Lamar Council Sets Public Hearing Date on Corner Wine & Liquor Transfer

Corner Wine and Liquor

A public hearing for the liquor license transfer for Corner Wine and Liquor was set for January 12, 2015.  The store at 1201 South Main Street was recently sold by Melinda Grover to Rodney and Gail Schroeder.  The transfer of ownership was submitted to conduct a transfer of license operating under a temporary permit from the State of Colorado for 30 days.

December 22 was the date selected for a public hearing for the approval of the adoption of an amendment of the Lamar Municipal Code pertaining to floodplain management.  The CWCB adopted new regulations in 2011 which provided three years for communities to adopt a local ordinance consistent with the new rules.

Dustin Miller and Julia Compton

Lamar Fire Chief Marshall Cook introduced new fire engineers, Julia Compton, the first woman fire engineer in the 127 year history of the department, and Dustin Miller.  Cook added, “Julia started as a firefighter in 1999 and recently joined the Lamar Department after serving in La Veta, Raton, Trinidad and Rocky Ford.    She has 15 years in the firefighting field and is an EMT basic and was an EMT Intermediate while in New Mexico, but as that does not transfer to Colorado, she will be starting her EMT program at Otero Junior College in January.”

Dustin Miller transitioned to full-time staff from his former position as a volunteer firefighter/EMT in the department. He began fighting fire in 2013 and is a volunteer for the Wiley Fire Department and he is completing his EMT-Intermediate training at Lamar Community College.  “During our Christmas Party, Dustin was awarded the department’s EMS Responder of the Year certificate on the medical side for last year’s work as a volunteer,” Cook added.

The council approved resolution 14-12-01, adopting the southeast Colorado Regional Hazard Mitigation Plan in accordance with FEMA requirements.  The plan needs to be updated every five years and will serve communities in Baca, Bent, Crowley, Kiowa, Otero and Prowers counties.  The program began in 2009 under a grant from the Colorado Office of Emergency Management.  Administrator Sutherland commented that the program will aid the city in its Willow Creek improvement plan.  Emergency Management planner for southeast Colorado, Riley Frazee, attended the meeting and informed the council that the document shows how to mitigate the effects of a disaster before it occurs.  He said work would be projected at the city level to lessen the effects of a disaster on residents and infrastructure. Frazee explained the grant could finance reconstructing the city’s levees following a disaster such as a flood, to a point that was an improvement over their current structure, and not just building them back to their current pre-flood status.

Several agenda items were presented to the council from the Lamar Library.  The council renewed the OneClick Adult/Children-YA audiobook online database through 2015 for $2,500; approved renewal of MyHeritage Library online edition for $1,650 for genealogy research; approved renewal of the Colorado Grants Guide for $199 which offers information on how to secure grants; approved renewal of the Muzzy Learning Language Course for Children for $950 and approved an application for federal funding for the program known as E rate to augment internet access and library services.

The Lamar Police Department was awarded $9,000 from the 15^th Judicial VALE Board (Victims Assistance Law Enforcement) for the 2015 year.  The funds are used for the equipment, operation and administration of the VALE services provided to local victims of crimes.  Project Manager, Louise Pierce, will provide the state with quarterly reports on expenses.  Part of the funding is used to provide victims of crime in Lamar with informational packets from the Lamar Police Department.

The City of Lamar Christmas holiday schedule will have city offices closed December 25 and 26 and again on January 1, 2015 for New Year’s.

By Russ Baldwin