La Junta council authorizes transfer of 322 Harriet Avenue to Otero College

The La Junta City Council voted 5-0 Aug. 31 to authorize conveying the city-owned property at 322 Harriet Avenue to Otero College for construction-management students to rehabilitate the dwelling and perform asbestos abatement, according to the [meeting minutes](https://lajuntaco.api.civicclerk.com/v1/Meetings/GetMeetingFileStream(fileId=4647,plainText=false). Council Member Scott Copley abstained, and Council Member Lisa Pantoya was absent.

City Manager Michael Hart described the property as “essentially a junk property” that costs the city roughly $2,500 a year to maintain. He said Otero students were ready to begin work, but the minutes do not provide a start date, completion date or detailed schedule.

Hart said a comparable demolition recently cost the city about $10,000 to $12,000, excluding asbestos abatement. He said that property was a hoarder’s house and may have contained more material than 322 Harriet Avenue. The city record does not provide an estimated rehabilitation or abatement cost for the Harriet Avenue property.

Mayor Joseph Ayala said the city otherwise would have to decide whether to pay for asbestos abatement or use a program such as Otero’s. Hart said the college would handle “all the asbestos abatement, etc.” The minutes do not include an asbestos inspection, scope of work or project-specific abatement estimate.

Transfer terms

Resolution R-13-2026 authorizes the mayor or city manager and city clerk to execute a quitclaim deed and other closing documents, including Colorado’s Real Property Transfer Declaration. It says the conveyance is based on mutual and public benefits and does not specify a purchase price or other monetary consideration.

The resolution took effect immediately upon adoption Aug. 31. That does not establish when the quitclaim deed was signed or recorded, or whether legal title transferred that day. The council action authorized the conveyance; a recorded deed would document a completed ownership transfer.

The resolution says the property is no longer needed for a municipal purpose and that Otero’s planned use would expand construction-trade and vocational-education facilities for the benefit of La Junta residents.

Grant and project questions remain

During the meeting, Council Member Rikhof described the rehabilitation as part of a larger Attorney General’s Office “Copper Grant” initiative. The Colorado Attorney General’s COPERR program description says Otero developed a 16-credit construction and remediation program and used it in a South Site housing renovation in La Junta. The page describes South Site as an eight-unit complex under a 10-year lease with the city but does not identify 322 Harriet Avenue, provide a budget for this project or confirm that it requires asbestos abatement.

A 2023 report on Otero’s COPERR launch said the college received more than $400,000 in COPERR grant funds. The available records do not show whether that money supports the Harriet Avenue project, how much the project will cost or whether other funding has been secured.

The minutes say at least four other similar properties are city-owned and lack a disposition plan. They do not identify the properties or state their maintenance costs, conditions or intended uses. For 322 Harriet Avenue, the documented next steps are completing the quitclaim deed and related closing documents while Otero prepares for the student-led rehabilitation. No broader disposition strategy for the other properties is recorded.