Monday July 27, 2026

The City Council met in a regular session at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Room with Mayor Crespin presiding.

Present: Mark Headlee, Kirk Crespin, David Zavala, Kristin Schwartz, Mitch Hammes, Lance Clark

Joe Gonzales by Zoom until 8:20 PM

Brad Johnson arrived at 7:14 PM

Absent:  Gerry Jenkins, Brent Bate

Approve Modification to Executive Session Correcting CRS Number

Councilmember Headlee moved and Councilmember Zavala seconded to make the correction of the Executive Session C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(a) to C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(b).  The correct verbiage for C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(b) was used in the agenda packet.

• Voting Yes: Gonzales, Headlee, Crespin, Zaval
• Voting No:

Mayor Crespin stated “Let the record reflect that all Councilmembers voted an affirmative, motion passes 4-0”.

Consent Agenda

Councilmember Headlee moved and Councilmember Gonzales seconded to approve the consent agenda Items 1-3.

Item #1 – Approval of Council Meeting Minutes – 7/13/2026

Item #2 – Approval of Minutes for Boards and Commissions

a)  Utilities Board – 6/23/2026

Item #3 – Payment of Bills

General Fund-Vouchers #105243 - #105369

• Voting Yes: Gonzales, Headlee, Crespin, Zavala
• Voting No:    

Mayor Crespin stated “Let the record reflect that all Councilmembers voted an affirmative, motion passes 4-0”.

Audience Participation

Landon & Elizabeth Brown and children Susan, Elliott, and Felicity wanted to thank City Council for all they have done for the opening of Prowers County Market.  Grand Opening was a great success and they presented Council with their Prowers the County Cow Mascot.  In closing they asked that people purchase local to help support the locally owned business and keep money local.

Jay Brooke, 481 Prairie St., Lamar, stated that he was a member of the Lamar Utility Board but was speaking on behalf of himself and not representing the Utility Board.  He was asking questions about the Councils decision to move forward on the possibility of SECPA purchasing the Lamar Utility, he knows that it is a long way out before this would happen.  Jay spoke regarding the dedication of Superintendent Hourieh in building a successful power station and continuing his life in Lamar.  Jay feels that Superintendent Hourieh could have been more involved in the process.  Jay stated his concerns about the long time employees of the Utility Board, the employees are asking questions such as are they going to have a job, do they need to begin looking for another job.  Jay asked if the Council has spoken with the Utility Board employees to explain what is going on, particularly the linemen, they are very hard to retain.  He hopes the Council will reach out to them (the employees) and he knows the employees  are very upset and need some kind of message from the Council.  Jay also brought up the fact that the City is desperate to build the wastewater treatment plant and the sale and getting the utility reserves would go a long ways in doing this.  Jay feels this is a little short sided and if the ends really justify the means.

Mayor Crespin did want to give clarification to Mr. Brooke’s statement.  What the Council agreed upon was to investigate SECPA offer.  Mayor Crespin wants to make it clear to the public, employees, staff, and board that the Council does not have the authority to sell a utility.  This is similar to when an entity wanted to buy the Lamar Airport, Council took the stance to at least hear what the entity had to offer and give them the opportunity to share their offer, and this is no different than what Council has decided to do now.  SECPA asked if the council would be interested in hearing what they had to say and what their offer was.  Mayor Crespin stated that if it comes out as a decent offer or that the Council wants to consider the offer, the next step would be to take it to the Lamar Utility Board to see if they felt it was a good offer.  If they agree it’s a good offer it would then be put on the ballot for the community to decide, the Council does not make this decision.  Mayor Crespin stated as the Council’s fiduciary duty if someone came into Lamar, Colorado and offered $500,000,000.00 to buy Lamar Light & Power the Council should at least listen.  Mayor Crespin stated this is the extent of the commitment to hear what SECPA has to say.

Brad Johnson arrived at 7:14 p.m.

City Treasurer Report

City Treasurer Schwartz reported she has sent out RFP’s for the Brownfield Cleanup Grant for the Main Café.  This has been published and her office will start accepting bids for the cleanup project.  She has been setting up meetings on the new assessment grant to get a work plan and other items going, she and City Administrator Hammes will work on this.

City Treasurer Schwartz reported that she has provided copies of the 2nd quarter financial report for everyone to review, if there are any questions please get with her at some point.

