Prowers County Development, Inc.Round Table MinutesCurrent month Round Table Meeting minutes are listed below as to date. Present: Russ
Baldwin, KVAY; Erik Stone, KLMR; Pat Palmer, Palmer Oil/Pit Stop; Elwood
Gillis; Tim Wheaton, Lamar School Board; Doug Thrall, Cavanagh Realty; Nelva
Heath, The Berry Patch/Lamar Mayor; Skip Ruedeman, Clear Choice Water/Lamar
City Council; Gene Millbrand, Valley Memorial Funeral Home/Prowers County
Commissioner; Catherine Cattarello, LCC Foundation; Roger Jones, PCDI EDD. Russ Baldwin opened the meeting
with the news that Ben Cantley will be back in Lamar for KVAY covering the
Holiday Basketball Tournament play-by-play. The committee planning the new tourist
event (tentatively called the Best-a-Bull Festival) will be meeting this
afternoon at the Sugar Shack. The
Snow Goose Festival headquarters will be at the Division of Wildlife offices
on South Main, formerly the Armory building. Tim Wheaton said the security
system at the Lamar High School has been installed and is operational, with a
few wrinkles being ironed out.
Visitors now must be “buzzed in” to gain admittance to the
school buildings. The system is
being installed next at the Middle School. Doug Thrall reported the Prison
Committee will be touring the Ft. Lyon facility this afternoon, to learn what
they offer in that facility so that the plans for the Prowers County facility
will enhance that facility rather than complete with it. Doug added that he has started the
process of finding construction companies that have experience in building
special needs prisons. Nelva Heath said she was very
pleased with the reports she has been getting from the Lamar retailers
– both sales and spirits are up, which bodes well for this being season
being the best holiday season we’ve had for a number of years. A number of merchants have joined
forces to promote Shopping in Lamar, mailing 11,000 flyers to the surrounding
counties inviting them to come to Lamar to shop. She added that the attendance was high
for the Parade of Lights and the Christmas Concert in the new Shore Arts
Center by the Arkansas Valley Wind & Percussion Ensemble was wonderful. The library’s 100th
Anniversary celebration on Saturday was outstanding. Catherine Cattarello announced
a series of workshops for 2007 aimed at capacity building for non-profit
organizations. The instructors
for these workshops will be from the Colorado Resource Center, who also
taught the seminars at the recent Philanthropy Days in La Junta. The first workshop will be in January,
and an official announcement will be coming out soon. Erik Stone said that KLMR will
be covering the play-by-play at the La Junta Holiday Shootout on Thursday
through Saturday this week, and then next week will be covering all 24 games
of the Lamar Holiday Basketball Tournament on Sunny 93, their FM station. He also mentioned the Ho-Ho Express
shuttle service from the tournament to retail and eating establishments in
Lamar. This shuttle service is
provided free by the Lamar merchants. Pat Palmer attended a meeting
last night on the Trails System being planned for Prowers County. Gene Millbrand said the
commissioners had all attended the Colorado Counties Inc. conference last
week and he felt it was a great conference. Governor-elect Bill Ritter was the
keynote speaker. Gene said the
ethanol project north of Lamar should be breaking ground by next week. He said this company has also
initiated talks with LCC about possibly starting classes to train people
specifically for jobs in the ethanol industry. There is no facility doing this
now. Gene added the commissioners
are still working on the budget, trying to find a balance between lower
income and higher expenses. Roger Jones gave an update on
current projects, noting the new addition of the Viaero wireless
communication tower in the Wal-Mart vicinity. Roger will give a presentation to the
city council Monday on the Mayors.TV upcoming video of Lamar. The shoot date is tentatively set for
April 8, 2007. November 29, 2006 – 6:00 p.m. Present: Roger
Jones, PCDI EDD and Carla Scranton, PCDI Admin. Asst. The meeting was cancelled when no one else showed up by
6:20pm. November 22, 2006 Present: Melanie
Dillon, KLMR; Russ Baldwin, KVAY; Pat Palmer, Palmer Oil/Pit Stop; Elwood
Gillis; Tim Wheaton, Lamar School Board; Cathy Buxton, Wallace Gas & Oil;
Lawrence Brase, Brase Insurance; Roger Jones, PCDI EDD. Elwood Gillis commented that he had noticed from the
minutes that the attendance was down at the Round Table meetings lately. Several suggestions were made to
increase attendance. Russ Baldwin reported the final figures show that $4900
was raised at the Fantasy Tree Auction to benefit the Domestic Safety
Resource Center. He said they had
a large crowd for the Auction this year, and also thanked Nelva Heath for all
her hard work in organizing the fashion show, the merchants who provided the
clothing and accessories and the hair salons that provided hair styles for
the models. The Chamber Stringing of the Lights in the Enchanted
Forest is Wednesday, November 29th at 11:00am. Members of the community, businesses,
churches and clubs are invited to lend a helping hand to make the Enchanted
Forest ready for the holiday season.
