John Scarffe, Black Hawk. 

January

The Black Hawk City Council approved an ordinance prohibiting the use of flammable gas as a solvent in the extraction of tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”) within any residential structure in the City during its regular meeting on Wednesday, January 14, at 3 p.m., at 211 Church Street. City Attorney Corey Hoffmann said a fairly significant explosion in Gilpin County during an attempt to extract THC triggered the discussion.

The Council approved a request by a business known as 1859 for a new Retail Marijuana Store License to be located at 231 Gregory Street. The City Council at the December 10 hearing took evidence and heard arguments regarding the qualifications of the applicant and the criteria set forth in the Black Hawk Municipal Code.

The Council approved a resolution for a property exchange agreement between the City and Quartz Valley Ranch Company. The City is trading mining claims to clean them up for a future reservoir in the Quartz Valley area. The agreement includes a $50,000 payment to Quartz Valley Ranch as well as requirements for the City to construct fencing along new property lines and build access roads at the time of reservoir construction.

The Council conducted a public hearing regarding an ordinance amending the International Building Code of the Black Hawk Municipal Code by the addition of a new Sub-Section of the Code regarding elevators on Wednesday, January 14. Safety Standard for Platform Lifts and Stairway Chairlifts as adopted by the State of Colorado will apply to the installation of conveyance systems, including alterations, repairs and maintenance.

Three resolutions approved temporary construction easements for the rehabilitation of three different properties: 401 Chase Street between the City of Black Hawk and Joshua Smith and Mary Keehfuss, property Owners; the rehabilitation of 301 High Street with Lloyd and Christina Larsen, Property Owners; Lloyd and Christina Larsen, Property Owners of 311 High Street.

February

The Council repealed its marijuana codes and approved an updated version on Wednesday, February 11. The recommended revisions are to align the licensing requirements for retail marijuana centers with the State’s licensing structure.

The Council approved a resolution for participation in a Multi-Agency Grant through the North Central Region for the replacement of Fire Department breathing apparatus. Matching funds will come from existing department funds.

Cindy Linker with Community Planning and Development requested a local historic landmark designation for City-owned property at 201 Selak Street, generally known as Black Hawk City Hall. The Council approved the resolution, and the Historic Preservation Commission will consider and review this nomination for designation.

The Council approved a boundary line elimination on February 25. The resolution approved a boundary line agreement for the property line between 221 and 231 Gregory Street between the City of Black Hawk and Culver W. Van Der Jagt and Frank J. Garofalo.

March

The Council approved an ordinance stating the intent of the City to acquire the Cyclops Lode Mining Claim for municipal parking and recreational purposes. The City has proposed a trailhead and parking lot for the Maryland Mountain open space area at the Hidden Treasure site along Highway 119 near mile marker eight. This ordinance will allow the City to acquire this vacant parcel through eminent domain if necessary.

The Aldermen approved the Fireworks Production Contract between the City of Black Hawk and Western Enterprises, Inc. The contract is for $85,000. This is the annual Boom Town contract and is already in the budget.

Temporary Construction Easements and the conveyance of property from the Blake Family LLC for construction of the Gregory Street Improvements were approved. The Gregory Street improvements will be realigning the roadway with a retaining wall and a future sidewalk along a portion of Gregory Street in Blocks 31 and 32.

The Council approved an extension of the closings on the Property Exchange Agreement between the City of Black Hawk and Quartz Valley Ranch Company. On January 14, 2015, the City approved a Property Exchange Agreement with Quartz Valley Ranch Company with a closing on March 27, 2015. By mutual agreement, the parties agreed to extend the closing date to April 30, 2015.

The Council approved an agreement between the City and Excavation and Construction Specialist, Inc., for construction of a waterline loop between Richman Street and Mill Street in an amount not to exceed $398,998. The waterline loop is a12-inch water line to be constructed in the southeast-bound lanes of Highway 119.

The Council approved an agreement between Black Hawk and Davis Custom Welding for construction of the Green Lake Pipeline Replacement Project Phase V in an amount not to exceed $181,410. Green Lake was purchased in 2008 and is jointly owned with Clear Creek County.

The Council approved the total base construction bid and project budget for the limited rehabilitation of the historic home and property at 401 Chase Street. The project received a bid from one general contractor, Whitestone Construction Services, Inc., a qualified contractor with documented and supported costs. The funding source is $649,562.

