Lamar Utilities Board meeting June 24, 2025

All board members were present for the meeting with the exception of Elmer Grett.  Approved unanimously were the meeting minutes from June 10 with a correction regarding a board member being marked as absent when he wasn’t.  Purchase Orders 630941-630960, and the payment of bills were also approved.  Purchase orders totaled $17,721.54 and included $4,645.05 to the Colorado Department of Revenue for the quarterly PUC Administration Fee, $2,940 to Wesco Distribution for several lightning arresters, $2,421.00 for nitrile gloves, $1,903.92 for an annual renewal with Rockwell Automation and $1,850.00 to Steerman Law Office for professional services.  Bills totaled $783,699.20 for this time period.  The largest payment was $635,214.53 to ARPA, followed by $43,440.71 to the County Health Pool.

The May 2025 Financial Statement included the balance sheet, income statement, year to date income and year to date monthly comparisons with 2024.  There were no significant changes to the balance sheet.  Cash is up $70,981 from April and accounts receivable decreased by $2,218.  The total operating revenue for the month is $1,091,695 with operating costs of $909,803 resulting in gross operating income of $181,892.  When the non-operating revenues and expenses are taken into consideration, there is a net loss for the month of $14,983.  The year to date income statement shows that total operating revenues for the year are $5,599,096 and total operating costs are $4,534,589 resulting in gross operating income of $1,064,508.  When the non-operating revenues and expenses are taken into consideration, there is a net income of $160,858 year to date.  Compared to 2024, the revenues from retail sales are up approximately $36,989 or 1%, comparing May 2025 to May 2024.  Overall operating expenses are down approximately $621,269 or 12%, resulting in a net income of $160,858 for the year.

The Board also approved a recommendation from the auditor, Ronny Farmer, for a supplemental budget that includes a beginning and ending fund balance.  The 2024 Supplemental budget provided to board members indicated beginning and ending fund balances.  All revenue and expense figures were moved to their designated sections but there were no changes to any approved budged amounts.  The change in format makes it easier to compare with the audit and failure to approve this would have caused an unfavorable footnote disclosure in the 2024 audit.

The Superintendent’s System Operating Report stated that the department has been tracking the number of connected meters for the month of May on an annual basis since 1999.  Due to meter fluctuations, the month of May has been used as an indicator.  For May of 2025, there were a total of 5,869 connected meters for 4,102 customers.  2015 had the lowest count of 5,594.  The substation crew completed the replacement of a250/280 KVA 1000A voltage regulator that failed on June 2 at the College Substation.  The replacement required a complete de-energizing of the substation for about four hours.  The process went well without any power interruptions to customers.  Plans are to ship the voltage regulator to Solomon Corporation for repairs.  On June 17 the 69 KV line west to supply 4.6 MW of power to Las Animas and Ft. Lyon was energized.  The switching was requested by Black Hills Energy so they could perform maintenance on their 69 KV line between La Junta and Las Animas.  Lamar supplied power for 24 hours and the system switched back to normal feed after that.  Las Animas will reimburse Lamar for the electricity used during this period.

The meeting was then adjourned so the board could enter into an Executive Session.  The next meeting will be Tuesday, July 8 at noon.

By: Barbara Crimond