If you have extra white lights, please bring them as they are still
low on lights from the vandalism last year. The Chamber will be furnishing chili
for lunch for all workers. The Chamber has also issued the ballots for the four new
Chamber Directors. The ballots
will be counted on November 30th, so please return them to the
Chamber. Several new businesses are opening their doors in the
downtown area. An H & R Block
office is opening at 222 South Main, and a craft store will be opening at the
corner of 5th and Elm.
This store will also feature old-time portraits. The Two Shot Goose Hunt will begin on Wednesday, Nov. 29th
and run through Sunday, December 2nd. The headquarters is at the Cow Palace
Inn. Melanie Dillon said she will be leaving Lamar and KLMR to
take a new job in Laramie, Wyoming.
We all wished her well in her new employment. Tim Wheaton said the new security system is being
installed at the Lamar High School and they hope to have all the schools on
line by the end of the Christmas break.
The board recently hired a new Spanish teacher and a new Social
Studies teacher. Chuck and Sheri Bowen will be presenting the history of
the Sand Creek Massacre on November 30th and the Cow Palace Inn
from 12:30 – 1:30 pm. The annual Snow Goose Festival is scheduled for February
23 – 25, 2007. Pat Palmer
added that an announcement will be made during the festival of new birding
trails in the 6-County area. The
Best-a-Bull Festival is scheduled for April 21st at the End of the
Line Arena. Roger Jones reported he has several companies he is
working with as prospective businesses for Prowers County. Roger and six members of the
Incentives Committee traveled to Denver on Tuesday to meet with one of these
companies and also with the Colorado Economic Development Office on other
prospects. He said the meetings
went extremely well. Cathy Buxton closed the meeting with this thought –
Community Involvement is the Key to Lamar’s future economic
growth. This includes, PCDI,
SECED, municipalities, county and last but definitely not least, local
business owners and citizens. November 15, 2006 Present: Doug
Thrall, Cavanagh Realty; Melanie Dillon, KLMR; Russ Baldwin, KVAY; Pat
Palmer, Palmer Oil/Pit Stop; Skip Ruedeman, Clear Choice Water/Lamar City
Council; Bill Wootten, Car Palace; Anne-Marie Crampton, LCC; Catherine Cattarello,
LCC Foundation; Shawn Pelley, Quality Dry Cleaners/Chamber. Bill Wootten said the
Re-powering project is on schedule, and they finished the second large
concrete pour yesterday before the wind hit. Anne-Marie Crampton brought
copies of the new LCC Spring Schedules.
They are offering several new courses, including one on building your
own website. The Fast Track
courses for the Associate of Arts degree will concentrate on math this
semester; and a new Fast Track on Early Childhood Education/Group Leader
Certificate will also be offered.
A free Tax Workshop will be offered on December 5th. Brad Thompson was hired for the new
Pierre Auger Outreach Coordinator.
