Kimberly Habicht, Black Hawk.  Black Hawk city council voted to implement a 5 percent tax on marijuana sales at a council meeting on April 25.

The tax was already passed via a ballot measure in the Spring of 2014. The ordinance is “nothing more than clean-up,” according to City Attorney Corey Hoffmann. It officially codifies the tax, which will be imposed on both retail and medical marijuana sales in the city.

The council approved a resolution to begin restoring the exterior of Black Hawk City Hall. The building, which was built in 1877, houses offices for the city. Restoration of the exterior will involve removing and replacing some of the brick, sealing cracks and removing existing lead-based paint, among other things. The plan also notes that care will be taken to use the gentlest procedures possible, in order to preserve the historic brick and stones of the building.

Community Planning and Development Administrator Cynthia Linker, who presented the resolution to the board, said that, “It will enhance the building and the whole district.”

A contract for $195,725 was also approved between the city and the Utah-based restoration company Hydro-Tech, Inc. for the renovations to city hall.

The city has also received various inquiries into its vacation rental ordinances. City Attorney Hoffmann voiced concerns regarding the potential impacts that vacation rentals could have on the community if not regulated.

He recommended a long-term investigation into possible vacation rental ordinances. In the interim, vacation rentals will be subject to the bed and breakfast codes that Black Hawk already has in place.

An agreement between the Colorado Historical Society and the city that allows the historical society to use the city’s Church Ditch Augmentation Station was renewed.

At the same meeting, the council approved changes to the city’s tramway operations plan, a change order to the Gregory Street relocation project and an ordinance which grants guaranteed maximum price contracting to city planners.

The council also renewed dental and health insurance plans for city staff for the next year.

(Originally published in the May 3, 2018, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)