April

The final step was approved in the exchange of land with Quartz Valley Ranch Company and is the portion of the land to be turned over to Quartz Valley. It will become effective when approved by the Clerk and Recorder. The City plans to use the land it received from Quartz Valley to construct a reservoir.

A resolution approving the contract to buy and sell real estate between the City as buyer and the Blake Family LLC and the Bobtail Tunnel LLC collectively as the seller was approved. The City has a contract to purchase all of the Blake Family land in Gilpin County. The closing will be in May, and the purchase will be made from the Historic Preservation Fund and the General Fund.

The Council approved a lease agreement between the City and I’ll Make You Famous Tattoos, LLC., a tattoo shop at 430 Gregory Street.

On Wednesday, April 22, the Council approved a resolution awarding the bid and approving the contract for the design of the Gregory Street Parking Structure to Desman, Inc. The contract is not to exceed $117,590 plus reimbursable expenses of about $4,100.

A license between the City and Z Casino for a City bus stop was approved. At the request of Z Casino, the City has modified the shuttle route to include a stop along Selak Street at Z Casino.

The Council approved a resolution for the addition of a new position within the Black Hawk Fire Department. Fire Chief Don Taylor said the fire department conducts fire inspections for all commercial and City buildings in Black Hawk. After the prior inspector was placed in an operational position, the position was not retained, Taylor said. Existing staff is not able to keep up with the demand for inspections, plans reviews, consultations, code enforcement, etc. The request was to hire a full time fire inspector to perform these duties.

June

A resolution awarding the bid for the 2-inch mill and overlay of lower Miners’ Mesa Road to PLM Asphalt & Concrete, Inc., was approved on May 10. The agreement between the City of Black Hawk and PLM Asphalt and Concrete, Inc., in the amount not to exceed $65,460 will cover the milling and overlaying lower Miners’ Mesa Road, including the deck of the Bobtail Bridge.

The Board approved the disposal of out-of-date, non- usable AED Trainers. The Board will allow the fire department to dispose of, through donation, four AED Trainers to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. These AED trainers do not meet the current standard that AEDs are programmed to and are not capable of being reprogrammed.

August

The Council received requests for liquor license matters with intent to establish Common Consumption areas outside of their businesses on Wednesday, August 12. JE Tavern, Inc., at 240 Main Street, requested the first liquor license for John East in Denver. The tavern will be located at the Lodge Casino, 240 Main Street, and would have beer and wine for Casino customers.

East’s intent is to have a common area where Lodge guests would enter the Lodge and be able to use the common area to consume beverages. It would allow the Lodge to participate in an Entertainment District and extend the hours of service from 2 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Council approved the liquor license.

The Council then received an application to approve a Certification of a Promotional Association and Common Consumption Area from the Lodge Association, Inc. The Lodge Association, Inc., has met all the requirements for a Promotional Association and is requesting extended hours. The Council approved the application with 24 hours of alcohol service.

The Council approved a Certification of a Promotional Association and Common Consumption Area for AG Black Hawk Promotional Association I.

The application has been found complete and has met all the requirements for a Promotional Association and is requesting extended hours for a new Beer and Wine License for Chicago Dogs Eatery, Inc., and Monarch Black Hawk, Inc., at 444 Main Street, to set the boundaries of the neighborhood, and to set the date of the public hearing to September 23, 2015.

The City Clerk’s office received a new Beer and Wine License for Chicago Dogs Eatery, Inc., and Monarch Black Hawk, Inc., on July 22, 2015. The Chicago Dogs Eatery, Inc., will be located at the Monarch Casino.

November

The Council updated the city’s three-mile plan on November 11, detailing the City’s planned growth area before annexing the Quartz Valley property. The City of Black Hawk is required to adopt a three-mile plan for purposes of considering an annexation proposal, to be updated at least once annually. In the past the City has adopted and reaffirmed the Intergovernmental Agreement dated September 29, 1999, between the City of Black Hawk, the City of Central, the County of Gilpin and the Black Hawk-Central City Sanitation District as the City of Black Hawk three-mile plan.

A request to annex 11 properties, all municipally owned, in the Quartz Valley and Maryland Mountain area was approved. In April 2013, the City of Black Hawk increased its territory by approximately 436 acres by approving the Quartz Valley/Maryland Mountain annexations.

