In addition to general government operations, the city of Las Animas has three public enterprise activities: water, sanitary sewer, and electric. The water and sanitary sewer enterprises have outstanding general obligation and other debt; the electric enterprise (Las Animas Power and Light) has no debt.

The Las Animas Police Department headquarters is located at City Hall. The city also employs a code enforcement officer that responds to both city and county calls.

City Roads
There are currently 25.46 miles of road in Las Animas, the majority of which are paved with chip seal. The city maintenance shop is located at 545 Cottonwood Avenue.

Airport
The Las Animas City and County Airport is located one mile south of Las Animas, off Lois Lane. The facility sits at an elevation of 3,915 feet and has a paved, unlighted runway that extends for 3,870 feet. The Las Animas City and County Airport is shown on the Planning Influences-Infrastructure map.

Utilities
The city provides local residences and businesses trash service via a contract with Collectia, Ltd., with one residential pick up and two commercial pickups per week. Trash is taken to a tipping station in Lamar, Colorado, as the city landfill was closed in 2000.

Water
The city of Las Animas reverse osmosis water treatment plant located just east of 4th Street and Lois Avenue has a total capacity of 1.03 million gallons per day (MGD) and a storage capacity of 2.0 MGD. The demand of the system is 0.450 MGD and peak demand is 1.5 MGD. The treatment facility was completed July 1997, which significantly removes constituents to less than 15 milligrams per liter, utilizing membrane technology. Treated water is stored at 2.0 MG water storage tank located at the water treatment facility. An elevated water .25 MG tank is located south of the city shop.

The water distribution system is comprised primarily four inch and six inch asbestos cement pipe water mains, currently has 1,314 service taps. Average consumption is 100 gallons per person per day.

Wastewater
Wastewater is collected and treated by the city of Las Animas. The collection system is comprised of four inch, six inch, eight inch, 10 inch, 12 inch and 15 inch vitrified clay pipe sanitary sewer mains. Two lift stations, one located at 9th Street and Moore Avenue and the other near the wastewater treatment lagoons, pump collected wastewater to the wastewater treatment facility via 10 “ force mains. Wastewater is treated in tapered aeration lagoons on constructed wetlands located at the north end of town, south of the levee. The capacity of the plant is 0.5 MGD with an average demand is 0.28 MGD and a peak demand of 0.33 MGD.

The city of Las Animas also collects storm water via a system of primarily15 inch to 24 inch pipe located primarily in portions of Carson Avenue, Locust Avenue, and Moore Avenue, fed by laterals from a few adjacent streets. The storm water ultimately flows through open ditches to the toe drain of the levee to the confluence of the Purgatoire and Arkansas rivers.

Electricity
The city of Las Animas provides electric service as Las Animas Municipal Light and Power. Las Animas Municipal Light and Power is a member of the Arkansas River Power Authority. The Las Animas Municipal Light and Power Plant, located at the southeast corner of 8th Street and Moore Avenue, currently has five internal combustion engine generating units with a capacity of 4.8 megawatts for emergency power needs, and is capable of doubling its current capacity.

City Parks
The Las Animas City Park is located at 6th at Park Avenue. The 1.8 acre park includes the outdoor municipal pool. Recent improvement to the swimming pool include a new roof on the bath house, a covered family seating area, benches, a water slide and a new chlorinating system. Improvements at City Park in 1998 and 1998 upgraded the playground, and added a gazebo volleyball area, horseshoe pits, barbeque grills, benches and a skateboard area. The sprinkler system was upgraded in 2000.

Neighborhood Parks
Las Animas has 6.5 acres of neighborhood parks including:

• Girl Scout Park at 11th Street and Bent Avenue. New playground equipment, a covered picnic area and a sprinkler system were installed in 2001.
  
• 101 Park at 9th Street and Carson Avenue. A sprinkler system was installed in 2001.
  
• Couch Park at Highway 50 near the Sheriff’s Office.
  
• Hudnall Park near the golf course. Hudnall Park has a pond, trail, restroom and covered picnic area.

Playfields
The Las Animas football field and the Memorial and Columbian School athletic fields contribute to the total 8.1 acres of playfields in the city. There are five tennis courts in the city (two at the high school, two at Columbian School, and one at the junior high school). The high school has one outdoor and one indoor basketball court and the junior high school has one indoor court.

Playgrounds
On the northwest corner of 11th Street and Bent Avenue in Las Animas is the privately owned Poco-a-Poco playground.

Residential Land Use and Zoning
The most common land use in the incorporated city of Las Animas is single family housing occurring throughout the city except at its commercial core. The R-2 District is intended to accommodate permanent, single family dwellings with a maximum of four dwelling units per acre.

Duplexes and multifamily residential uses are much less common. Duplexes occur sporadically around the city and in small concentrations of usually two to six duplexes.

R-3 Urban Residential zoning is intended to provide for higher density and diversity of residential development than the R-2 district. R-3 zoning occurs in four non-contiguous areas in Las Animas.

Commercial Land Use and Zoning
Most of the retail and service land uses occur in and around the town core. The B-1 Highway Business District is intended to accommodate automobile oriented business, typically of the service industry. The intent of the B-2 Central Business District is to accommodate businesses that serve Las Animas residents, tourists, and the surrounding community. B-2 Central Business District zoning occurs in the center of town. The Neighborhood Shopping District is intended to accommodate businesses that provide retail goods and services in residential districts for the convenience of local residents.

Industrial Land Use and Zoning
The I-1 Light Industrial District is intended to accommodate light industrial, wholesaling, and manufacturing operations.