Jacqueline Hart Gibson, Black Hawk. The regular meeting of the Black Hawk City Council was called to order on February 12, 2020, at 3 p.m. Following roll call, the mayor and alderman were all in attendance, the unusually full council room stood for the pledge of allegiance. 

A moment of silence was observed for Julie Seitzinger, Executive Administrative Assistant to administrative services. Julie passed away on January 26, 2020, at 59 years old. She had worked for the city of Black Hawk for three years and was described by her co-workers as “surprisingly light hearted with a wonderful spirit.” Julie’s obituary ran in the Weekly Register Call on February 6, 2020, and can be viewed on-line. 

Two new employees were introduced to, and welcomed by, the council; Dustin Rust and Kellie Johnson. Dustin, who was hired to Black Hawk P.D. as a police officer, is from Texas, where he worked in law enforcement for 20 years. He has a masters degree in law enforcement administration, a trilogy award graduate of the FBI Command School and Law Enforcement Management Institute. Dustin is a certified level 2 firefighter, emergency medical responder, arson investigator, SWAT operator, and general instructor in emergency management operations. Dustin moved to Colorado with his wife Laura, and their three children. Laura was a television news anchor back in Texas. 

Kellie Johnson, who moved to Gilpin County in January of 2019, was hired with Black Hawk P.D. as a communications officer. Kellie graduated from the University of New Mexico with a degree in Political Science before moving to Texas, where she lived for 13 years, and served as a U.S. Army Reserves Health Inspector. Kellie has deployed twice with the reserves and once with the Australian Navy. She earned her Bachelor’s in Business Management in Texas and worked as an Army civilian contractor at San Antonio Military Medical Center in the Uniformed Business Office. 

One week after Kellie moved to Gilpin county, her son was born two months early. Kellie credits the Gilpin Ambulance Authority and Flight for Life for her and her son’s good health today. She decided she wanted to give back by being of service to those who had been there for her, and she is proud to be a part of the Black Hawk P.D. today. 

In public hearings, a resolution adopting the comprehensive plan of the city of Black Hawk, dated February 2020, carried unanimously. 

The first action item, a resolution adopting the comprehensive plan of the city of Black Hawk, dated February 2020 as the city’s three-mile annexation plan, carried unanimously. 

A resolution accepting the petitions for annexation and establishing March 25, 2020, as the date of public hearing on the requested annexation of parcels of unincorporated territory located in the County of Gilpin, Lake Gulch Whiskey Annexations, carried unanimously. 

A resolution cancelling the April 7, 2020, regular election and declaring candidates elected, carried unanimously. 

A resolution approving a purchase and sale agreement for the acquisition of the PM Lode Mining Claim U.S. Mineral Survey No. 4556, passed unanimously. 

A resolution approving a purchase and sale agreement for the acquisition of the Bates Lode Mining Claim U.S. Mineral Survey No. 941 AM, passed unanimously. 

Three resolutions approving the professional services agreement between the city of Black Hawk and PEH architects, carried unanimously. The first was in an amount not to exceed $72,925.00 for design services pertaining to the grand staircase. The second, in an amount not to exceed $99,503.00 for design services pertaining to the Mountain City Railing Replacement and Elevator Installation Project. The third, in an amount not to exceed $54,861.00 for design services pertaining to the Lace House Rehabilitation Project. 

Another resolution, approving amendment No. 3 to the CMGC contract executed on May 22, 2019, between the city of Black Hawk and Taylor Kohrs LLC, increasing the guaranteed maximum price (GMP) by $162,314.03 for completion of electrical work and changed site conditions for the hidden treasure trailhead project, carried unanimously. 

A resolution approving the soil nail and stabilization easement agreement with the Rocky Mountain Evangelical Free Church for the property at 331 Gregory Street, carried unanimously.  

The last resolution of the afternoon, a resolution approving the professional services agreement between the city of Black Hawk and Alpine Artisan Studios for the 2020 Christmas decor program in an amount not to exceed $175,000, carried unanimously. 

City Manager, Stephen Cole, announced he had nothing new to report and city attorney Corey Hoffman, requested an executive session. The meeting adjourned at 4:50 p.m. 

(Originally published in the February 20, 2020, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)