Small-town resident urges Denver judge to halt abandonment of Hartman

Colorado officially declared Hartman abandoned in July, seven months after the small town’s government walked off the job.DENVER (CN) — Citing ongoing water issues, a resident of a tiny Colorado town that was declared abandoned last month is asking a Denver judge to review the state’s order and stop the county from taking over.“The town remains under an indefinite boil-water order where the water is so severely compromised that people cannot and will not use it for anything,” wrote Hartman resident Shawna Casey in a 13-page petition filed Tuesday.“For residents facing severe medical circumstances, such as recent surgeries or active injuries, the total failure of safe water infrastructure makes it unsafe to even remain in their homes,” she added.Located 10 miles from Kansas and 200 miles from Denver, Hartman remains home to several dozen residents, a number of beloved dogs, a New Deal-era gymnasium, two vintage but sturdy playgrounds and a 100-year-old water tower in desperate need of repair.Following the town’s last government meeting in January, a physical altercation broke out between a resident and a town trustee over a water bill issue.Both women were charged with misdemeanor counts of disturbing the peace and given deferred sentences. Following the incident, the board of trustees paid the electric bill to keep the water pump running through the summer, then resigned.Without a mayor, a board of trustees or a clerk to hold an election, Hartman was left without a functioning government. Unable to hire a water operator or pay the bill to run the groundwater pump, the town would have been left with few options and no running water through 2030.But a new law signed by Democratic Governor Jared Polis accelerated the abandonment process for towns like Hartman with no functioning government or critical water infrastructure, ditching a five-year delay starting from the date of their last election. The law also provides grant funds to support Hartman’s water infrastructure through abandonment proceedings, allowing Prowers County and the Department of Safety to restore water access when the power finally shut off in July.Finding the town met the legal criteria for abandonment, Deputy Secretary of State Andrew Kline made the declaration on July 28, putting the town under control of Prowers County.In her petition for review, Casey wrote that she worried Hartman being declared abandoned would only exacerbate the rural community’s struggles from the “perpetuation of an unlivable water crisis” to “complete paralysis of real estate and rental utility,” and “severe economic devaluation.”Instead of declaring the town abandoned, Casey asked the court to appoint a new town board headed by the town’s last acting mayor.While Casey is not alone in opposing abandonment, a large group of residents support the county takeover. Twenty-one locals signed a single-page handwritten petition in April to support passage of the abandonment bill.In Hartman’s first month as unincorporated Prowers County, the Colorado Rural Water Association signed an interim contract to chlorinate and stabilize the town’s water supply until a long-term provider can be hired. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment is working with country officials to get the town off its water-boil mandate, which was issued nearly a year ago.Prowers County Administrator Don Wilson told Courthouse News he was pleased with the progress and hoped to see it continue.“We’ve been focused on the water issues and we feel pretty good about the direction it’s going,” Wilson said. “Personally, I feel the petition is disappointing, after the progress that’s been made, that they want to go back to where they were.”The case has been assigned to Second Judicial District Judge A. Bruce Jones.For more on the fight over Hartman’s future, listen to June’s Sidebar episode:Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads