Commissioners reject Tonopah request to waive fog‑seal requirement for water main patching

Nye County commissioners voted 5‑0 to deny a request from Tonopah Public Utilities to waive the county’s fog‑seal requirement on pavement patches placed over recently completed water‑main trenching on several Tonopah streets.

Tonopah staff said escalation in paving costs and differing grant rules had strained project budgets. The Tonopah engineer asked the board to allow polymer‑modified trench patching without an immediate fog‑seal application, arguing the county general notes that required fog sealing were added late in the planning process and that funders would not cover additional paving costs. He said prime coat and later fog sealing were not part of the original funded scope and that Tonopah faced unexpected extra costs.

Public Works Director Tom Bowling responded that the county’s standard specifications (the public works construction standards and the general notes used on county projects) include prime coat and fog seal requirements and that those requirements protect pavement life and public safety. Bowling presented photographs of asphalt patches in Tonopah that had already deteriorated after utility trenching, saying the fog seal and prime coat preserve and blend patches with adjacent pavement. He said county staff would consider assisting with fog‑seal work after project closeout if Tonopah needed help, but the board rejected a waiver.

Tonopah officials said they plan to work more closely with county public works on future projects and thanked the board and staff for the technical review. The board asked county staff to coordinate final patching inspections and insisted that applicants follow county standards in future public‑right‑of‑way work.

Ending: Tonopah Public Utilities will complete the current project per county requirements; the board encouraged county staff and Tonopah managers to collaborate on scope and cost estimates for future work to avoid similar disputes.