City Treasurer Schwartz reported that she had been asked to bring the current investment rates for Council to review.  She stated that right now we use most of the local banks and a few years ago made the decision to move some of the investment accounts to ColoTrust. ColoTrust rates have been down a little bit as well as everyone elses.  Currently ColoTrust is at 3.75 and 3.52 on the 2 types of accounts they offer.  The closest rates any of the local banks have would be in their 12 & 24 month cd’s, they are comparable rates.  She stated that the draw back to this is that ColoTrust is liquid, just like a checking account, we can access it as needed.  We have chosen right now to leave the money in ColoTrust at this time. 

City Treasurer Schwartz gave a brief Tyler update:

Sale Tax has not gone live yet, still working out a few bugs.

Went live today on Project Accounting

Had meetings on Parks & Rec module

Working on the Courts module

Accounts Receivable and Cemetery will begin soon

Time & Attendance is completed.

City Treasurer Schwartz stated that the onsite audit was the previous week and last week through Wednesday, she will continue to get the auditor any additional items that he needs.  She stated that the audit deadline was extended to September 30, 2026.

City Clerk Report

City Clerk Williams stated that there are still some bugs to work out on the sales tax and she is waiting to hear back on the accounts receivable.

City Administrator Report

Back 2 School Bash

City Administrator Hammes announced that the Back 2 School Bash is Saturday, August 1, 2026, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Grace Family Worship Center, 110 W. Lee Ave.

Sand & Sage Fair

City Administrator Hammes announced that the Sand & Sage Fair is August 1-8, 2026.

Lamar Swimming Pool Closure

City Administrator Hammes announced the last day for the Lamar Swimming Pool will be Saturday, August 8, 2026.

SECCI Drive for Hope Golf Tournament

City Administrator Hammes announced that the SECCI Drive for Hope Golf Tournament is Saturday, August 1, 2026 at Spreading Antlers Golf Course.

Parks & Recreation Fall Youth Sports Registration

City Administrator Hammes reported that registration is open for the Parks & Recreation Fall Youth Sports until August 1, 2026.

Department Updates

Community Programs Manager Brenda Brown gave an update on Corporate Cup.  She extended an invitation to City Council to attend the event.  Opening Ceremony begins Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m., Cornhole Tournament begins at 6:00 p.m.  Thursday night starts the Crazy Kickball Tournament, Friday night the Beach Volleyball Tournament begins.  Saturday morning is the 5k run, Kayak racing, completion of the volleyball tournament, fishing tournament and then have the Community Pride project.  The Community Pride project is a 2-hour project where the teams take a portion of the community and clean it up.  She stated there are 12 teams this year, there were 14 last year and the board felt that they needed to drop back to 12 due to time constraints.

Fire Chief Burkhart provided a handout that gave run statistic comparisons from 2025 to 2026 along with a line drawing of the new fire truck.  Truck should be complete sometime between February and April of 2027.  He did state that they are always looking for volunteers and LCC is offering the EMT Basic program free to those that want to attend.

Councilmember Headlee commented that it was nice that Lamar now has Paramedics.

Chief Burkhart stated that yes currently on Paramedic and one working towards their Paramedic, should be completed soon.

Police Chief Ridder reported that there in the first 6-months of 2026 there has been 149% increase 2023.  In 2025 there was a 61% increase over 2024 and in 2026 there is a 26% increase.  This includes enforcement actions, warrants, tickets, etc.  He stated that calls for service shows about a 16% reduction for the first half of 2026 and traffic accidents shows a 19% reduction in the first half.  Chief Ridder stated that they are still concerned with the staffing, they have been running 2 officers short for most of the year, recently hired Officer Martinez.  Currently have 14 street officers with 3 investigation staff, this correlates into 4 12-hour shifts.  Fully staffed they run 3 officers per shift with 2 on a swing shift.  This may need to be re-evaluated such as having a dedicated traffic enforcement officer that could come over and cover shortages if needed.  Chief Ridder also reported that dispatch has been down 2 employees until recently as well.  Chief Ridder reported that their fleet has some issues, they have had to replace 4 engines in the Dodge trucks over the last year, the 2018 and 2020 vehicles are becoming a little be more unreliable and will be a concern over the next few years.  Currently have 1 serviceable spare if one should go down.  Chief Ridder reported on departmental progress or accomplished goals.  Investigations completed a 10-year evidence audit of lost property.  They went through about 6,000 items including evidence dispositions.  This helps to get rid of things but helps in the technology of being able to find things and keep things as they are supposed to be kept such as dna kits and sexual assault kits.  They have increase the refrigeration to avoid specimen contamination and compromise.  They have updated the sex offender registration process and training and finding resources to get a free fingerprinting machine.  Weapons and firearms training to be up to date on the new standards.  Training budget was increased from last year which helped with certification on both K-9 units this year, we now also have a certified decoy office to continue training.  They have been working on community awareness and the media releases for case updates and community involvement.  Increase in community development to help with getting involved in the schools.  Chief Ridder wants to say he is really proud of all the staff including officers, administrative and dispatch, they have really adopted a good pro-active approach to doing things differently, more efficiently, better.

