Lamar City Council has split meeting on November 10 between old and new councils

Lamar City Council had two meetings on Monday, November 10 – the first finalizing things with the previous Council, followed by a reception for the outgoing council members and then a second meeting with the new Council.  There was a reception between the two meetings honoring outgoing council members Shalah Mata and Manuel Tamez.

Mayor Kirk Crespin opened the first meeting by saying “Tonight is one of those exciting yet sad days where we have the change of guard of our council members.  We have two council members that have been with us for a while and we really appreciate what they have done with us on council”.  He continued, saying “You really don’t understand or realize how difficult it can be to be on the council at times until you’re walking as a council member through Walmart and you get asked 50 questions about what’s happening in the city or you get calls at 9 pm at night because someone in your ward has an issue or complaint or the mayor keeps you up an extra 4 hours for an executive session that goes extra long.  So I do want to take  a moment to thank Shalah and Manuel, our mayor pro tem in Ward I.  Manuel has been my right hand man for the last few years as mayor pro tem.  He is the one who keeps me calm when I get a little frustrated and he centers me which has been very appreciated.  Over the last few months he has helped serve as the co-interim city administrator.  I know that took a lot of time and effort and diligence on his part.  Thanks to both of you for taking part in city council because it’s one thing to be a member of the community but it’s another thing to step up and help make policies and changes that drive our community moving forward”.  Crespin then said that the previous council had a few things to tidy up and then the meeting would resume after a 30 minute break for the reception to have the swearing-in of new council members.

City Treasurer Kristin Schwartz said that they have written off the 2024 accounts that were delinquent – they were all Light and Power accounts as they were for electricity bills.  She gave council members an active grant list, saying the city has $12 million in grants applied for and/or awarded.  City Clerk Linda Williams said the recent election went well and that sales tax transactions over the last few months continue to show growth in revenue.  City Administrator Mitch Hammes listed several upcoming events.  The library Trivia Night is Wednesday, November 12 from 6-8 pm.  Domestic Safety Resource Center is having their annual Fantasy Tree dinner, auction and dance on Saturday, November 22 from 5:30 – 8:30 pm.  City offices will be closed Thursday, November 27 and Friday, November 28 for Thanksgiving.  The Lamar Chamber of Commerce is having their annual Cocoa Crawl in the Shore Arts Center park on Saturday, November 29 from 10-2, with the Parade of Lights to follow at 6:30 pm.  He and mayor Crespin met with Prowers Medical Center CEO Karen Bryant the morning of this meeting.  Crespin said it was nice to hear that the hospital is staying on top of things going on currently with the government and that the hospital is going strong and is sound financially. He said Bryant had lots of positive things to say and is looking forward, confident that they can get through any challenges that might come up.  They are launching some new services, including cataract surgeries and have a new Nurse Practitioner joining the hospital in December.

Council voted to table a decision on accepting proposed insurance renewal quotes so that staff can get them an exact amount of the increase in costs.  Deadline for a decision is November 18, so Council will make a decision at the special meeting scheduled for November 17.  Also approved unanimously was a decision to allow Mayor Crespin to serve in an interim advisory role to Mr. Hammes who is new to the city and his role as a city administrator, to get him up to speed on things.  It is expected that this interim role should be discontinued by the first of the year.

After the break and reception, the mayor began the second half of the meeting by welcoming the audience  “This is when our new incoming council members will join us.  As you can see, we have two open seats which we will fill shortly” he said.  “But before we do that, we want to take a moment to thank the two past council members” and invited them to come up to the front of the meeting.  He continued, “We truly appreciate everything you’ve done for the City of Lamar”.  Addressing Manuel Tamez, he said “As mayor pro tem, you’ve done a great job of keeping me on an even keel and for being that backup person that we really need and I can’t thank you enough.  Shalah, we appreciate everything you’ve done for our community and stepping up.  Taking part in city council is a big, big responsibility and we appreciate you.  Thank you”.  The two outgoing members were presented with plaques of appreciation and received a round of applause from the audience.  Crespin continued with “I know these are small tokens, considering the amount of work that you have put in for our community.  It can be an unthankful job, of course, at times but we are grateful that there are people in our community that have stepped up to fulfill this role and that’s why it’s so important for us to recognize the time and effort you’ve put in to our community”.

After the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, the two newest Lamar City Council members, Brad Johnson, Ward I, and Mark Headlee, Ward III, took their oaths of office administered by Judge Lane Porter.  Mayor Crespin and David Zavala also renewed their oaths of office, having been re-elected to Council.  The new Council then had the task of electing a new mayor pro tem.  Gerry Jenkins nominated Brent Bates for the position and Joe Gonzalez nominated Mark Headlee.  A vote was taken and Brent Bates received five votes to Gonzalez’s two and was elected new mayor pro tem.

Council voted to approve adding McClave State Bank to the list of designated banks for deposit of city funds.  The bank joins GM Bank, Frontier Bank, Community State Bank and Colorado Bank and Trust (previously InBank before the recent takeover by CB&T) who were on the list previously.  Also approved was a change in authorization for check signing, with Brent Bates replacing Manuel Tamez.  An agreement was approved for the Lamar Police Department to provide security services for the 2025 Holiday Basketball Tournament as well as for the Lamar RE-2 School District for 2026 (providing security for after-prom, football games and any extracurricular activities).  These are continuations of previous agreements with no changes in rates paid.  A public hearing will be held at the start of the November 24 City Council meeting for a liquor license request from Los Juniors.  Council approved a residential interest rate paid on customer water deposits for 2026 at 4.08% which is .85% less than 2025’s rate.

Before the meeting adjourned, Bates addressed the current council and said “I just want to thank all three of you (Crespin, Headlee and Johnson) for running.  It’s an important role, as David (Zavala) has learned the last two years, as you guys will.  Thank you for stepping up.  I’ve always encouraged everyone that if you want to see change effected in your community, step up and step out of your comfort zone.  So thank you for doing so and congratulations on the election win”.

The meeting was then adjourned.  A special meeting will held on Monday, November 17 to discuss some policy items.  The next regular meeting will be Monday, November 24.

By: Barbara Crimond