Lamar City Council meeting July 14, 2025

Lamar Mayor Kirk Crespin, in his opening remarks at the July 14, 2025 City Council meeting, announced that the city has received 10 applications so far for the open City Administrator position.  Applications will be accepted through the end of the week.  Of the 10 applicants, Crespin said 7 are male and 3 are female.  Four are from Colorado, two are from Texas and one each from Arizona, Kansas, Washington, and Wisconsin.  The goal is to have a selection made and a new Administrator in place by October 1.   He said that the search for a new Chief of Police is on hold, as Interim Chief Kevin Ridder is “doing a fantastic job” and that Council will continue to monitor his performance for a couple more months before making a final decision about offering him the job permanently.

Kristin Schwartz, City Treasurer, reports that work continues on several grants, including one for the new Public Safety building.  The 2024 audit is complete and Council received copies of it at the meeting.  The audit will be presented at the next regular Council meeting’s work session. City Clerk Linda Williams presented the May Sales and Use Tax report.  While total sales/use tax collections were down .03% (-$141.02), the year to date numbers show an increase of 3.65% ($97,015.01).  Interim City Administrators Mayor Crespin and Manuel Tamez gave the Administrator’s report.  The 35^th Annual Men’s Windmill Softball Tournament was held the previous weekend and was a success.  The Lamar Chamber’s Glow Golf Tournament is scheduled for Saturday, July 19 from 3-7 pm.  Persons interested in entering should contact the Lamar Chamber for more details.  The 5^th Annual Prowers County 4-H Fun Shoot will be held Saturday, July 19 from 8 am to 2 pm.  For more information, contact Amber Comer at 719-336-7734.  Lamar BMS will hold a grand re-opening on Saturday, July 19 as it transitions to an Ace Hardware.

The Lamar Fire Department recently had two days of ladder testing on equipment.  The Lamar Police Department has seen a 50% increase in calls year to date compared to 2024.  The Parks and Recreation department has been busy getting Willow Creek ready for last week’s Community Social as well as the softball fields for the recent Windmill tournament.  Also, the new sod has been laid at Escondido Park for LCC’s soccer field and residents are reminded to stay off the grass while it takes root.

Council member Joe Gonzales could not attend the meeting, but several agenda items were approved unanimously by the rest of Council.  First was to approve, on second reading, Ordinance No. 1280 which addresses prohibiting perpetual, prolonged and extended yard sales in the city, which has been an ongoing problem. Jill Bellomy was selected to replace Nathan Losa on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.  Losa recently resigned due to scheduling conflicts.  Bellomy will finish the unexpired term which will expire on February 1, 2026.  Sue Lathrop with the Lamar Library shared with Council a Memorandum of Understanding with the Pueblo City-County Library District which offered a partnership with the Lamar Library to create a “digital memory lab” funded by a grant from the Mellon Foundation.  The lab will allow residents to preserve photos, videos and personal documents in a digital format.  The Library will provide the space and the Pueblo Library will provide training and equipment free of charge to the city.  There will be upcoming programs for the community on how to access and use the equipment.  Council voted to approve the MOU.

A new traffic study update proposal was awarded to Kimley Horn, the same company who did the 2005 study.  Three bids for the update were received but Kimley Horn was selected due to the fact that it will be more efficient to have them update a plan they created rather than bring in a new company unfamiliar with the City.  Interim Police Chief Kevin Ridder asked Council to approve a 5-year contract with Axon for new body-worn cameras.  Due to the passage of Colorado SB 20-217, local law enforcement agencies and state patrol are required to issue body-worn cameras to officers.  The LPD has utilized body-worn cameras since 2015 and has been using the same system since then.  The current system is rapidly becoming unstable due to components no longer being manufactured such as camera faces, batteries, and docking stations and compromises future compliance with the Colorado law.  The proposed 5-year contract with Axon was accepted by Council.

Before adjourning the meeting for an Executive Session, Mayor Crespin spoke to the physical and virtual audience, asking them to call Police dispatch rather than himself or other council members for issues such as fireworks, cars running stop signs/speeding, potholes, dogs barking etc.  He said “while it’s great for people to know my door is open”, these types of things need to be reported to the police so that they can register complaints and build cases.  Calling anyone other than the police or posting on social media is NOT the way to get action.  He recommends that people document such actions and let the police know, reiterating that the officers can’t be everywhere in the city at all times and depend on citizens to report to them.

The next regular City Council meeting is Monday, July 28 at 7:00 pm.

By: Barbara Crimond