Council Liaison

Mayor Crespin read a thank-you letter from Frontier Bank to the City for helping support the Wet & Dry Parade.  Frontier Bank was the original creator of the Wet & Dry Parade for Lamar.

ORDINANCE 2ND READING

Ordinance No. 1286 – “An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Lamar, Colorado, Adding New Sections 26-13 to Chapter 26 of the Lamar Municipal Code to Establish Regulations for Automated Vehicle Identification System in the City of Lamar, Colorado”

Councilmember Gonzales moved and Councilmember Zavala seconded to approve Ordinance No. 1286 – “An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Lamar, Colorado, Adding New Sections 26-13 to Chapter 26 of the Lamar Municipal Code to Establish Regulations for Automated Vehicle Identification System in the City of Lamar, Colorado” on second reading.

• Voting Yes: Gonzales, Headlee, Crespin, Zavala, Johnson
• Voting No:    

Mayor Crespin stated “Let the record reflect that all Councilmembers voted an affirmative, motion passes 5-0”.

NEW BUSINESS

Professional Service Agreement with My Rural Planner

Councilmember Johnson moved and Councilmember Zavala seconded to approve Professional Service Agreement with My Rural Planner and authorize the Mayor to sign.

• Voting Yes: Gonzales, Headlee, Crespin, Zavala, Johnson
• Voting No:    

Mayor Crespin stated “Let the record reflect that all Councilmembers voted an affirmative, motion passes 5-0”.

Annual Agreement for Use of LAWMA Augmentation Station

Councilmember Gonzales moved and Councilmember Headlee seconded to approve Annual Agreement for Use of LAWMA Augmentation Station and authorize the Mayor to sign.

• Voting Yes: Gonzales, Headlee, Crespin, Zavala, Johnson
• Voting No:    

Mayor Crespin stated “Let the record reflect that all Councilmembers voted an affirmative, motion passes 5-0”.

City Water System Status Report

Water Compliance Specialist and Team Lead Tresa Holbert reported on the severe drought conditions, according to NOAA this is the driest year in 130 year recorded history.  Due to this on May 11th Council approved stage 2 water restrictions which allows citizens to water 3 times a week.  This was passed to help alleviate demand on the wells, there has been a lack of snow melt which typically helps recharge the water in the wells.  The citizens have been making efforts to conserve but because of the extreme heat there has been a higher demand on the water consumption.  Last year at this point we used 303 million gallons of water and this year we have used 306 million gallons for an increase of 1.1%.  Currently we are using 2.27 million gallons daily, we would like to encourage the citizens to continue their water conservation efforts.  She stated that if the dry conditions continue to exist the water department staff will come back to Council to increase further conservation efforts.  Tresa reported that our drinking water continues to remain safe, fully compliant and meets or exceeds all EPA and state primary and secondary drinking water standards.  The chlorine residual remains stable around the target of 070 milligrams per liter and the fluoride injection system is operating consistently and safely staying within recommended guidelines.  She stated that they continue to sample monthly for bacteria and she is pleased to report that she had 100% record of no positive results.

Tresa wanted to point out the key infrastructures across the City.

Willow Valley Water Line Project installed by Carrigan Excavating is currently replacing 14” cast iron water line running under Willow Valley residents’ properties installed in the 30’s with a 12” PVC line running in the street in front of the homes.  Final phase is underway and during this time they added 3 additional fire hydrants for a total of 5 in the area.  Once complete the street crew will do a full road repaving in the area.

Water Line Project on W. Oak St. crews continue to install valves and replace the aging 6” main since historically has issues a water breaks between 7th and 13th St.

