Lamar City Council meeting September 9, 2024

New Lamar Police Offer Steve Sanger taking his oath of office 

Prior to the regular City Council meeting, a work session was held, with two agenda items.  First was a discussion concerning homeless persons in the city and the second concerned the maintenance of city parks, particularly Escondido park.   The homeless issue will continue to be discussed and Mayor Crespin plans on attending the Prowers County Commissioner meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 10 to discuss it with them as well.  Anthony LaTour, city Parks and Recreation Director, was present at the work session and heard comments and complaints from Council regarding conditions at Escondido Park. Notably, the field where youth play soccer has been a concern due to excessive weeds, stickers and “goatheads”.  The larger field that Lamar Community College utilizes also has several issues, with inconsistent playing surfaces.  This will be an ongoing discussion with the Parks and Rec Department as well.  The Mayor and several council members expressed serious concern about these conditions and told LaTour that if the situation isn’t controlled, the fields may “be lost”.  LaTour said the problem will be taken care of.

Mayor Kirk Crespin opened the regular Council meeting as it was live-streamed, explaining the work session regarding the homeless situation.  He explained that the situation is not unique to Lamar; many cities both smaller and larger than Lamar also struggle with the problem.  He said “there is no simple fix” and wants citizens to know that the city will continue to work on it.  City officials have also met with Karen Bryant, CEO of Prowers Medical Center, as she said that area is struggling with homeless persons as well.  Crespin said the main problem is mental health issues and that this needs to be addressed.  He said that in addition to asking “what can we do?” the city is learning “what we can’t do” in regard to tackling the problem. He mentioned, as did Councilman Brent Bates later in the meeting, that persons posting complains about this on Facebook or other social media is NOT the way to deal with it.  If anyone sees a problem, they need to call police dispatch so that the situation can be verified and documented.  Social media rumors run rampant and fix nothing.

One person, Donna Giron of Lamar, spoke during the audience participation segment of the meeting.  She expressed concern about the ongoing issue with vehicles (including trucks and motorcycles) parking on sidewalks along Main Street.  Mayor Crespin assured her the city was aware of it and is working on fixing this.

Lamar Police Department added another new officer with the swearing in of Steve Sanger.  Officer Sanger was welcomed back to the Lamar PD after recently working in Fremont County.  Chief Al Fear introduced Sanger, mentioning Sanger’s 40 years of experience and saying “he has been a blessing to me”, referencing the ease of his transition to this role.  Fear also praised Sanger’s ability to stay calm under pressure and mentioned a recent large street fight where Sanger interjected himself into the crowd and was able to rectify the situation peacefully.  “I couldn’t be happier with having him here”, Fear said.  After taking his oath of office, Sanger’s granddaughter pinned his shield to his uniform, eliciting smiles from all in attendance, particularly her enthusiastic hug for him afterwards.

There were several agenda items for the evening, the first of which was a request from A&S, LLC for funds from the Urban Renewal Authority District for façade upgrades at 306 S. Main St.  This money will be used to apply stucco to the south outer wall of the building.  A&S requested $547.60, which is 20% of the total cost of $2,738.  It was approved unanimously.  Council also voted unanimously to allow the Mayor to sign a grant contract with the Lower Arkansas Valley Area Agency on Aging (LAVAAA) which allows the city to accept a grant in the amount of $25,589 which requires a 10% match from the City in the amount of $2,844.  This grant provides funding to assist in operating the Lamar Community Resource and Senior Center.

Another agenda item was approved authorizing staff to pursue funding for the Police Department to purchase new in-ear radios and dashcams via a grant offered by Motorola.  Treasurer Kristin Schwartz and staff will get more details concerning what kind of a match the city may need to contribute.  The dashcams will cost approximately $102,429 and the radios $105,188.  Other funding for the Police Department may come from the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant, which Chief Fear is requesting the city apply for.  The city will apply for $90,000 and there is no match required from the city.  The funds would be used to provide additional personnel, equipment, supplies, and training for multiple programs within the department.  Council approved the request unanimously.

Approved on its first reading was “An Ordinance amending Chapter 8 Article 1 Regarding Mobile Food Trucks and Pushcarts”.  The full ordinance will be published as well as being available for viewing on the city’s website.

Council then adjourned to enter into an Executive Session with the City Attorney to receive legal advice on several issues including performance reviews of several employees.  The next meeting of City Council is scheduled for 7 pm on Monday, September 23, 2024.

By Barbara Crimond