Palmer Lake hired a new attorney this month, as the town faces two active lawsuits and lingering questions about its new annexation requirements.

The chosen firm, Wyatt Hamilton Findlay, is based in Denver and specializes in municipal law.

The hiring comes several weeks after the Palmer Lake Board of Trustees voted to fire former town attorney Scott Krob, who had already announced his resignation and an intent to leave when a replacement was found.

The vacancy led to the board postponing major decisions, including how to interpret a new ordinance approved by town voters in a special election last year that requires a ballot measure for all new annexation proposals.

The most controversial annexation attempt, that of Texas travel chain Buc-ee’s for its proposed second Colorado location, was put to bed last month when developers withdrew their application after more than a year of debate. At least one other application  —  not connected to Buc-ee’s — remains in the works, however.

The town is also facing two active lawsuits, both filed by a sitting town trustee. Roger Moseley, who was elected to the board last fall, has filed an appeal in a case accusing the town of financial mismanagement that was originally dismissed.

Moseley has also sued the town over the appointment of Mayor Dennis Stern, alleging the Board of Trustees did not follow proper procedure in replacing Glant Havenar, who resigned.

An El Paso County District Court judge in that case denied a preliminary motion from Moseley’s attorney, ruling that interference with the town’s leadership at that stage would be an overreach of judicial authority.

Acting town administrator Glen Smith said the town would be looking to conserve costs with its new firm by “stretching certain projects out” to avoid overtime.

“There’s a lot of stuff that we’ve been holding onto that needs to be addressed,” he said.