Lamar City Council makes decision about Lamar Utilities Board proposal regarding transfer of waste water discharge permit necessary to move forward with new treatment plant, hires outside counsel to look into sale of Lamar Light and Power to Southeast Colorado Power

Prior to the regular Lamar City Council meeting of July 13, 2026, the Lamar Redevelopment Authority met to vote on approval for a façade grant reimbursement for Apex Performance, LLC for renovations made to its new location at 420 N. Main Street.  Renovations have been completed per the agreement.  The agreement was for 20% of total project cost not to exceed $877.  It was voted unanimously to approve the grant reimbursement for that amount.

Moving on to the regular meeting, all council members were present.  Mayor Kirk Crespin addressed viewers, stating that the past month had been very busy with a lot of great things happening in the city.  Specifically, he said that everyone loved the first ever wet/dry parade on Main Street.  He went on to thank everyone involved, including Kolby Brubacher and the Lamar Chamber of Commerce, Jake Chamberlain and Brady Turpin of Frontier Bank, city staff, Lamar Police Chief Ridder and his team, and everyone involved who helped make it such a success.  Crespin then asked Council if they would approve going into an Executive Session to get legal advice from City Attorney Lance Clark.

The meeting then continued with the Audience Participation portion.  City resident Twyla Batterton addressed Council, expressing her frustration with fireworks on the 4^th of July, particularly the City’s fireworks show after a city ban had been placed on fireworks.  Her sound found evidence the following day of a small fire at the back of her property and stated the neighbors’ garden hoses had been used to extinguish it.  She asked who would be liable if her property had caught fire on a larger scale and caused damage.  Mayor Crespin told her that prior to the holiday it had been announced that anyone caught setting off fireworks would be punished and held liable but that proof of same would be needed, via video or photos or someone testifying they saw the act take place.  He asked if she had called police and she said no because she had gone to bed and the fire residue wasn’t discovered until the next day.  Regarding the City’s fireworks show, Crespin explained that the last time the show had been cancelled, people in town set off their own fireworks shows and four fires took place as a result, so the City decided a show in a controlled environment with trained professionals, fire crews at the scene and proper liability insurance was safer than cancelling the show.

In reports from Council members, Mark Headlee said that because of the recent extreme heat, people should check on their neighbors, particularly the elderly to ensure they were safe.  He reminded everyone that there are resources to help, including transportation, if needed.  Brent Bates wanted to remind viewers of the upcoming SECCI “Fight Night” on Saturday, July 18 to benefit and honor local cancer patients and survivors and that a golf tournament for same was scheduled for August 1.

City Treasurer Kristin Schwartz reported that an on-site audit of the city began July 13 and that the EPA Brownfields assessment grant of $500,000 had been awarded to the city. City Administrator Mitch Hammes had a list of upcoming events: The Lamar Chamber’s Glow Golf tournament is July 18^th ay 4 pm; Prowers County Market’s Grand Opening and ribbon cutting is Saturday, July 25 from 9 am to noon; Lamar Chamber’s evening farmer’s market is Saturday, July 25 from 5-8 pm, and a “Back 2 School Bash” is Saturday, August 1 from 9am-1pm at Grace Family Worship Center, 110 W. Lee Ave.  In Department updates, he said the recent Windmill Softball Tournament went well with no problems.  He also praised the Lamar Police Department for its 25% increase in traffic stops.  The recent Fly-In at the airport wis a great success, with 62 planes present and 150 people served at the pancake breakfast.

The first Agenda Item was a public hearing for a special event permit for the Sand and Sage Round-Up to host a beer garden.  The layout is the same as the previous years’ event which had no problems per Chief Ridder.  All servers will be TIPS certified.  No one spoke against the request and it was approved unanimously.  The next agenda item was the approval of 3 appointments to the Public Safety Board.  Mike Duffy will serve a 4-year term, John Dykes, Jr. will serve a 4-year term, and Jennifer Mortimeyer will serve a 2-year term.  The next agenda item was for a turf management service agreement with LawnCo of Lamar for Escondido soccer field.  Despite the large amount of money recently spent on refurbishing the field, proper maintenance was not done.  Per Mayor Crespin, the previous maintenance company was “a nightmare” and said the field is in dire need of help as it is currently not playable. Evidently, the field received no water over the dry winter and the turf is near ruin.  The question was raised by Council member Brad Johnson if the city got any other bids besides LawnCo’s but Council member Bates said it was too big of an emergency to do so and that waiting even two more weeks could cause total loss of the field, a sentiment Mr. Hammes agreed with.  Council voted to hire LawnCo to develop a vegetation management program of fertilizer, wetting agent, root stimulator, fungicide and weed control in order to try and save the field.  The LCC soccer team will have to begin their season on the high school’s field.