Brad is from Massachusetts and has a Master in Physics. He will also be teaching some Physical
Science courses. He will join the
faculty in January. Catherine Cattarello said that
along with her duties as Foundation Director, she is also coordinating the
Salvation Army bell ringers for the holiday season, and is in dire need of
volunteer ringers. If there are
enough volunteers, there will be four locations in Lamar and will only be
ringing on Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 7pm, working in two-hour
shifts. The locations will be
Alco, Thriftway, Safeway and Wal-Mart on Saturdays and Truck Plaza,
Thriftway, Safeway and Wal-Mart on Sundays. If you would like to volunteer, please
call Catherine at 336-1515. She
emphasized that 90% of the funds raised in Lamar stay in our local communities,
and are used primarily to subsidize medication for those who can’t
afford them. The remaining 10%
goes to the state Salvation Army and is used for Colorado disaster
relief. Pat Palmer reported on the Pike
celebration activities this past week.
The music and history concert Sunday evening at the Lamar High School
was very informative and entertaining.
The Pike Tower in Willow Creek Park was Re-Dedicated on Monday
afternoon and Don Headlee gave an impressive re-enactment as Zebulon Pike at
the Cultural Events Center.
Boggsville will be serving a buffalo chili lunch on Wednesday followed
by the dedication of a 6-ton stone from the top of Pikes Peak which has been
placed at the site where Pike was believed to have first sighted Pikes
Peak. The Pikes Tower stamp cancellation
and Pikes Peak stamp are available at the Lamar Post Office for the next 60
days. Pat also attended the committee
meeting for the new tourist event planned for April 21, 2007 in conjunction
with the Spring Roundup at Old Granada.
The event will feature Rocky Mountain oysters, but the menu will also
include a fish fry as an alternative.
Plans were also discussed for a bike ride, trail ride and other
events. The grand opening of the
Sand Creek Massacre site will be on April 28th. KLMR is carrying the football
playoffs this Saturday, both with 1pm kickoffs. The AM station will feature the 8-man
Semi-Final game between Granada and Haxtun at Haxtun. The FM station will cover the 6-man
Championship game between Eads and Idalia at Eads. The Farm-City Banquet is Friday
night at the Lamar Community Building.
The entertainment is comedian, Jolly Demis. Tickets are available at the Chamber
office for $25. Advance tickets
are required for the meal, but tickets are available at the door for $10 for
the entertainment only, which will start at 8pm. Saturday, November 18th
is the Fantasy Tree Auction for the benefit of the Domestic Safety Resource
Center. The event begins at
6:00pm at the Cow Palace Inn, and will also feature a fashion show this year. Russ Baldwin said they have 16 trees
donated so far for the event. Nelva Heath said the City
Council interviewed a candidate for the interim city administrator’s
position on Tuesday night. They
were most impressed with his credentials. They will also be interviewing
additional candidates for the interim position through December. The council will be rewriting the job
description and contract for the city administrator’s position during
the work session on November 27th, and the job search for this position will
begin in January. The council
plans to appoint a search committee at the November 27th work
session, with representatives from the citizens at large, as well as the
council and economic development.
November 8, 2006 Present: Tim
Wheaton, Lamar School Board; Doug Thrall, Cavanagh Realty; Melanie Dillon,
KLMR; Russ Baldwin, KVAY; Pat Palmer, Palmer Oil/Pit Stop; Joe Marble, County
Commissioner-Elect; Skip Ruedeman, Clear Choice Water/Lamar City Council;
Dale Fecht, Lamar Light & Power; Roger Jones, PCDI EDD. Russ Baldwin gave an update on
the latest election results.
Discussion followed on the lengthy lines for voting yesterday. Several commented they were glad they
had taken advantage of the early voting period as they had experienced no
waiting at all. Reminders were given for
several upcoming community events: 1) The Farm-City Banquet will
be on Friday, November 17th, sponsored by the Lamar Chamber. The entertainment this year is Jolly
Demis, a comedian that has appeared on Comedy Works. Russ said he also plays the guitar in
his performance. Tickets are available at the Chamber office, $25 for the
dinner and show, or $10 for the show only. The dinner is at 6:30pm and the show
will start at 8:00pm. 2) The Fantasy Tree Auction is
on Saturday, November 18th at the Cow Palace Inn, to benefit the
Domestic Safety Resource Center.
