Council Approves Ordinance 1269, Hears List of Holiday Event

At the regular City Council meeting on November 27, Mayor Kirk Crespin began by presenting a plaque of appreciation to outgoing Council Member Mike Duffy, thanking him for all the work he has done for Lamar.

Council voted to approve, on second reading, Ordinance 1269.  The Ordinance provides for the elimination of the distance restriction of Colorado Revised Statute Subsection 44-3-313(1)(d)(1) as applied to GOAL High School at 123 S. Main Street in Lamar.  The City of Lamar has determined that the five hundred foot (500’) restriction should be eliminated as applied to the GOAL High School by adding a new subsection to the code.

City Administrator Rob Evans gave a long report detailing the many holiday events happening in Lamar in the coming weeks.  “Coffee with Rob” will be at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, November 29 at the Hickory House.  Evans urged citizens to “come talk with me,” mentioning the unlimited coffee and jokingly stating that the regular chats “can be very entertaining and you might want to come and watch.”  He mentioned the ongoing  Lamar Public Library’s Holiday Food Drive  which started on November 1 and continuing until December 20.  All food will be donated to Sparrow House Ministries. The Friends of the Library also has their monthly book sale December 1-2 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and the library’s Monthly Craft Fair & Farm Market is Saturday, Dec. 2 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Cultural Events Center.  Lamar’s Parade of Lights will be this Friday, December 1, starting at 6:30 p.m.  All Council members indicated their intent of participating in the parade.   The City holds their annual Christmas Party for city employees on Saturday, Dec. 2 at the Lamar Elks Lodge with Social Hour starting at 6:00 p.m. and dinner at 7:00 p.m.  Mayor Kirk Crespin mentioned that the event is a way of saying “thank you” to all the city employees.  The Lamar Two-Shot Goose Hunt is December 6-8.  The Lamar Rotary and Public Library Kids’ Christmas will be held Saturday, December 16 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Cultural Events Center.  Among the festivities at the event will be a visit from Santa, crafts, snacks, free Christmas books, treat bags, train rides, hot chocolate, a pop-up Santa museum in the library and entertainment.  The event should be a “cuteness overload,” stated Mr. Evans.

Updates on the breakdown of the WHO steel building were given by Stephanie Strube, City Building Inspector.  During the original disassembly of the building, located at 1100 N. Main Street in Lamar, it was discovered that parts of the building were more damaged than originally believed.  An amendment to allow for additional funds to be disbursed to replace the panels was brought to Council in April of 2023 and was approved, but had not been signed by Tress Langston of Southeastern Colorado Builders, as he had other projects at that time and did not feel that he could meet the city’s deadline.  Tress has now signed this amendment and is asking the Council to approve it.  Ms. Strube told Council that the contract now has a revision providing that the project will be completed within 180 days of Council approving the amendment.  City Attorney Lance Clark said he saw “no problems with the contract” and Council voted unanimously to approve it.

Kristin Schwartz, City Treasurer, presented the proposed 2024 Rates and Fees Schedule.  Council discussed several items they would like to see changed before voting to approve it, so a vote was postponed until the next regular meeting.

Following the meeting, Council met for an Executive Session to discuss personnel matters.  The next regularly-scheduled meeting will be Monday, December 11 at 7 p.m.

By Barbara Crimond