The Lamar City Council had an unusually short agenda for its August 10, 2026 meeting, with only 5 agenda items on the schedule.  Mayor Kirk Crespin started by thanking everyone who attended last weekend’s Sand & Sage Roundup and Fair, saying it was a great weekend with lots of people in the community attending and gave kudos to the organizing committee.  All Council members were in attendance for the evening’s meeting.  No one was present in the audience wishing to speak during the Public Comments portion of the meeting.

Kristin Schwartz, City Treasurer said they are still working on the Tyler software conversion modules for sales tax, courts, Parks and Recreation and are moving along well.  They are also currently working on the budget and she and City Administrator Mitch Hammes will be meeting soon for a work session concerning the upcoming open enrollment period for city health insurance plans.  There was no report from the City Clerk.  Hammes’s report listed several upcoming events:  The City of Lamar Employee Appreciation Event is Thursday, August 20^th at the North Gateway Ponds from 10 am to 2 pm.  Hamburgers and hot dogs will be served and employees can try their hand at driving (with supervision, he stressed jokingly) some of the city’s heavy equipment.  The CML Effective Governance on the Road event is being hosted by the City on August 26^th from 10 am to 2 pm in the Cultural Events Center.  The City of Lamar will be participating in the Colorado State Fair Parade on Saturday, August 29^th in Pueblo.  The 2026 CML Fall District 6 meeting is being hosted by the City of Lamar on September 23^rd at the Historic Cow Palace Inn & Tavern 1301 from 5 to 7:30 pm, with the Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tem summit from 3-5 pm, the City Administrators’ meeting from 3-5 pm, both followed by the Fall District 6 meeting.  All Council members were invited to attend.  Hammes also said he had something exciting to share, in that he received a phone call from an out-of-town woman whose car had broken down in Lamar and she wanted him to know how thankful she was for the kindness and help she received from what Hammes called a Win Local Ambassador as well as a Win Local Business owner, both exemplifying the spirit of the Win Local Campaign. The Win Local Ambassador he mentioned was Code Enforcement Officer Mike Bellamy, who spoke later in the meeting as stated further in this article and the Win Local Business was Austin Motors, who repaired the woman’s car.

Council members had only a few reports for the meeting.  Joe Gonzales said he recently attended the Parks and Recreation’s meeting, saying Interim Director Kolby Brubacher is new and figuring things out and has been getting to know the board members.  Gonzales said the youth league numbers are “outstanding” and that they are hoping to expand adult programs, including possibly adding pickleball.  He commented on the recent announcement that Lamar’s Community Building is now closed to the public on Sundays, saying he went into the meeting skeptical of the decision, but after hearing Brubacher’s explanation, he agreed with it.  Brubacher told him that there are only about 3 individuals utilizing the building on Sundays and that from a profit and loss standpoint, it made sense to halt the Sunday hours, allowing staff to focus on cleaning and sanitizing equipment.  The building remains open on Sundays for private events.  Mark Headlee reported that the Senior Center will be starting Beginning Spanish lessons August 25, held on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-3 pm.  Interested people should call 719-940-0138 for more information.  Brad Johnson said he caught another skunk in the Willow Valley area and encouraged people with skunk problems to check out live traps for $5 a week from the Animal Shelter.  Code enforcement officers will humanely relocate the skunks to rural areas.  He also said that he recently spoke with Mark Carrigan of Carrigan Excavating concerning the ongoing water line replacement in the Willow Valley area.  They are finalizing work in the area in the next couple of weeks and the road department will have a lot to do repairing the roads once it is completed but  felt that residents of that area needed to hear an update about the project and be assured the end is in sight.  Council member Gerry Jenkins thanked Code Enforcement’s Mike Bellomy for getting a property on W. Washington cleaned up.  She also went on a recent ride-along with Kolby Brubacher and they went to the Community Building where she saw that the walking track needs to be replaced, as it is in poor condition.

