City: Have Trailer, Will Sell

The City of Lamar came into the unintentional possession of a trailer after the Lamar Police Department towed a semi-truck which was parked in violation of city ordinances. A trucking company retrieved their tractor, but left the trailer.  Police Chief Kyle Miller explained that despite a pretty intensive search for over a half year, his department and other agencies have been unable to identify an owner and the VIN number and a search by the CSP came up negative as well.  The city intends to auction the trailer online through Civis and Johnson with a reserve price of $20,000 set for a minimum bid.  Chief Miller said that any sale will not be a financial windfall for the city, “We’re only going to be able to pay our storage expenses from the sale, as the state will take the bulk of the proceeds.”  The trailer has since been stored on city property, so if the auction price is not met, the city will not accrue any additional costs on the 2015 trailer.

Clifford Boxley was appointed to serve an expired term on the Lamar Planning and Zoning Commission, expiring in February, 2017. He was also appointed to serve a full five year term after that date.  Patrick Leonard was appointed by the Lamar City Council to serve a five year term on the Lamar Utilities Board, ending in 2021.  He will replace former member, Rick Beard who resigned earlier this summer.  The council also approved a contract for independent auditing services.  Three bids were returned from fifteen send-outs.  The contract was awarded to Holscher, Mayberry & Company, LLC with an option for services through 2020.  The cost to the city will be $34,000 for the 2016 audit.

The council approved an agreement to provide an online comic book database to replace the previous vendor and physical copies of books. Lamar Librarian, Sarah McDonnell said ComicPlus will provide access to over 17,000 comics and graphic novels with no limits, checkouts or waiting period, and can be accessed through any PC, tablet or smartphone.  The annual cost is $792.04.  “This is only $60 more than we spend for the 240 hard copy comics that we receive each year under an existing contract,” she explained, adding there is a great demand for the books.

In an effort to increase local sales, the city council approved a marketing agreement with the Buxton Company of Texas for a marketing analysis to aid the community in recruiting retail outlets to this location. Parker Key, Buxton representative, explained that his company’s analysis provides a breakdown of a trade area’s specific customer base and promotes those strengths to potential new retailers and to help retain existing establishments.  Essentially, based on buying trends and needs from the community, the Buxton Company hopes to attract businesses to fill those gaps and explain to interested retailers what their core sale items are.  Angie Cue, Community Development Manager, explained the funding for the Buxton Services are for a three year agreement with the first year funded in part by the city at $15,000, PCDI at $10,000 and a DoLA REDI grant at $35,000.  The city can opt out of the following two years should it choose to do so.

City Administrator, John Sutherland, reminded the council about future calendar events including the Lamar Eagles anniversary celebration September 16-17, the Buzzard’s Roost 10^th anniversary Road Jam on the 17^th as well as a Fiesta for Kids at Northside Park that afternoon and evening, Oktoberfest will be observed in downtown Lamar on September 24^th and the Mounted Shooting competition will be held on the 24^th and 25^th at the Fairgrounds this month.

By Russ Baldwin