There will be a fashion show as well as the tree auction. 3) A free documentary concert
of the Zebulon Pike expedition will be Sunday, November 12th at
7pm at the Lamar High School.
This will be a historical evening presenting the story of the Pike
Expedition in word, picture and song by three fine musician/historians from
Colorado. 4) The Pike Tower Rededication
on Monday, November 13th at 4pm in Willow Creek Park. The post office will be on hand for a
special stamp cancellation featuring Pike’s Peak. Don Headlee will also be presenting a
re-enactment of Zebulon Pike at the Rededication ceremonies. A historical program will follow at
5pm at the Cultural Events Center. 5) The annual Hunter’s
Breakfast will be at the Granada Community Center on Saturday, November 11th
and Sunday, November12th from 6 am to 11am. 6) The 32nd Annual
LCC Arts, Crafts and Food Festival will be this Saturday, November 11th
from 9am to 4pm at the LCC Wellness Center. Pat Palmer also reminded the
group of the November 14th meeting at 6:30pm at Chez W.
DuVall’s in Granada for the new tourism event being planned for April
21, 2007. The chairman of this
event is Kim Fournier. Pat said
that they will be discussing adding a 100-mile bike ride and a trail ride to
the schedule. If you would like
to help with this event, please plan to attend. Melanie Dillon said that KLMR
will be carrying the football playoff games on Friday and Saturday this
weekend. Eads is hosting Peetz at
6pm on Friday, Nov. 10 for the 6-man Semi-Finals, game coverage on Sunny 93.3
FM. On Saturday, Nov. 11,
two games are scheduled: Kit
Carson will be playing at Idalia for another 6-man Semi-Final, game coverage
on KLMR 920 AM; and Granada will be hosting Dove Creek for the 8-Man Quarter
Finals, also at 1 pm, game coverage on Sunny 93.3 FM. Tim Wheaton reported the Lamar
School Board approved a 2-phase security program. A new security system is scheduled to
begin next week for all schools from pre-school to the high school, which
will include security badges for all staff and for the middle school and high
school students. A buzzer system
will be installed at all the buildings and security cameras will also be
placed at all entrances. Tim said
they plan to start with the high school, then the middle school, then grade
schools and pre-school. The
second phase will be a computerized calling system that can be utilized not
only for immediate contact of parents in case of an emergency, but can be
used to contact specific groups of parents for meeting information, absentee
students or school closure due to weather. The plan is to have this system in
place immediately. Skip Ruedeman said the World
Series baseball committee is meeting on a weekly basis now as the plans for
the renovations to the ball fields are progressing. He said they hope to have a contract
signed with Babe Ruth in the early part of 2007 for the 2009 World Series games. The Lamar City Council met
Monday night in a Special Meeting to work on the job description for the City
Administrator position. Roger gave an update on the projects he is working on. He will be traveling to Denver with other SEBREA members on Thursday to meet with various state agencies on economic development for southeastern Colorado. Present: Tim Wheaton,
Lamar School Board; Doug Thrall, Cavanagh Realty; Melanie Dillon, KLMR; Russ
Baldwin, KVAY; Pat Palmer, Palmer Oil/Pit Stop; Bill Wootten, Car Palace;
Nelva Heath, The Berry Patch/Lamar Mayor; Joe Marble, candidate for County
Commissioner; Skip Ruedeman, Clear Choice Water/Lamar City Council; Roger
Jones, PCDI EDD. Roger gave an update on the projects he is working on. He will be traveling to Denver with
other SEBREA members on Nov. 4th for a series of meetings with various state
agencies dealing with economic development. The purpose of these meetings is to
talk face-to-face with these agencies about what SE Colorado needs from their
agencies for economic growth and stability. SEBREA was formed by the 6 SE Colorado
counties to work together as a team to make our voices heard on the state and
national level. Roger will also
be attending a community revitalization meeting in Pueblo on Thursday,
November 2nd. He has
been assisting in the grant for the water pipeline for the new ethanol
plant. Tim Wheaton reported the school board will be focusing their attention
on safety issues at the next school board meeting. They have been investigating several
options for increased safety at our area school buildings, and he emphasized
the board is being very proactive on this issue. Melanie Dillon said KLMR will be hosting the Hospice Radio-Thon on
Thursday morning, Nov. 2nd on both AM and FM stations. They are also busy with the playoff
schedules for area sports. Doug Thrall shared some state statistics on home mortgage
foreclosures. He said that the
recent reports in the media statewide about defaults on home mortgages
setting new high records is a little misleading. While the number of defaults is higher
than the previous record set in the 3rd quarter of 1989, the
population of Colorado was also much lower in 1989 so the number of home
mortgages was also less. When you
look at the percentages, a different story is told. In 1989, 3.1% of all mortgages went
into default. In the 3rd
quarter of 2006, 1.2% of all mortgages went into default – less than
half of the 1989 percentages.
