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Main Street Renovations are Ready to Roll

Main Street Renovations are Ready to Roll

Look for the long-anticipated Main Street renovation project in Lamar to begin in February. A standing room only capacity crowd attended the CDOT open house briefing at the Cultural Events Center Thursday evening, January 19, to hear the plans from American Civil Constructors, the firm hired to conduct the renovation work, a project that will run […]

Gov. Hickenlooper Delivers Annual State of the State Address

DENVER — Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017 — Gov. John Hickenlooper today delivered his annual State of the State address. The governor’s remarks focused on transportation, economic development, health care, infrastructure and the marijuana grey market. Here is the text of the speech as prepared: —- I couldn’t sleep last night, so I thought about delivering […]

Winter Storm Approaching S.E. Colorado

Winter Storm Approaching S.E. Colorado

WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE – NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 8:01 PM MST FRI JAN 13 2017 …WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY MORNING… * LOCATION…KIOWA…BENT…PROWERS AND BACA COUNTIES…INCLUDING EADS…LAS ANIMAS…LAMAR AND SPRINGFIELD. * CAUSE AND TIMING…A PACIFIC STORM WILL BRING A WINTRY MIX OF FREEZING RAIN AND SNOW TO THE […]

Courthouse Improvement Project Reviewed

Courthouse Improvement Project Reviewed

The infrastructure of the Prowers County Courthouse is beginning to show its age. Built in the late 1920s, some of the facility operation systems are breaking down including on-going HVAC, electrical and safety failures.  This need has prompted the Prowers County Commissioners to hire a construction firm, 360 Energy Engineers, to provide an assessment and […]

City Sales Tax Revenues Enter 2017 with Gains

City Sales Tax Revenues Enter 2017 with Gains

  Sales tax revenue figures for November sales and Use Tax collected in December show a 6.27% gain for City of Lamar sales tax and a 6.46% increase for Total Sales and Use Tax collections. Sales tax collections were up $14,636 compared to 2015 and up $16,252 for the same period.  Total monthly collections for […]

Building Permit Fees and Bridge Maintenance Issues Brought to Lamar City Council’s Attention

Building Permit Fees and Bridge Maintenance Issues Brought to Lamar City Council’s Attention

Two issues came before the Lamar City Council during the portion of the meeting which allows comments from the public on matters not listed on the agenda. Ed Jones, farmer/rancher, who lives in the county, asked the council about the pricing for  building permits issued by the city and the impact that has on the county. […]

New Windfarm Construction Set for this Spring

New Windfarm Construction Set for this Spring

Thirty-six wind turbines are scheduled to be built 23 miles south of Lamar beginning this spring. Mark Stacy, the director for Iberdrola Renewables LLC, told the Prowers Journal that roadwork east of Highway 287 is expected to begin in April.  “Our operations and management building will go up in March and our central location will […]

Granada Trustees Approve Donation of Building to Camp Amache

Granada Trustees Approve Donation of Building to Camp Amache

John Hopper, of the Amache Preservation Society, approached the Granada Trustees with a request to relocate an historic building from the Camp Amache Detention Center from the town park back to the Amache site. Hopper said he has a pending grant from the National Park Service, but only a week or so to use it […]

Finance on the Agenda as LUB Closes 2016

Finance on the Agenda as LUB Closes 2016

Two action items on the Lamar Utility Board’s agenda dealt with finances for the approaching year. Board members unanimously passed the annual resolution for the Charter Appropriation Adjustment Tariff.  The appropriation for 2017 is $1,610,223 and is derived from a formula involving the amount budgeted to the City of Lamar for the next year which […]

City Sales Tax Shows Slight Monthly Drop

City Sales Tax Shows Slight Monthly Drop

Sales tax for the City of Lamar dropped slightly for the October 2016 sales which were collected in November. City Sales Tax was off 3.08% for a decline of $7,941.41 putting 2016 collections for the month at $249,570.96 compared to 2015 figures of $257,512.37.  Total Sales and Use Tax collections came in for the month, […]

Groundwork Starts on Lamar Pocket Park

Groundwork Starts on Lamar Pocket Park

Preliminary construction work on the proposed Pocket Park for downtown Lamar has begun. An excavation crew from Carrigan Construction was on the scene, Thursday, December 1st, scraping away the top most layer of asphalt and dirt, making way for a sand base which will be more concrete friendly, according to Mark Carrigan. “We should be […]

ARPA Wins Jury Trial Against Boiler Manufacturer

ARPA Wins Jury Trial Against Boiler Manufacturer

ARPA, Arkansas River Power Authority, won a $4.2 million verdict against boiler manufacturer Babcock and Wilcox in U.S. District Court in Denver on Monday, November 21st.  Rick Rigel, ARPA General Manager said, “The eight person jury verdict confirms what we have maintained all along about the boiler; it was not efficient with regard to EPA standards […]

Lamar Council Okays Police-Fire Department Equipment Upgrades

Lamar Council Okays Police-Fire Department Equipment Upgrades

The Lamar City Council approved a request for a software program to aid in police investigations. Police Chief, Kyle Miller, explained the free program from Tracers Information Specialists will provide access to public records and data sources to qualified organizations.  Chief Miller explained, “The information will only be used for investigations by the department.  The […]

County Seeks $1M Grant for Courthouse Repairs

County Seeks $1M Grant for Courthouse Repairs

The Prowers County Courthouse, constructed and dedicated in 1929, is in need of at least $1M in upgrades. The Prowers County Commissioners have applied for a grant to cover the costs of the comprehensive project which includes a new HVAC system, complete replacement of the electrical infrastructure and LED lighting replacement and retrofits. The courthouse […]

City Sales Tax Remains Healthy as Year Winds Down

City Sales Tax Remains Healthy as Year Winds Down

    September City Sales Tax collected in October grew 3.77% for a $10,447 increase over the previous year, putting monthly collections for 2016 at $287,753 compared to 2015 at $277,306. Total Sales and Use Tax collections were up 6.21% for a dollar gain of $18,168.  Total collections for September 2016 were $310,968, up from […]