Letter to the Editor: Dear Lamar Community Members,

Dear Lamar Community Members,

I would like to apologize to the people and organizations in the community who financially and enthusiastically supported the efforts of Sage Brush Meadows to get a new and innovative nursing home built.  As you may or may not know, the Lamar City Council decided on July 9, not to vote on our proposal to let the voters decide if they wanted fund such a facility in our community.  Many of you depended on me to deliver the goods on this and it didn’t happen.  I can now only speculate on what I could have done differently to achieve a different outcome.

Mayor Stagner indicated the Council was not approving of the “Service Plan” that I mostly prepared.  It remains a mystery to me what criteria and standards the Council used to judge the Service Plan we presented.  I know I have very successfully responded to hundreds of similar requests from federal, state, accrediting and foundation entities and the responses were more than good enough for them.

In this time of disappointment, I look back to what motivated us to spend so much time and effort on this endeavor.  I am reminded that we were driven because of our belief that our loved ones were not locally housed in a safe and compliant environment.  We know that if a restaurant was serving food with salmonella, there would be quick action by the city to stop the poisoning.  We know the High Plains building was evacuated within minutes after it was determined to be a risk to the people residing there. Are all of the reports just smoke, or is there fire?  I challenge the Council to send their building code officer over to the current facility and report to the Council and us that their constituents and our loved one are being placed in a facility that complies with safety and disability codes.  I would appreciate your support for the city to produce this report.

Again, I wish I could have provided better results and of your assistance and support is greatly appreciated.

Jay Brooke

481 Prairie Street

Lamar, CO 81052

(719) 691 – 2291