Coyote TV - High Desert Advocate

                       Six months after getting verbal approval the written permission for the Rusty Palms development will finally get the official piece of paper that will allow its access road to cross an imaginary line.
    According to West Wendover City Manager Chris Melville the finale permission for the project will be sent by Friday to Rusty Palms developer Steve Weinstein and thus bring an end to the issue that delayed the projects opening for over seven months.
    This August the West Wendover City Council approved a deal with the Nevada Department of Transportation that eliminates an unexpected half a million dollar right of access charge.
    According to Weinstein  he was only informed through the city last April that he was going to be charged a half a million dollars by the NDOT for a right of access, essentially permission to for the road leading to the Rusty Palms cross an imaginary line.
    “It was certainly a surprise to me and frankly I was completely unaware that I was liable for that charge.” Weinstein explained.
    The fact that the developer only learned of the charge after construction on the project began meant that the hefty surcharge was not taken into account in Rusty Palms financing.
    Finding half a million in good times is not the easiest task, finding it during a national recession of unprecedented proportions would have been even more difficult.
    Weinstein first appealed to the NDOT and then to the Governor Jim Gibbons. Melville also met with NDOT officials and in May, Assemblyman Carpenter got involved along with state Senator Dean Rhodes.
    Two more months of phone calls and negotiations passed and finally the city, the NDOT reached an agreement that in essence gave the right of access to the city and thus eliminate the half a million dollar charge.
    Rusty Palms the first new commercial development in West Wendover in almost a decade won final approval from the city council last September and construction on it began in early 2009.
    The project will also be the first development of any kind north of Interstate 80.
    Weinstein has owned the property since 1998 is a major builder in Utah.
    The business complex could be open for lease by the end of September and could house retail stores, restaurants as well as several gaming machines, as well as becoming the first internet hot spot available in town.
    “Of course we will have wifi,” said developer Steve Weinstein. “People have to get on line.”
    Weinstein’s philosophy is not however shared with anyone in town.
    While it is easy to hook up for free drinks in Wendover, hooking up to the internet for tourists is a very different story.
    In a survey conducted by the High Desert Advocate not a single casino offered even paid internet  access via either wireless or by DSL cable, further more not a single hotel room in Wendover is wired for internet.
    “Its really pretty amazing,” said Spencer Fuller chief technician for Wells Rural Electric Internet Service. “As far as I know there is only the (Wendover) Welcome Center that has wireless access. Its free for the first half hour and then you are charged. There are lots of places where you can mooch service from someone with a wireless router but that is about it.”
    The West Wendover Library does offer Internet via a much slower dial up telephone line but apart from that the Nevada/Utah border town is a virtual desert for high speed and wireless hookups.
    “Maybe the casinos think that anytime spent on the internet is less time spent gambling.” Fuller said last year.
    The dearth of Internet access in Wendover contrast greatly with other rural Nevada cities, in Elko wireless service is not only available city wide for a fee, free service high speed is readily available in most hotels, casinos and coffee shops.
    The effort to turn all of Elko city two years ago  into one big internet hot spot was lauded by the local business community which saw it as an added bonus for the city to attract  tourists and new businesses.
    While not as generous as Elko, most Mesquite hotel rooms are wired for high speed internet connections and service averages about $10.00 a day. There is also free high speed wireless offered at the Mesquite library.
    In Wells, Nevada high speed service is available at the city’s truck stops for a fee in various motel rooms and for free at the town’s two brothels.
    With the Rusty Palms location just off Interstate 80 the draw of free wifi could be irresistible to travelers who may have had no intention to stop in Wendover let alone those who are staying a couple of nights at their unconnected hotel rooms.
    A previous experiment at bringing free wifi into town failed before it got off the ground last year.
    According to West Wendover Mayor donnie Anderson, a major contributor to the long interval between the verbal agreement and the final written permission was in part caused by the federal government which has ultimate authority on the interstate.