Current News
7/11/2025
Buc-ee’s Burden: How Mega Gas Stations Hurt Community Health and Wealth
Check out this report from the group fighting Buc-ee’s in Mebane, Wisconsin.
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7/3/2025
Local newspaper, Our Community News, published a great article that summarizes various actions by the Town of Palmer Lake regarding Buc-ee’s, recalls, and a resignation. Read this article here.
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7/2/2025
Palmer Lake Trustees decline to adopt ordinance to allow citizens to vote on future annexations.
Despite overwhelming public testimony encouraging the board to adopt the measure to allow the citizens of Palmer Lake to vote for future annexations, the Board of Trustees decided to allow the measure to go to a vote in September. More details can be found here.
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6/25/2025
Pair of advertisements published in The Tribune against the Buc-ee’s development, paid for by the Griffis family. Here and here.
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6/12/2025
Trustee under Recall appointed by Board of Trustees as new Mayor of Palmer Lake
Despite being under recall for actions related to the proposed Buc-ee’s development, the Board of Trustees appointed Dennis Stern as Mayor with a 5-1 vote. No public comment was allowed prior to the appointment. More details available here.
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6/5/2025
Palmer Lake Mayor RESIGNS!!
Mayor of Palmer Lake, Glant Havenar, resigns following release of text messages in which she called people who opposed the Buc-ee’s project "terrorists," "unfortunate looking creatures" and "f-ing losers." A news article with more details can be found here.
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6/2/2025
Motion to Supplement New Evidence-Integrity Matters
Following a release of damaging texts of Palmer Lake Mayor Glant Havenar, Integrity Matters has filed a motion to add critical evidence to existing lawsuit against the Town of Palmer Lake. A copy of the motion can be found here.
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5/29/2025
Town of Palmer Lake once again votes in favor of proceeding with Buc-ee’s Annexation
With a 6-1 vote, the Board of Trustees voted in favor of granting eligibility for Buc-ee’s to annex land on the southwest corner of I-25 and Palmer Divide. See this article for more related information.
5/26/2025
PRESS RELEASE-Integrity Matters
Lawsuit filed against the Town of Palmer Lake. In the days leading up to a highly contested annexation eligibility hearing on May 29th, a state-level lawsuit and a cascade of civil rights violations are raising urgent questions about the integrity of leadership in the Town of Palmer Lake. The allegations include illegal suppression of civic participation, mishandling of federal and state funds, and disregard for open meeting laws. Click here for more information.
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4/24/2025
Tri-Lakes Preservation Inc. held a public informational meeting at Palmer Lake Elementary to address community concerns about the proposed Buc-ee’s location. The event aimed to inform, engage, and empower residents while highlighting local businesses. Click here to see some of the information that was presented.
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3/27/2025
Recall petitions have been approved by the Town of Palmer Lake
Signing stations will be announced shortly, and in the meantime, volunteers are ready to meet residents individually to collect signatures. Citizens interested in signing or learning more can email the campaign directly to coordinate a convenient time and location.
What’s at Stake:
●Restoring ethical leadership and respectful behavior in public office
●Ensuring accountability to the Rule of Law
●Reaffirming the importance of community voices in local decisions
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3/13/2025
BIG NEWS: The applicant has officially withdrawn the annexation request (read more here). While it is anticipated that they will resubmit in the near future, this shows that the annexation process was legally and procedurally flawed.
While this is a huge win, don't let up the steam! We anticipate having another meeting in the next 2-3 weeks and are continuing the flier bonanza in Palmer Lake!
Thank you to everyone who has been supporting the effort to Heave the Beave!
Please send your extra special thanks to Integrity Matters who have been the unrelenting heavy hitters in this quest for more transparency and ethics in Palmer Lake government.
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02/04/2025
SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISER AT ARLENE’S BEANS!!
Thank you to ALL of the community that came out to support Arlene’s Beans and our movement to stop Bucees and other unreasonable development in Tri-Lakes. It was another wildly successful event! So many yard signs and flyers were picked up and are being shared in the community! Thank you for your incredible participation. Our voice will continue to grow as we show up more and more in the community! If you would like a yard sign or flyers, please visit the homepage and find the form near the bottom of the page.
