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Lamar council rejects utility board’s settlement condition, orders independent review
Summary
The Lamar City Council unanimously rejected a Lamar Light & Power Board proposal to condition release of a wastewater discharge permit on multi‑year ARPA payments and authorized staff to consult CDPHE and hire independent special municipal counsel to review the boards’ charter authority.
Mayor Eric Kirk Crespo told the council the issue was whether a subordinate board could condition cooperation on an environmental permit release tied to multi‑year payments. He said the Lamar Light & Power Board’s minutes proposed the board would give up the discharge permit only if the city returned $350,000 a year for 14 years and agreed to help the utility reacquire a permit in the future if needed.
“That is more of a ransom demand than it is a cooperative collaborative effort,” Mayor Crespo said, urging a neutral review of the charters and the process. He recommended hiring an independent municipal attorney so the city attorney — who also represents the utility board — would not be conflicted.
Council members agreed that an impartial review was necessary. One councilor said the request felt like an attempt to extract settlement funds from the city’s general fund and flagged potential legal and ethical questions if a subordinate board lacked authority to condition a permit in that way.
Councilor [motioning member] moved that the council reject the Lamar Utility Board’s proposal, direct city administration to consult directly with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to pursue appropriate discharge authorization for the wastewater treatment plant, authorize the mayor and city administrator to continue discussions with the utility board and CDPHE as needed, ensure no settlement funds are committed without further council approval, and direct staff to engage independent special municipal counsel to advise on the extent of Lamar Light & Power’s charter authority and whether the board’s conditioning of the permit violated laws or ethical obligations. The motion passed unanimously.
The motion instructs staff to pursue the discharge authorization process with CDPHE and to retain outside counsel to review both charters and the circumstances surrounding the LUB minutes. The council’s action does not itself change the city’s permit status; it rejects the condition the LUB proposed and orders further legal and administrative work.
Next steps: staff will consult CDPHE about the discharge authorization pathway and the city will solicit and retain independent special municipal counsel to produce a neutral legal opinion on the utility board’s authority and any exposure the city might face. The council recorded the motion as unanimous in favor.
Provenance: Topic introduced in SEG 1315 and discussed through SEG 1536.