Doug added that he has been in contact with the DOC about the
possibility of a future prison site in Prowers County. Skip Ruedeman updated us on the progress in the bid for a World
Series in Lamar. He said the date
has been revised to the 2009 World Series bid and a first draft of the
proposed budget for that bid has been sent in. Kathryn Cattarello has been hired by
the City of Lamar to write the necessary grants for this project. Skip explained the time required to
make the changes at the ball field and also for the preparation for the
administrative side of the event made changing their bid to the 2009 date
more feasible. He added that Van
Buren, Arkansas, made a bid for the 2008 World Series immediately following
Lamar’s announcement of the change, and were granted that request. Skip said this only proves that once
you have the facility and the administrative infrastructure in place, you
have the opportunity for hosting additional World Series as well as many
state and regional games. Nelva
Heath added that the City Council is very much in favor of this project as
they see much potential for future income for Lamar by hosting this caliber
of sporting events. Bill Wootten said the Pueblo Chieftain had carried a very good
article this week about the new Colorado Bus Works company in Lamar. Colorado Bus Works was formed by
former Neoplan employees and has grown from their original 3-5 employees to
over 30 employees now and a recent expansion to a second facility in Las
Vegas, Nevada, to service busses in that area. Bill said that Heritage Farms has
completed their move to their new offices in Lamar in the Village Shopping
Center. The Re-Dedication of the Pikes Tower will be on Monday, November 13th
at 4pm at the Tower in Willow Creek Park. There will be an historical program at
the Cultural Events Center at 6pm, and a documentary concert at the Lamar
High School at 7pm. The concert
is free and will present the story of the Zebulon Pike Expedition in word,
picture & song by three fine musician/ historians from Colorado –
Tom Munch, Don Richmond & Rex Rideout. Bill added that the original
cornerstone had been located on the Tower, and a second stone will be added
for this rededication. Russ Baldwin said the Snow Goose Festival committee will be meeting
at the Chamber today, Wed. Nov. 1st, at 5pm. They are considering a name change for
this event as the number of snow geese in our area is down. The Festival will be February 23
– 24. The committee for the
new annual tourist event will be holding a preliminary meeting on Nov. 14th
at 6:30pm at Chez W. DuVall’s in Granada. Russ added that selecting a name for
this event is still an issue, and the number of suggested names is growing,
some more appropriate than others.
Kim Fornier is chairing this committee. Russ said the upcoming election is
predicted to present many problems in tabulating the results due the large
number of initiatives on the ballot.
He said an early return on the results is not anticipated. Nelva Heath reminded everyone that the Reception honoring Jeff
Anderson is tomorrow, Thursday, Nov. 2nd from 6-8pm in the
Cultural Events Center. She
emphasized that the public is invited to this reception. Nelva said the council had a special
meeting last week to begin work on the job description for the City
Administrator position, and will have another meeting this week. The council will also be looking at
the resumes for the interim Administrator and hope to have one on board by
December 1st. She said
they will start a regional job search before the end of the year for the new
Administrator. NOTE: There were no
minutes for the October 25th Night at the Round Table as we only
had one person attend the meeting.
