Lamar City Council meeting of September 8 had short agenda but contained hot topics

Mayor Kirk Crespin opened the meeting of September 8 with statements about the previous weekend.  On a positive note, the Tri-State 9-11 Foundation’s parade and ceremonies were very successful and Crespin wanted to give thanks to Doug Harbour and the group for the amazing job they’ve done over the years building the event up.  Addressing the negative occurrence of the weekend, Crespin said he was contacted by John and Annabelle Munez with “Ye Olde Rummage Shoppe” who wanted him to witness first-hand the issues they have been dealing with in the alley behind the store with people dumping trash after hours.  The Prowers Journal printed an article regarding this on August 20, which highlighted all the good that the store and its volunteers do for the community and how this problem has been ongoing and escalating. When Crespin arrived, he said the entire alleyway was “a total disaster, with trash everywhere”.  He implored the community to stop doing this, as it is illegal, a health hazard and that it isn’t fair to the volunteers to have to repeatedly clean up the mess others leave.  He also gave a shoutout to Officer Ezequiel Hernandez with the Lamar Police Department who responded to a recent call from the store and took steps to identify an individual from video camera footage who was violating the signage prohibiting the dumping.  The police department will be pressing charges against the man who did the illegal dumping.

City Treasurer Kristin Schwartz said the city is under EPA audit for the Brownfield Grant and that she will be bringing a new grant to Council regarding applying for a grant to rebuild the city’s animal shelter.  She also reported that the Tyler software conversion continues to be going well.  City Clerk Linda Williams didn’t have any financial reports available but hopes they can be presented by November.  She did say that the city “is sitting fine” and that revenue has not gone down and is still coming in.  She mentioned the November 4 election and she and Crespin encouraged people to get out and vote.

In the City Administrator’s report, Crespin and mayor pro tem Manuel Tamez mentioned upcoming events.  The 9-11 Tribute Memorial will have the unveiling of the bronze sculpture of Officer Jiminez on Saturday, September 13 at 10 am the 9-11 Memorial adjacent to the Big Timbers Museum.  The 7^th Annual Anthony LaTour Memorial 5K run/walk will be Saturday, September 20 beginning at 7 am.  It starts at Willow Creek Park near the swimming pool parking lot.  Lamar Area Hospice’s annual Backyard Bash fundraiser will be Saturday, September 13 at 6 pm at the Lamar Eagles.  Call 719-940-7424 to RSVP.  Tickets are $60.  The Lamar Elks will be having a soccer shoot Sunday, September 14^th at 1:30 pm.  The event is free and open to ages 0-15.  Lamar Cub Scouts Pack 223 is starting their popcorn fundraiser. Watch for their booths or reach out to a scouting family for details.  The city will be hosting the 4 final candidates for the City Administrator position on September 22 and 23 with Council holding interviews from 7 am to noon both days.  A public Meet and Greet will be at Tavern 1301 on September 23 from 5-7 pm.  “This is a huge decision for our town” stated the mayor and encouraged the community to attend and ask questions of the candidates.

A public hearing for a special event liquor permit for the Lamar Chamber of Commerce’s beer garden during their Oktoberfest on October 4 was held.  The event will be held in the Enchanted Forest next to the Chamber offices from 11 am to 9 pm.  The event was originally scheduled to end at 8 pm but Chamber President Kolby Brubacher said they extended the hours due to the number of bands who wish to participate.  All servers will be TIPS certified and security will be present as in previous years.  Discussion was held about making sure wristbands are provided to persons of drinking age as well as ways to improve security and deal with trash after the event.