A special thanks to Arlene and Arlene’s Beans staff for their fantastic support and participation in this important movement.
Please stay tuned for more fundraisers to come and please continue to support our local businesses, including Arlene’s Beans and Jarrito Loco!
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01/24/2025
SUCCESSFUL FUNDRAISER AT JARRITO LOCO!
We had a wildly successful turn-out at Jarrito Loco! Angel, the owner, informed us that this was the best turnout for a fundraiser they have ever had, and a record amount was raised!
These funds will cover the second "Stop Buc-ee's" banner and the new yard signs that will be here next week. We are so grateful for our community, Angel and the rest of Jarrito Loco!
Please keep supporting our amazing small businesses like Jarrito Loco and spreading the word about how Buc-ee's would be a detriment to our community.
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01/09/2025
INTEGRITY MATTERS FILING CRCP 106 (A)(4)
Integrity Matters has not received an official response from the Town of Palmer Lake in regard to the 30 December letter which outlined the multiple CRS violations.
Integrity Matters is moving forward with filing a CRCP 106(a)(4) challenge to the 12 December annexation eligibility vote and this must be filed by midnight 9 January.
Other Tri-lakes municipalities and associations have expressed their opposition either verbally or written to the Palmer Lake Board of Trustees (BoT).
Integrity Matters has outlined several actions to continue forward and has participated in several interviews with the media, as have some concerned citizens.
The Buc-ee's Resistance Team is now officially Tri-Lakes Preservation, Inc. (TPI) with pending 501(c)(3) status. TPI is "committed to preserving the natural beauty and ecological integrity of the Tri-Lakes area through sustainable practices, responsible growth, and government accountability. Additionally TPI will advocate for balanced development that honors our community’s heritage, enhances residents' quality of life, and ensures a vibrant and thriving environment for future generations.
Additional media campaigns are in the works. The "No Buc-ee's" in Tri-Lakes bus will once again be on full display in downtown Monument soon!
Its important to keep writing our elected officials (Palmer Lake BoTs, Monument Council) and to the CO AG, the Media, and others. Educating the Tri-Lakes citizens about the impacts this unreasonable commercial development will have on our community. Preserve now or lose forever!
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12/30/2024
INTEGRITY MATTERS: PRESS RELEASE AND PALMER LAKE BOARD OF TRUSTEES LETTER
Integrity Matters officially released a letter to the Town of Palmer Lake Board of Trustees with information regarding the ineligibility of the annexation and a request for an emergency vote to reverse the initial annexation eligibility vote. Included within is a detailed analysis of the annexation including challenge points to the overall eligibility. Simultaneously, Integrity Matters also issued a press release which details the annexation ineligibility, as well as the numerous CRS violations that occurred during the initial 12 December 2024 Palmer Lake Board of Trustees meeting.
The letter to the Palmer Lake Board of Trustees requests a response/action by 06 January 2025. Integrity Matters has requested the following actions:
Reverse the annexation eligibility decision made on December 12, 2024.
Commit to a comprehensive review of the annexation process to ensure full compliance with statutory and procedural requirements.
Establish transparent communication channels to restore public confidence in the Town’s decision-making processes.
"Public trust was fundamentally broken," said Kat Gayle, Chief Legal Counsel of Integrity Matters. "When residents are turned away, denied a voice, and laws are disregarded, it erodes the foundation of representative governance. These actions cannot go unchallenged."
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12/12/2024
PALMER LAKE BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING TO CONSIDER IF LAND CAN BE ANNEXED
Palmer Lake Board of Trustees voted that the land could be annexed (vote 4-1) but this decision violates contiguity requirements and technical land regulations (more details in link below) and contradicts Palmer Lake's Master City Plan including their ordinances for preserving a small town feel, ordinances to reject commerciality, ordinances against franchise businesses, ordinances to protect dark sky, etc and disregards town's resources for emergency responses and water resources.
Based on the events of this meeting and Palmer Lake Board of Trustee’s decision, a long list of statutory violations have been identified including, shockingly, violations to the Town of Palmer Lake’s recent Annexation Eligibility Resolution 60-2024
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