The first agenda item of the evening was the swearing in of Lamar Police Department’s newest officer, Louis Martinez.  Chief Kevin Ridder introduced Martinez, saying he has 12 years of experience working in New Mexico and that he (Ridder) is excited to see Martinez’s career grow and was proud to have him on board.  Present to witness the swearing in was Office Martinez’s family, with his wife pinning his badge to his uniform.

Lamar Police Department’s newest officer, Louis Martinez, being sworn in by Mayor Kirk CrespinOfficer Martinez’s wife pinning his badge while his children look on

The second agenda item was the promotion of Ryan Cook to Deputy Fire Chief.  Chief Jeremy Burkhart introduced Cook, saying he was a “familiar face” as Cook has served 11 years with the department, with 10 of those years as a Captain.  Burkhart said he has shared an office with Cook for the past 5 years and that Cook has really taken on a leadership role with the department.  “If I have to be out of town for any reason, it’s nice to know that Ryan is there to take care of things” Ridder said, adding that he had the utmost confidence in him.

New Deputy Fire Chief Ryan Cook, at right, with Chief Jeremy Burkhart

Agenda item #3 was a request for an extra-territorial water and wastewater service request for 6620 Rodeo Drive.  Pat Mason, Public Works Director for the city, said there is currently service near the address and that he sees no problems with connected the service request for the location, which is out of the city limits.  Council voted unanimously to approve the request.

Agenda item #4 concerned a recent “Code Comply Summit” attended by Lamar’s Code Enforcement Officer Mike Bellamy and City Administrator Hammes, held in Garden Grove, California.  Bellamy said he was initially hesitant to attend but that he is very glad he did, in that he learned a lot from the summit.  He said he realized from the meetings that not only do the departments want people to clean up their properties, but that they should desire voluntary compliance versus a firm stance by the officers.  “Hearing their struggles”, he learned, is an important aspect to the job of code enforcement.  He also learned more about conflict management, joking that “I have no problem with conflict – my problem is the management of it” which brought laughter from Council members.  He learned more about de-escalation and violations and notices, saying that Lamar’s current door hanger notices need to be addressed, as they “aren’t very inviting” and that the city needs to take more of a “let us help you if you are struggling – we have resources that might help” attitude.  He also said he would like to have a list made of people who can provide those resources, adding that any vetting of same needs to be made by the person receiving the violation notice.  He wanted residents to know that the place to report what they perceive as code violations “is not Facebook” but rather by calling the dedicated Code Enforcement Dispatch line at 336-1356.  Callers can choose to remain anonymous when calling, he said, and that those calls take precedence over anything else the officer might be doing.  Council member Brent Bates told Bellamy “I am incredibly proud of you as a code enforcement officer and look forward to a future with you”.  Bellamy then addressed the above-mentioned incident in which he was pegged as a “Win Local Ambassador” saying he originally wanted to remain anonymous but that the “cat is now out of the bag”.  He explained the situation where he was in a local convenience store when he saw a visibly distressed woman.  He said he saw it in her face and felt the need to ask her “Are you ok?  Is there something you need”.  The woman told him she was from out of town and that her car broke down and her cellphone charger was broken and that the ATM in the store refused to dispense funds since her bank thought it was fraudulent.  “Put it on the counter (the phone charger) and I will pay for it”, he told her. He then asked her if she had someone to fix her car and when she said she did, he confirmed to her that it was a reputable company.  “I had no intention of being recognized for what I did” he said.  Bates added that Bellomy’s act was a testament to what the Win Local campaign embodies.

The last agenda item concerned a letter of engagement for independent legal counsel regarding the recent Lamar Utilities Board/City of Lamar conflict regarding ARPA funds.  Council had previously voted to hire such counsel to explore the legalities of the matter.  The firm listed in the letter of engagement has experience in similar municipal issues and Council voted unanimously to allow the mayor to sign the letter of engagement.

The next Lamar City Council meeting will be at 7:00 pm on Monday, August 24

By: Barbara Crimond