Since the last annexations were approved in 2013, the City has acquired additional parcels in the Quartz Valley/Maryland Mountain area. In May 2015 the City approved an ordinance disconnecting a small portion of land from the City. Approximately 4.12 acres was removed from the City.

The additional parcels are proposed to be annexed to the City to “fill in many of the gaps.” The parcels are located in unincorporated Gilpin County, and each annexation is made up of portions of a single or multiple mining claims owned by the City.

When land is annexed into the City it must be subsequently zoned as well. Approximately 30.87 acres were just annexed through the Quartz Valley/Maryland Mountain 2015 Annexations No. 1 through No. 11, and the Council voted to zone the property into the History Appreciation Recreation Destination zoning district.

December

The Council approved the final 2016 budget and set the city’s property tax mill levy on Wednesday, December 9. The 2016 budget includes a total revenue projection of $26.5 million for all funds and total expenditures of $40.6 million. Due to ambitious capital projects proposed or incurred for 2015 and 2016, the General Fund, Capital Projects Fund, Preservation & Restoration Fund and the Water Fund are projected to have significant deficit spending.

The amount of money necessary to balance the budget for general operating purposes from property tax revenue is $8,455, and the 2015 valuation for assessment for the City of Black Hawk is $234,861,739. To meet expenses, the City levies during the 2016 budget year a tax of .036 mills on each dollar of the total valuation for assessment of all taxable property within the City of Black Hawk for the year 2015.

An ordinance authorizing an Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Black Hawk and the City of Central regarding shuttle bus services will provide a municipal bus service for Black Hawk and Central City.

The City of Black Hawk proposes to provide shuttle bus services in both Black Hawk and Central City. The bus service would start on January 1, 2016. Black Hawk will provide municipal bus service to Black Hawk and Central City for calendar year 2016 in an amount not to exceed $620,000, to be shared pro rata among the parties, with Black Hawk’s share not to exceed $353,400, or 57 percent of the cost of the Municipal Bus Service, and Central City’s share not to exceed $266,600, or 43 percent, of the cost of the Municipal Bus Service.

The municipal bus service will be provided based on the bus route and schedule, at the cost of each party. The City agreed with MV Transportation, Inc., to provide the bus services for the Black Hawk & Central City Tramway for 2016. The bus will circulate through both cities on a specific route with specific stops, and the route should take about 30 minutes to cover. A single bus will operate Monday through Thursday, and two buses will operate Friday through Sunday.

The Council approved proposed improvements to the Clear Creek Commons building at 137 Clear Creek Street in Black Hawk, which is the structure commonly known as the “Clear Creek Commons.” The western most tenant space of Clear Creek Commons (formally the Credit Union of the Rockies) will house a proposed convenience store. The space at this location is limited to an internal access located through the main entrance to the Clear Creek Commons building and has no direct exterior entrance to the tenant space. The proposed renovations will create a new exterior entrance and doorway off of the front façade to accommodate the future convenience store.

A Certificate of Appropriateness was approved for the proposed Police Annex and Emergency Operations Center building near 987 Miners Mesa Road, collectively known as the Miners Mesa Complex. This project proposes construction of a new Police Annex and Emergency Operations Center (EOC) building to serve as an emergency operations center and storage area. The new building will be addressed as 911 Miners Mesa Road.

On December 9, the Council approved an agreement to jointly fund marketing of Black Hawk with the Black Hawk Business Improvement District (BID). The agreement will jointly fund marketing and promotion of Black Hawk. The City’s rebate from device taxes will go directly to the BID, which will have a higher tax levy to promote Black Hawk.

Under the agreement, the City of Black Hawk is obligated, beginning in 2016, to provide for the equivalent of the temporary rebate of certain device taxes on an annual basis, payable as a lump sum directly to the BID, in the amount equal to $25 per gaming device in the City if the City attains a sustained 76 percent market share of the statewide Adjusted Gross Proceeds. The City will pay an additional $25 per device if the City attains a sustained 78 percent market share based on three consecutive months of such market share based on statewide AGP.

The Black Hawk Business Improvement District is obligated to set its mill levy at a rate of 1.5 mills for purposes of providing revenue for the Marketing Program. It must utilize the City contribution and the BID contribution to fund the Marketing Program, according to the agreement.