Small town in southeast Colorado declared abandoned

State officials Wednesday declared a small town in southeast Colorado abandoned after years of turmoil among its residents and local government leaders. 

Residents of Hartman, which is near the state’s border with Kansas about a 30-minute drive east of Lamar, have not had elected officials running their town since January, when the entire board of trustees for the town resigned. The town has 30 residents.

The town government oversaw the local water supply, and without government officials, water infrastructure has drastically deteriorated. Its tower supplies water to about 40 homes, and the town has been on a boil order since October. 

“There are no government officials in the Town of Hartman who are authorized to approve contracts, spend funds, appoint replacements, certify elections, or make decisions regarding the Town of Hartman’s water system,” Deputy Secretary of State Andrew Kline’s abandonment order says. 

The Denver Post first reported in March on the tumultuous downfall of Hartman’s town government and its years of water infrastructure challenges. 

The Prowers County Board of County Commissioners will now manage public infrastructure within the abandoned town. The county will also take over the water infrastructure and will direct a water treatment or delivery entity to run it. 

Kline held a hearing earlier this month where town residents and state officials presented evidence in support of and against an abandonment finding. His order that determined the town is abandoned takes into account information obtained through that hearing and relevant Colorado state law. 

“It is clear that there are town residents that ‘remain present, active, and willing to serve,’” Kline said in his order. “The Town of Hartman is not a place that is uninhabited, but rather a place where the resignation of all elected officials effectively prevents its residents from electing a new government.” 

The Colorado Legislature passed a law this year that created an exemption in the state’s process for declaring a town abandoned. Legislators who represent Hartman at the Colorado Capitol sponsored the bill. 

Previously, a town could be deemed abandoned only if it failed to hold an election, elect officers or maintain town government for five years. Now, a town can be deemed abandoned if it has no board of trustees or clerk, is unable to hold an election and owns or operates infrastructure critical for the treatment or delivery of water to residents. 

Officials with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs traveled to Hartman more than 30 times since 2022 to support the town with elections, resignations, budgets, audits and training new officials, Kline’s order said. DOLA officials said the water tower in Hartman was compromised and needed to be repaired or replaced, and the water needs to be tested and treated. No one is operating the town’s water system.

Kline said a decision against determining the town abandoned would place residents in further jeopardy given the health hazards presented by its crippled water infrastructure with nobody to run or fix it. Abandonment is the only mechanism that creates an avenue for residents to access clean water, he said. 

The Department of State also declared the town of Creede abandoned this month, but for more technical reasons, since it was incorporated adjacent to the city of Creede more than a century ago and had not had its own local government for at least five years.