Lamar Fire Chief Jeremy Burkhart asked Council for direction with a serious issue regarding a local construction company and their demolition project.  Burkhart was notified on August 12 that a building was being demolished in the 200 block of North Main Street.  He responded and met with the owners of Evergreen/DZ Construction who assured him that they had a permit for the project.  In fact, Burkhart said, the permit was for demolition of an interior, non-load bearing wall, not the exterior wall that they were demolishing.  He instructed them to stop the project and for them to confer with a structural engineer regarding safety.  He also asked about their dust mitigation plan as well as a debris management plan and followup showed that none of these had been done.  He gave them time to get into compliance with these issues but on September 4 received another call about an overhead garage door and drywall being installed at the site on a wall that had not been structurally approved.  He reiterated to them the “stop order”.  Burkhart and Mayor Crespin have both received calls from community members concerning the project and both feel that this disregard for the city’s codes is not fair to the many local contractors (some who have been doing work in the city for decades) who are following the rules and obtaining the proper permits.  Crespin said that as a mayor, it puts him in a frustrating position, as he wants new businesses such as this to be a success, yet they can’t be breaking laws regarding safety issues.  Councilman Gonzales said “I agree – I want new businesses to succeed but at the same time we do have laws and codes”. Chief Burhkart said that also, the debris in the alleyway is blocking traffic and is causing problems. Council asked City Attorney Lance Clark for his thoughts.  Clark said he feels the city has reasonable cause to pursue potential ligitation.  Council will be acting on his direction going forward.

Another issue Mayor Crespin brought to Council’s attention is a written contract between the city and Trevor LaCost and the Arkansas Valley Wind and Percussion Ensemble (AVWPE) board regarding maintenance of the Pocket Park adjacent to the Shore Arts Center.  Crespin said he was told by LaCost verbally on August 26 that he wanted to cancel the contract due to the condition of the park.  When asked what the problem was, Crespin was told that the park was not in good condition and always contained trash.  Anthony Latour (City Parks, Recreation and Cemeteries Director) told Council that the park is power-washed weekly and kept clean and that no other persons renting it have expressed any problems concerning its condition.  Council member Brent Bates stated that he has held several events in the park without any problems of this nature either.  Crespin said he had advised LaCost that per the agreement, the city needed to receive 90-day written notice via certified mail if they wished to cancel.  Having not received this as was promised, Crespin sent several other emails which have remained unanswered by LaCost.  The issue goes beyond the legality of the contract, as the city is unable to rent to park for any remaining dates for fear of it being double-booked. The AVPE website states that as of September 1, 2025, all park rentals will be handled by them instead of the city, which further adds to the confusion and possibility of double-booking dates.   As of the date of this Council meeting, there still had been no return communication from LaCost. Council decided that Crespin and LaTour should make a final effort to contact LaCost in person or by trying to get in touch with other ARWPE board members before making a final decision on how to proceed.

LCC has signed its agreement with the city that covers half of the cost to reconstruct the soccer field at Escondido Park that is used by the LCC Runnin’ Lopes Soccer Team.  They will submit payment to the city by the end of September.  The estimated cost of the project was $207,619.22 but the project came in under budget at $206,138.29.  The savings went toward the top dressing of the field, which Council learned at their last meeting needed to be done.  The city was able to find ways to considerably reduce this unexpected cost of the topdressing by finding local gravel in Garden City and utilizing City workers and trucks to transport it.  A public thank you was given to the Lamar Street Department for their help with this.

The last item on the evening’s agenda was a discussion concerning a letter the mayor had hand delivered to him by Doug Thrall, Chairman of the Lamar Utility Board.  In it, the LUB is requesting that the city reconsider the action it took in their September 23, 2024 meeting.  In that meeting, Council voted unanimously to not transfer the $350,000 it receives yearly as part of the ARPA settlement to the Utility Board’s account as it had done in previous years. Instead, it was decided to transfer the amount into the city’s General Fund.  During tonight’s meeting, Council decided to stick with their prior decision, stating that the city has “multiple projects that desperately need funding”, including a new fire truck, funding for the police and fire departments and the Public Safety Building project among others.  They felt that keeping the money in the General Fund is in the best interests of the community.  The money was originally allocated to Light and Power to help lower the electric bills for all their customers, both residential and commercial.

The next meeting of Lamar’s City Council will be Monday, September 22, 2025 at 7:00 pm.

By: Barbara Crimond