Kim Habicht, Black Hawk.

Black Hawk City Council approved a change in the city’s municipal code for manufactured homes in a unanimous vote on February 28, 2018.

Manufactured homes are structures that can be lived in and connected to utilities, like plumbing, heating and electricity. The city chose to adopt the regulations on manufactured homes after receiving an influx of questions about the existing codes.

Manufactured homes are not synonymous with mobile homes, which is something that the new codes clarifies. The new codes also dictate that the dimensions of manufactured homes should be no less than 24 by 36 feet, the exterior should be wood, brick or equivalent siding and the primary entrance should face a street.

The city council also voted unanimously to rectify discrepancies in the local building code so that it adequately reflects the city’s fire code. This includes updating the wind speeds specified in the fire code. On March 14, a public hearing will be held concerning the updates to the code.

City Manager Jack Lewis, and Brett Hahnenkamp of Peak Value, LLC, presented a resolution to accept phase 1A of Peak Value, LLC’s Black Hawk Program Validation plan. The mission of the plan is to determine more cost-effective and efficient practices for construction and city projects in Black Hawk.

Phase 1A of the plan set forth the goals of the operation. City Manager Lewis described the resolution as, “a resolution to move forward with our historic program and some of the public works programs to see if we can come to some better methodology of getting better pricing. We have to see what has happened in the past to move forward in the future.”

Hahnenkamp described the next steps of the plan, which he said was focused on “providing a tool kit, processing flow charts and all the tools and templates that city staff will use to improve projects. It’s going to focus on more efficient projects, which will expedite the schedules.”

The resolution was unanimously passed. Mayor Spellman said of the resolution, “It’s to find efficiencies that will lead to lower cost projects, but by no means meant to poorly reflect staff.”

A resolution proposing the demolition of three non-historic sheds and a non-historic garage, all owned by the city, was presented by Community Planning and Development Administrator Cynthia Linker. The resolution was passed unanimously.

Two of the buildings are located at 510 and 520 Chase Street. They technically reside within the National Historic Landmark district but were not counted in an inventory of historic resources when the National Park Services conducted surveys in 1986 and 1991. The main building associated with the sheds and garages, 531 Chase Street, was also determined to be non-historic.

The purchase of a compact wheel loader and small roller were also approved unanimously by the council. Jointly, they cost $117,075.

The next Black Hawk council meeting will take place on March 11, 2018 at 3 p.m. at 211 Church Street in Black Hawk.