City Council Schedules Public Hearing for Sand and Sage Beer Garden

The Lamar City Council set July 13 as the date for a public hearing for the Prowers County Fairboard.  Members are requesting a special events permit to host a beer garden during some events at the Sand and Sage Fair in August.  The council also held a public hearing for a special event permit for Lamar Partnership Incorporated to host a July 18 beer garden on East Beech Street in Lamar for the Hotter Than Hell Music Festival.  This marks the second year the festival has been held in Lamar.  Council members, with the exception of Oscar Riley, voted in favor of the Partnership request.

A recent DOLA Planning Grant of $112,000 was awarded to the City of Lamar for the Main Street Re-Surfacing Project, slated to begin next spring.  The funds will be used to defray costs for the final planning and design work needed for the replacement of the city’s aging distribution system under Main Street.  The grant will be used to leverage 50% of the total planning costs with the State Revolving Funds Grant Program.

The council also accepted a dollar for dollar match grant of $22,095 from DOLA’s Energy Impact Assistance Grant to purchase hardware and software to implement a GIS, Geographical Information System for the City.  Earlier, the City received $5,000 from the State Internet Portal Authority for the project.  City Administrator, John Sutherland, explained that the system will provide a city-wide data base for informational purposes, “Police or fire departments will be provided with an exact address and location of a call so they don’t spend time searching for a location on a street.” He said there are other such uses for locations of infrastructure that will save time and effort.

Last June, the City of Lamar signed an engagement contract with the legal firm, Allen & Vallone for representation with the “Ratepayers” group in a lawsuit filed against ARPA, Arkansas River Power Authority.  That agreement did not provide for fees by the city to the legal firm for their services and as a court ruling this past May dismissed the “Ratepayers” from the lawsuit, but allowed the City to continue to pursue their claims; a new agreement was needed between the city and the law firm.  The council approved a new agreement for the remaining cases, 14cv30031 and 14cv30045.

The council approved a proclamation declaring June as General Aviation Appreciation Month, as sponsored by Alliance for Aviation Across America.  The proclamation noted the economic contributions made to the state from the 61 public use airports in Colorado, including the Lamar Municipal Airport.  The Alliance is a non-profit coalition of over 6,300 individuals, businesses, agricultural groups, FBO’s and small airports helping to raise awareness of the value of general airports, particularly in rural areas.

Councilmember, Anne Marie Crampton said she’s received several calls regarding the streets slated for the June 29th chip seal project in Lamar.  “Some callers said the project will make it difficult for people with baby strollers or bicyclists or skateboarders and they’ve asked if alternative streets could be considered,” she related to the council.

Shannon Venturi and Trevor LaCost were appointed to fill two vacancies on the Lamar Housing Authority Board.  Venturi’s term will expire in 2017 and LaCost’s will end in 2020.

Several future events were noted by City Administrator, John Sutherland which included the annual Bike to Work Day from 7am to 8am at the Lamar Community Building on Wednesday, June 24.  A Walk/Bike to Work Day providing a free lunch will be held from 11am to 1pm at the Healthy Places offices, downtown Lamar at Main and Olive.  The monthly city council informal breakfast will be held Wednesday, July 1 at Burger King from 7am to 8am.  City Offices will be closed for the July 4th holiday on July 3.  A Ports-to-Plains Community Meeting has been set for Wednesday, July 15 at 1pm at the Lamar Community Building as part of the director’s quarterly board meeting set this year for Lamar.

By Russ Baldwin