Next on the agenda was a request for extra-territorial water and wastewater service by DZ Construction at 6634 CR HH.5 in Lamar.  It was approved unanimously.  Next, Council approved a consulting service agreement with Warren Camp for part-time services as an independent contractor.  Mr. Camp has been consulting with the city for the past several years and possesses the skills and ability to provide building consulting needed by the city.  Next, the vendor fee permit was waived for two food trucks that will provide food at the upcoming Corporate Cup events.  The event will be held July 29 and 30 at the Lamar Sports Complex and on July 31 and August 1 at North Gateway Park.  Council them approved a State of Colorado Department of Local Affairs Lamar Expanding Affordable Housing Capacity Grant agreement. The grant provides assistance in updating land codes and development of processes to expedite new affordable housing developments.  The City will work through SECED and Michael Yerman to accomplish the goals under this grant.

The next three agenda items were interconnected and all involve the City of Lamar and Lamar Light and Power.  Crespin said that since 2019, the City has been working on developing a new wastewater treatment plant, as the current lagoon system, built in the 1950’s, will no longer be permitted by the CDPHE and a new treatment plant is a requirement.  As such, the City needs to obtain a discharge permit to allow discharge into the Arkansas River.  Currently, Lamar Light and Power holds the permit, which was originally intended to be used for the now-demolished and never-used Lamar Repowering Plant.  During months of talks between City officials and the LUB, the City asked for the transfer of the permit to speed things up and save the City money.  Lamar Light and Power, through the Lamar Utilities Board (LUB), expressed the desire to keep the permit for use in any possible future power plant construction.  Crespin read meeting minutes from the May 26^th  LUB meeting, wherein Chairman Thrall proposed that the LUB give the permit to the City in exchange for the city reallocating the $350,000 yearly payment from the ARPA settlement fund for the next 14 years and asked that the City agree to work with LUB if a new permit is needed by them.  City Council had voted previously to retain those funds in the city’s general fund. Crespin told Council that they basically had two choices – agree to the proposal, which he said “feels like a ransom demand” or hire a third-party municipal attorney, as City Attorney Lance Clark also is the attorney for the LUB and Crespin wants him to retain neutrality.  Several Council members spoke up in favor of hiring a third-party attorney who could make decisions as a neutral party.  A unanimous vote agreed to hire such an attorney and reject the LUB’s offer.  Crespin said that he was in no way accusing anyone on the LUB or Council of any wrongdoing, but that it needs to be decided if the LUB has the authority to retain the permit.  He said he had been asked by an outside party “whether or not a subordinate board (the LUB) has the charter and authority to condition its cooperation on an environmental permit release upon a multi-million dollar payout from the City’s general fund”.  Council agreed that this needs to be decided legally.

The next item, also concerning L&P, was discussion of an “offer to purchase a City of Lamar Asset”.  Crespin said that over a year ago he had been approached by a board member with Southeast Colorado Power asking if the City had interest in selling Lamar Light and Power. Crespin called this a “big task” and as such, he and Council members had met with L&P Superintendent Housein Hourieh, who was against such a takeover.  Previous Mayor pro tem Manuel Tamez was part of these talks and stated he felt the City had a fiduciary duty to its residents to explore any benefits from such a sale.  A meeting with an attorney regarding a non-disclosure agreement was made which would allow discussions with Southeast Colorado Power and to further evaluate the merits of any potential sale.  As such, Council was then tasked during this night’s meeting, with voting as to whether or not to hire a consultant for this purpose – to evaluate and do an appraisal of L&P.  Southeast Colorado Power has offered to split the cost of this special counsel.  They and the City would each spend $8,750 for this service.  Crespin said that the citizens of Lamar deserve to know whether such a sale would be of benefit to them.  He said that potential benefits of a sale to Southeast Colorado Power could include reduced utility rates, something that several council members said they have heard complaints from constituents about. Southeast Colorado Power can possibly offer lower rates in addition to their rebate programs and finance options.  They have also offered to take Lamar’s place on the ARPA board and continue to fulfill Lamar’s contract obligations with ARPA.  Council voted unanimously to hire the consultant to explore the possibility of a sale, agreeing that it was their fiduciary duty to the citizens to do so if it could save money and that they wanted to have complete transparency with residents.  Any final decision regarding any potential sale would have to be decided by voters with the issue on a future ballot, and would not be made by City Council.

Lastly, a first reading of an “Ordinance Establishing Regulations for Automated Vehicle Identification Systems (AVIS)”.  Colorado law now authorizes municipalities to use AVIS, commonly referred to as traffic cameras.  If the ordinance is adopted on its second reading, future decisions regarding whether to implement AVIS, select equipment or vendors, designate camera locations or AVOS corridors, and appropriate funding would require separate action by City Council.  This adoption simply establishes the legal framework necessary for future implementation consistent with Colorado law.  It was stressed by Crespin and Chief Ridder that these are not “Flock” cameras.  Council approved the ordinance’s first reading.

The next Lamar City Council meeting will be Monday, July 27 at 7 pm.

By: Barbara Crimond