Waste Water Treatment Plant – staff is meeting with JVA to review the 30% design plan.

Lead Line Replace Plan – Out of the 22 lines discovered in the initial phase 19 lines have been replaced putting them at 86% completion.

Sanitary Sewer Inflow and Infiltration also known as I-n-I, they are aggressively tapping ground water infiltration system into the sewer system.  During routine inspection staff found four failing manholes taking on heavy ground water, after repairing they estimate they eliminated about 100,000 gallons per day of ground water processing at the treatment plant.  By sealing these four manholes they have stopped a massive volume of ground water overwhelming the mains saving significant electrical and processing costs at the treatment plant.  Moving forward a fully system wide I-n-I study will conducted alongside the new wastewater treatment plant project to identify remaining areas of concern.

Contract for Services with MetaTraffic LLC (“MT”)

Councilmember Johnson moved and Councilmember Headlee seconded to approve Contract for Services with MetaTraffic, LLC (“MT”) and allow the Mayor to sign. 

• Voting Yes: Gonzales, Headlee, Crespin, Zavala, Johnson
• Voting No:    

Mayor Crespin stated “Let the record reflect that all Councilmembers voted an affirmative, motion passes 5-0”.

Councilmember Gonzales left meeting at 8:20 p.m.

Approve 2027 Budget Calendar

Councilmember Johnson moved and Councilmember Headlee seconded to approve the 2027 Budget Calendar.

• Voting Yes: Headlee, Crespin, Zavala, Johnson
• Voting No:    

Mayor Crespin stated “Let the record reflect that all Councilmembers voted an affirmative, motion passes 4-0”.

Resolution No. 26-07-01 – “A Resolution of Necessity of the City Council of the City of Lamar”

Councilmember Headlee moved and Councilmember Zavala seconded to approve Resolution No. 26-07-01 – “A Resolution of Necessity of the City Council of the City of Lamar” and allow Mayor to sign.

• Voting Yes: Headlee, Crespin, Zavala, Johnson
• Voting No:    

Mayor Crespin stated “Let the record reflect that all Councilmembers voted an affirmative, motion passes 4-0”.

Accept Titan Commercial Valuation Agreement for Appraisal Services and Allow the Mayor to Sign

Councilmember Johnson moved and Councilmember Headlee seconded to approve and accept Titan Commercial Valuation Agreement for Appraisal Services and allow the Mayor to sign.

• Voting Yes: Headlee, Crespin, Zavala, Johnson
• Voting No:    

Mayor Crespin stated “Let the record reflect that all Councilmembers voted an affirmative, motion passes 4-0”.

Miscellaneous

Mayor Crespin asked who could be on the radios tomorrow morning.  He and City Administrator Hammes will be on KLMR tomorrow morning and Councilmember Johnson will take care of KVAY after the next meeting.

Executive Session – (1) For a Conference with City Attorney for the Purpose of Receiving Legal Advice on Specific Legal Questions under C.R.S. 24-6-402-(4)(b) Regarding Eminent Domain and Urban Development (2) For a Conference with City Attorney for the Purpose of Receiving Legal Advice on Specific Legal Questions under C.R.S. 24-6-402-(4)(b) Regarding the City Charter Requirements

Councilmember Headlee moved and Councilmember Zavala seconded to enter into Executive Session – (1) For a Conference with City Attorney for the Purpose of Receiving Legal Advice on Specific Legal Questions under C.R.S. 24-6-402-(4)(b) Regarding Eminent Domain and Urban Development (2) For a Conference with City Attorney for the Purpose of Receiving Legal Advice on Specific Legal Questions under C.R.S. 24-6-402-(4)(b) Regarding the City Charter Requirements.

• Voting Yes: Headlee, Crespin, Zavala, Johnson
• Voting No:    

Mayor Crespin stated “Let the record reflect that all Councilmembers voted an affirmative, motion passes 4-0”.

Regular meeting recessed and executive session convened at 8:29 p.m.

Executive Session did not occur due to not having two thirds of the Council in attendance.

Adjournment

There being no further business to come before the Council, Councilmember Johnson moved and Councilmember Zavala seconded that the meeting adjourn.

• Voting Yes: Headlee, Crespin, Zavala, Johnson
• Voting No:    

Mayor Crespin stated “Let the record reflect that all Councilmembers voted an affirmative, motion passes 4-0”.

The meeting adjourned at 8:41 p.m.