Op Ed from Representative Ty Winter regarding town of Hartman’s water crisis

There has been a lot of attention paid of late to the Town of Hartman here in Southeast Colorado.  The community made headlines earlier this year when the last remaining town trustees abruptly resigned following a physical altercation at a town meeting. The resignation of the last three trustees plunged the Town into paralysis. There was no staff and no operator for the Town’s water system, which was already under a compliance order from the state health department and on the verge of failing.  Town residents had been under a boil order from the state since late last year.  There was no ability under state law for the county or the state to hold an election for the town to restore governance.  The town residents reached out to us for help.

With the assistance of the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA), a town meeting with the residents of Hartman was convened in late February.  That conversation with the citizens led us to the conclusion that abandonment was the best solution for a community that was on the verge of collapse.  “Abandonment” is just a fancy word for dissolving a town government structure.  Nobody has to move and the community continues on as an unincorporated part of Prowers County.  Most importantly, it was the only way to have another entity come in to take over the water system and prevent a health crisis in the community.

However, under current law, abandonment cannot happen for five years after a town ceases to conduct official business.  This community’s water system needs significant work, and there are immediate concerns about the ability to pay the electric bill needed to keep the system operating.   And so we agreed to work with Prowers County, the Colorado Municipal League (CML), DOLA, the state health department and the Governor’s Office to draft and sponsor legislation that would allow for an expedited abandonment process in the event that a town has no elected officials or staff, has no ability to conduct an election and owns and operates critical water infrastructure.   The resulting legislation (SB26-157) was introduced in March and was subsequently passed by the General Assembly and signed into law by the Governor.

Our legislation is no silver bullet, but it represents the best chance this community has for long-term viability.  Stabilizing the Town’s water supply remains our primary concern and we are happy to report that in accordance with the legislation that we sponsored, the state is currently doing water testing, adding chlorine to the system and ensuring that the pumps stay on while the expedited abandonment process gets underway.  Once the abandonment proceedings are concluded, Prowers County will be able to temporarily take ownership of the water system, with plans to transfer operations to a neighboring jurisdiction or a new water authority.  The state has also agreed to reallocate grant funds to repair the water system once it has been stabilized and ownership transferred to a new entity.

We are grateful for the patience and fortitude of the citizens of Hartman and appreciate their willingness to put the long term health and prosperity of their families above the historic disagreements that have plagued the town.  We also thank our partners at CML, DOLA, Prowers County and the State for their support and assistance as we work to prevent a public health crisis in Hartman and give these citizens a fighting chance.

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Assistant Minority Leader Ty Winter is in his second term in the Colorado House of Representatives.  Senator Rod Pelton is in his first term in the Colorado Senate,