Commentary: The V&T Commission and the 800-pound gorilla

Over the past couple of years, and as recent as the May budget meeting, the V&T Commission chairman - and others - have found it convenient to blame the Gray family and their V&T Railroad for being a roadblock in the commission's attempts to get the tourist railroad all the way to Virginia City.

As I see it, nothing could be further from the truth. Having read the legislation and amendments for the Nevada Commission for the Reconstruction of the V&T Railway, I have yet to find any language to indicate the Gray family signed on to the project or agreed to stand aside.

Therein lies problem with the commission's woefully misdirected comments about the Gray family. The Grays have no need, reason or necessity to obtain permission - other than regulatory - to run trains to Virginia City.

The commission caused the track, on which the commission spent so much tax money, to tie directly into the existing track owned by the Grays without addressing its self-created problem.

By failing to conduct its business properly, the commission created the "800-pound gorilla." It's in the meeting rooms and on the tracks all the time. The commission failed to take that "800-pound gorilla" seriously from the beginning.

Reviewing the numbers tossed about by the commission, it's my opinion that the commission doesn't have the money to buy the V&T from the Grays or to complete the construction along the river and to the permanent terminal. Although the current chairman has stated how he likes and wants more "pork" (read: your tax money) to spend on this tourist attraction, he does not have it yet.

Nevada law clearly sets forth requirements (as does the Nevada Constitution) for eminent domain action. It's those pesky bits of minutiae that the commission seems to dislike so much.

With Mayor Bob Crowell now on the commission and the election of Dwight Millard as the new chairman, it should bring more sensible actions out of the commission. From my viewpoint the mayor's public actions and my conversations with Dwight Millard indicate the old "it's all about me and my legacy" attitude will go away and real progress can begin.

The commission needs to swallow its overinflated ego and pride, stop the threats of condemnation, and get to work with the Grays to get some wheels on the rails.

The commission must get some trains running to show the overburdened Carson City taxpayers, forced to pay so much for so little reward, what interests can be generated by the operation of a tourist railroad. It also will show the entire Carson City/Reno area what it's all about.

• Dennis Johnson is a Carson City resident and consultant whose background is in public agency real property, redevelopment work and eminent domain activities.