support level. The problem is that Waltz is the only intermediate EMT on the service, and he alone cannot cover enough hours to maintain the rating.

Waltz said it is "a small change in the level of care," adding, "We are working really hard to get that ILS level back."

The key is training more intermediate-level EMTs.