Thank you, Doug Thrall, for stopping by. Present: Dale Fecht, Lamar Light & Power; Tim Wheaton, Lamar
School Board; Doug Thrall, Cavanagh Realty; Melanie Dillon, KLMR; Russ
Baldwin, KVAY; Cathy Buxton, Wallace Gas & Oil; Pat Palmer, Palmer
Oil/Pit Stop; Anne-Marie Crampton, LCC; Elwood Gillis, former Lamar mayor. Pat Palmer gave a progress report on his Star School Project.
Bent County is now the owner of the schoolhouse, and Pat will meet with the
commissioners and the architect next Monday to discuss the next phase. The
re-dedication of Pike’s Tower will be on November 13th at the tower in
Willow Creek Park. According to Pike’s journals, he stayed at this site
on approximately this date. On November 14-15, Boggsville will host a Buffalo
BBQ and will have tours to the site where Pike first spotted the mountain now
known as Pike’s Peak. Russ Baldwin reminded everyone of the political form on KVAY
Thursday, Oct. 19th at 6:30pm, hosted by the Business & Professional
Women. LCC will be holding their next Town Meeting in McClave on Thursday,
Oct. 19th at 6pm. Anne-Marie Crampton said that their enrollment
figures for the fall semester are 106% of the projected enrollment. LCC
will be hosting a Treat Street on Saturday, Oct. 28th at 6pm in the Betz
Technology Building. Room is still available if you would like to
participate. Call Anne-Marie at 336-1520 for details. LCC is hosting a Free Business Loan Seminar on October 24th from
6-8:30pm in Room 229 of the Betz Technology Center. This seminar will provide
information on SBA and SECED short and long-term financing. Call Aubrie
Humburg at 336-1583 for reservations or information. LCC will host their annual Fall Knowledge Bowl for area high schools
on Nov. 3rd. Anne-Marie said that Governor Owens recently appointed
Jerry Nickel from Las Animas to the Colorado Board of Community
Colleges. Dale Fecht of Lamar Light & Power said the continuous cement pour
will start at 3:00am on October 23rd (weather permitting) and continue for
15-18 hours. The route for the cement trucks will be Main Street to
Poplar to the dump site, then Maple to Main Street back to the cement plant.
Residents are encouraged to avoid this route during this time frame as there
will be a steady stream of trucks during this 15-18 hour period. Tim Wheaton reported the new computer program for the school lunch
service is being finalized and will provide a more secure system of
identifying the correct student purchasing the meal. The plan for upgraded
security at all school buildings is still being implemented, and the board is
working on updating the plan for evacuation and other security measures and
will plan regular drills at all facilities for these situations. Tim
said the board is very serious about protecting their students, and funds
have been allocated for these measures. The Shore Art Center renovation is coming along nicely, but is still
not open for public meetings yet. The volunteer work force has been working
very hard to get the building ready for band practices and dance lessons, but
there is still much to be done. If you would like to volunteer either
your help or make a donation to help with the expenses, please contact Trevor
LaCost at 931-0137 or Carla Scranton at 688-3857. Cathy Buxton gave her report on the training seminar she and Jim Earl
attended in Van Buren, Arkansas, for the proposed 10 & Under Cal Rippen
World Series bid. She was very impressed with the presentation and
information they received. Van Buren reported the World Series they hosted
brought 1.5 to 1.7 million dollars into their community. Cathy said one
of the most critical items we will have to plan is the transportation of all
the teams from DIA to Lamar. She emphasized that this project will take
cooperation and participation from all of the communities in our area, not
just Lamar, and also pointed out that many volunteers will be needed to make
things run smoothly. The second phase of the Colorado Green Wind Farm has started on the
site located west of the existing towers. The 50 additional towers are
all located in Bent County, but Cathy said the majority of the construction
workers are staying in Lamar. She estimated that about 100 workers are
already on the job, with more expected as the construction proceeds. She
urged everyone to extend a warm welcome to Lamar to these workers and
construction companies. Top |
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