Lamar Police Department and Domestic Safety Sign Agreement

Administrator Sutherland, Treasurer McCrea and Attorney Nieschburg

Lamar Mayor, Roger Stagner, signed a memorandum of understanding between the Lamar Police Department and the Domestic Safety Resource Center as outlined by Lamar Police Chief, Kyle Miller and Kathy McCorkle, Executive Director of DSRC. The MOU will help to provide assistance to victims of domestic crimes, as the Center currently provides such items as food, shelter, crisis intervention and crisis line services to victims of crime. The Center is working to bring training to the area to assist the Police Department with crimes against victims. Under the agreement, the Police Department will provide sensitivity to the needs of victims of domestic violence and sexual assault; provide information about the services provided by the Center including counseling and a needs assessment and to provide statistical reports and monthly documentation of all incidents of domestic violence and sexual assaults in the 15th Judicial District.

“We received about two dozen pages from CDOT on engineering plans for reconstructing Main Street,” said City Administrator, John Sutherland.  Various city department heads, including Wiley Work from the engineering department and Houssin Hourieh, Superintendent of Lamar Light and Power, met last week with CDOT officials for a review of the plans which outline the underground utilities infrastructure.  “Not everything has been listed as our people noted that some water and electrical lines had been overlooked,” Sutherland explained.  Not much has varied from the most recent concepts.  Sutherland said work will begin with the elimination of the median and then three blocks at a time on one side of the street will be reconstructed while traffic is routed one-way at that location.  “CDOT hasn’t been precise on when the work will start, but they have said by late spring of 2016 for the first phase of the project, followed by the start of the second and final project in 2018,” he told the council.

The council approved the purchase of updated software and billing programs for the Lamar Ambulance Service as presented by Lamar Fire Chief Jeremy Burkhart.  “Our system is very antiquated,” he explained, adding that the billing process for medical calls is time consuming and labor intensive.  “We also have to have a dedicated server in use for this system alone.  We can eliminate that and help streamline the system and eliminate many of the billing errors created by the old system.”  The package costs $9,000 and is in the budget, but not as a specific line item for the purchase.

The council also approved the lease of LAWMA water shares to Ron Peterson LLC which had first right of refusal for 233 available shares, available for the 2015 irrigation season.  This agreement has been in existence for several years with a deposit paid at the start of the season and the balance is billed through the City.

In other action, the Honorable Larry Stutler was authorized to sit as Acting Municipal Court Judge in Case 15-O-081, City v. Amber Alisha Russell. The Honorable Kim Verhoeff, Municipal judge, recused herself from that case. As a housekeeping action, the City of Lamar agreed to participate in a Coordinated Election in November, authorizing the City Clerk to file the Intent with the Prowers County Clerk and Recorder. Five council members, including Mayor Roger Stagner, will be up for re-election in November, excluding Kirk Crespin and Oscar Riley.

Sutherland noted that June 24 will be the annual Bike to Work Day with breakfast served from 7am to 8am at the Lamar Community Building. All riders are welcome to attend.

The Lamar City Council agreed to re-schedule a public hearing for a special event permit from Lamar Partnership Incorporated from June 8 to June 22, 2015. The Permit will allow LPI to host a beer garden at the second annual ‘Hotter Than Hell’ Music Festival planned for July 18 at the Lamar Chamber headquarters on East Beech Street between 3pm and 10pm. Although the beer garden will open at 3pm, vendors and musical entertainment will begin at 11am on that Saturday.

Overnight camping at Willow Creek Park was approved by the council for the Lamarlins regional swim meet June 19-21 this year. The council has approved the annual request to accommodate out of town competitors from as far away as Salida and up and down the Arkansas Valley.

The council, sitting as the Urban Redevelopment Authority, authorized two checks to be prepared for renovations to Las Brisas Restaurant on South Main Street in Lamar.  The Authority approved the grants during their previous meeting.  The second payment, the balance of the grant, will be made once the owner submits invoices for the physical upgrades.

By Russ Baldwin