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Weimar City Council approved the interlocal agreement with Colorado County Sherriff’s Office and discussed other police and city matters during its meeting, Thursday, Dec. 11.
The council unanimously approved an interlocal agreement with the Colorado County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) for the contract of one deputy. The Colorado County Commissioners’ Court approved the agreement as the other party involved during a special meeting, Thursday, Dec. 4. Weimar Police Chief David Socha initiated the agreement in discussion with Sheriff Justin Lindemann following concerns over an overworked and understaffed police force in Weimar.
“Just hiring one officer can almost completely change this,” Socha said at Weimar City Council.
Socha discussed his covering patrol shifts and witnessing low morale among the only three other officers. Besides Socha, the Weimar Police Department currently employs two sergeants and one patrol officer. If fully staffed, Weimar PD would include a chief, a lieutenant, two sergeants, and two patrol officers. Socha said that the department lost a second patrol officer a few months ago due to a change in the officer’s living situation and a resulting lengthened commute.
Socha provided an update on hiring to the council. He said he is “about 75 to 80%” through the investigation into a candidate for the lieutenant vacancy and a candidate for the second patrol officer vacancy.
“They look like pretty good folks to have here,” Socha said. “I’ve already had one or two that have declined so I’m trying to do the best I can to get us the best we can get here.”
Interim City Manager and Director of Finance David Mason questioned the difficulty of hiring new officers, specifically asking about officer compensation. Socha noted the high salaries neighboring metros offer but described Weimar’s compensation as average.
“I would say, in general, we’re probably kind of average. It’s getting hard to get officers anywhere,” Socha said. “…When I talk to people that have wanted to apply, I’ve never had anybody tell me, ‘Oh, that’s just not close.’” In his monthly report to the council, Socha also shared that the department has caught up on its seven- month backlog of cases. At Commissioners Court, Socha said that he had assigned one of the sergeants to review all of the cases.
“We are now caught up with every felony and misdemeanor case that has to be investigated,” Socha said. “We are at day one.”
City matters The council passed a new ordinance regulating the maintenance of trees and similar brush within the public right-of-way and on private property. Following the recommendation of City Attorney Carl Dawson, the council changed the ordinance to place the burden of maintenance and its resulting costs on the city rather than the property owner. Dawson cited concerns over “people on ladders out in the street trimming trees” and desire for efficient regulation. Dawson read the updated language to be included in the adopted ordinance.
“If the violation is not corrected within two weeks, the city may prune the tree, shrub or ornamental tree at its expense,” Dawson said.
Mason updated the council on the dirty water situation. He reported that the city received three complaints since last meeting but that two were quickly resolved. The city intends to continue closing dead ends in the water lines next on East and North Post Office Street and in the area behind Weimar Home Furnishings.
Mason also reported that the city did not receive any responses to the city’s Request for Quote posting for design services for the sports complex. Mason said he has reached out to local engineering companies to gauge their interest in employing subcontractors to later execute.
The council concluded with approving the voting location for the 2026 joint primary election(s) with the Colorado County Precinct No. 201 to be located at City Hall, 106 E Main Street.
