Nominating Ballot Petitions Indicate a Crowded Candidate Field for Lamar Council

Municipal Offices in Lamar

There may be a crowded field for Lamar City Council elections this November as evidenced by the record request for petitions to be placed on the approaching ballot.  City Clerk, Linda Williams, said out of the fourteen application requests, twelve had been returned to her by the deadline of 4pm, Monday, August 28^th.  “I will be curing the signatures to determine the sufficiency on each application and should have the results before the next council meeting on September 11^th,” she said during the August 28^th council meeting.  Williams didn’t give a ward by ward breakdown on the numbers, but there are five open positions with one in Ward One, two in Ward Two and one in Ward Three as well as for the mayoral seat.  Kirk Crespin said he deliberated over running for the position again and decided to run once more.  Twenty-five signatures were required for each of the ward candidates and the mayor-at-large required 50 signatures for that seat.  It’s not known at this point what type of candidate forum, if any, will be held.

August is slipping into September and City Administrator, Rob Evans, listed some calendar events for the council.  The monthly library book sale will be held this Friday and Saturday, September 1st and 2nd from 9am to 1pm at the library garage on the southeast corner of the municipal building.  City offices will close for Labor Day on Monday, September 4th.  The council’s monthly morning meeting, Common Grounds, will run from 7am to 8am at the Cultural Events Center, the meetings are held for public discussion of issues pertaining to community events with council members.  Representatives from the Lamar Re-2 school district will attend to provide an update on programs before the school board and the results of a recent survey designed to get a reading on the public’s view of future school and educational needs. The benefit concert for the DuVall family will be held at the fairgrounds on September 2nd, beginning at 4pm with an auction, beer garden and concert by Clare Dunn. Evans noted some future projects for the council will be a review and consideration of the city’s housing incentive plan and an update on that project will be discussed at the September 11^th council meeting.  The council will also consider the development of a dog park in the city.

The 9/11 Memorial Tribute Committee will be busy next week with the Thursday, September 7th unveiling of the first sculpture at the memorial site by the Big Timbers Museum.  The public is invited to the 6pm showing.  The committee will conduct the annual First Responder Memorial Parade and 9/11 observance at the County Fairgrounds through the morning and afternoon.

The city will take part in an annual, on-line airport surplus equipment sale conducted by the Colorado Department of Transportation Aeronautics Division. Matching grants of 80/20 will be made available by the DOT on the city’s first pick of equipment and second and third selections at a 50/50 match.  The Lamar airport manager has his eye on two pieces of equipment, a 1981 Avgas Refueler at $50,000 which translates to a $10,000 price tag for the city.  Another pick is a 2005 Trackless Mower/Thrasher, listed at $5,000.  City Treasurer, Kristin Schwartz would represent the city in the sale.  She said the line-up of which offer on the items will be made through a random drawing from all the applicants.  Schwartz  also introduced a new hire, Tess Camp, who will assist the treasurer tracking down potential grant funding for the city.

The city’s waste water treatment plant has a priority listing in the Water Master Plan.  The multi-year project will need grant and loan funding through the USDA and the State Revolving Fund for environment clearance steps prior to any actual construction design.  City Treasurer Schwartz will apprise the council on specific grant/loan applications as they are completed.  A tentative timeline estimates the construction to run for two years, April 2025 to April 2027 at a total cost of $35,770,000 minus the needed grant funding.  Mayor Crespin noted that the long-awaited project has been a bottleneck for general economic growth in the community.

The council moved into executive session regarding the city administrator’s contract, developing strategies for economic development negations for future land use and economic development with a potential housing developer.
By Russ Baldwin