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Ely council approves nearly $60,000 for Nevada Northern track repairs amid funding disputes
Summary
After debate over using litigation-designated 45G tax-credit funds, the Ely City Council approved a one-time $59,979.77 payment to Paragon Construction to repair a 600-foot section of track at Milepost 142 jointly owned with the Nevada Northern Railway Foundation.
The Ely City Council approved a one-time payment of $59,979.77 to Paragon Construction Systems Inc. to repair about 600 feet of railroad at Milepost 142 shared with the Nevada Northern Railway Foundation (NNRY).
NNRY President Mark Bassett told the council the failure is an “extraordinary expense” that needs immediate work to add ballast, raise the track and replace ties so the long-standing slow order there can be removed. "If we don't have a steam locomotive in operation the people don't come and that happened to us in 2008, and our ridership and funds dropped about 40%," Bassett said, explaining the economic importance of keeping tourist operations running.
Council members debated the source of funds. The city drew the payment from 45G tax-credit funds that had been dedicated to railroad legal fees; Councilman Terrill Trask said he was uncomfortable using money earmarked for litigation given the city’s recent legal history. "It makes me a little hesitant to take the money that we have set aside for litigation," Trask said during the discussion. Mayor Nathan Robertson disclosed a part-time relationship with the Foundation and abstained from the vote.
The motion to pay Paragon passed 3–1, with Trask voting no and Councilmembers Samantha Elliott, Jim Alworth and Jerri Lynn Williams‑Harper voting yes. The council’s minutes record that Paragon will mobilize in October, which officials said could reduce mobilization costs because Paragon is scheduled to repair a missing crossing gate on U.S. 93 at the same time.
The council did not instruct staff to create a contingency fund specifically for future track repairs, though Councilman Trask suggested the city consider budgeted reserves for recurring rail maintenance. The council also approved a substitution of counsel in related litigation (Case No. CV24-02011) later in the meeting.
The decision resolves the immediate safety and operational concern at MP 142 but does not change the underlying debate among some residents about transparency and prior expenditures by the NNRY Foundation, which public commenters raised earlier in the meeting.
