Tonopah boards consider ARPA watermain award, library cooling and event fees

The Tonopah Town Board and Tonopah Library Board of Trustees convened December 10 following an agenda that was posted December 9 on the Nye County Agenda Center. The meeting opened and closed with public comment periods, each speaker limited to three minutes, and included routine consent agenda items such as approval of invoices, minutes, department budget reports, review of correspondence, and schedule changes for upcoming board meetings.

At the top of the substantive agenda was a for possible action item to award or reject the bid for the ARPA Watermain Rehabilitation Project on Old Tonopah Highway. Staff recommended awarding the project to Four Point Engineering, Inc. The recommendation covered both the base bid and an additive alternate, with funding identified through the towns ARPA agreement. If approved, the contract would move forward to replace or rehabilitate sections of watermain along Old Tonopah Highway, a stretch that serves residential and civic properties and has faced long term infrastructure pressures.

Another for possible action item would have local nonprofits reassessing event planning costs. The boards considered approving a ten dollar fee for organizations that request the town create flyers for community events, along with nominal fees for Convention Center copier usage. These measures are intended to offset administrative and supply costs while keeping event support accessible, but they may alter expense calculations for volunteer groups that stage local gatherings.

The Historic Library was on the docket for a quote to install a mini split heating and cooling system, with the quote capped at eighteen thousand dollars. The librarys aging systems and the buildings historic fabric make climate control a priority for collections, programming and year round use, and the board considered the quote in the context of preservation and operating budgets.

The agenda included participation instructions for phone or remote attendance and statutory public comment language to ensure transparency and access. Manager and board member comments rounded out the meeting, covering routine housekeeping and next steps. For Tonopah residents, the meeting highlighted how federal ARPA funding, small changes in local fees, and investment in historic facilities directly shape everyday services and civic life.