Lyon County has chance to restore spirit of cooperation to V&T project

Lyon County has seemingly never been sold on the prospects of the V&T Railroad. How else can you explain the county's refusal to pony up any cash for the project that will run through its midst.

So be it — that is the county's right. It's difficult to lay blame on its residents for not contributing their tax dollars, even though it's hard to envision the county not profiting off the thousands of tourists the railroad is expected to bring. Douglas and Washoe counties have taken much the same stance, preferring to let Carson City and, to a lesser but proportional degree, Storey County bear the brunt of the cost.

But to hear that Lyon County is already profiting off the construction of the project to which it has not contributed doesn't sit right. Lyon County has collected some $30,000 in sales tax. That's a small amount in the context of the $54 million cost of the 18-mile tourist railroad, to which Carson City has given $21 million, but significant in other ways.

The V&T Commission was formed in a spirit of partnership for a project that its members deemed to be a good investment for the region. While the disproportionate monetary commitment that followed has perhaps sullied that spirit, Lyon County has an opportunity to make a positive statement about the V&T and all of the cooperation that has brought it so far in such a short period.

How? By contributing an amount to the V&T equal to the sales tax it is collecting off the construction of the project, even if that amount proves largely symbolic.

• This editorial represents the view of the Nevada Appeal Editorial Board