John Scarffe, Gilpin County.  The 1923 Bucyrus Steam Shovel in Nederland will be coming to Central City, the Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners learned during a regular meeting of at 9 a.m. on March 27, 2018, at Central City Hall. The Board also approved a request for additional staffing at the County Detention Facility.

Dan Martin and Kayla Evans, with the Nederland Area Historical Society, told the Board that Central City has volunteered to take the shovel and put it on display here, but it will be costly to help with the relocation.

Evans said: “This is my back yard as a kid growing up, and it’s great you want to give a new home to the shovel. I saw the sign of National Historic District, so this is a great place for a nationally registered shovel.“

Martin said he is vice president of Nederland Area Historical Society and his specialty is mining equipment, so he has been doing acquisitions. In 1997 or 1998, he found the shovel in Gilpin County. He was putting a museum together to acquire all different pieces of equipment.

Martin went over to see it, and it had been buried there since the early 1970s among thousands of pieces of equipment in an overgrown junk yard. The shovel was used there from 1950 to 1970 every year in a mining operation. He came upon it in the 1990s and heard rumors it was rare and had worked on the Panama Canal.

This steam shovel didn’t work with the initial cut of the canal, but in 1914 and the 1920s it was used to widen the canal. It created reservoirs, roads and bridges and widened it because ships were too large for it.

The shovel is one of only three known to exist, Martin said. One is in Costa Rica and one is in Montana in a thousand pieces. “Ours is the only one that exists and still runs.” After a year or two, Steve and Laurel Higgins bought the property and had a real sense of historic preservation. They donated the shovel to the museum, and it took seven years to clean up the property.

In 2005, they were able to move the machine, and the History Channel recorded a documentary. It has been at the mining museum in Nederland since then and people enjoy it, Martin said. “We run it several times a year and people come from all over the world to see it. This machine is one of the most important of the 21st Century.”

The Historical Society has fallen into some financial issues and has other projects to complete. “To do that we need to sell that property, and we wanted it to come back to Central City because it embraces its historical character.”

Black Hawk Town Clerk Michelle Martin presented the idea to Central City Clerk Reba Bechtel. “We were able to present this to the Town of Central and we were shocked how welcoming they were. Nederland doesn’t appreciate the history of the area,” Martin said.

Commissioner Linda Isenhart said that with the County’s mining history they should be looking to find a good spot for it where people will see it when they come to the opera. Martin said that everyone turns into a little kid when they see it. People love to have their picture taken in the bucket.

They have looked at Quartz Hill, but it has massive issues with leans on the property. Another site is where the buses cut through and Central City owns that street. To the east, that property is owned by Baby Doe Development and to the west, that the property is owned by the Central City Development Company out of Las Vegas.

Everyone agreed that it would be the perfect spot but they have to deal with private property, Martin said. Hopefully they can figure out a parcel of property for parking and an area for the shovel.

Part of the problem is the cost of moving it. “It’s the last issue for us because we will make it work as far as paying for it, but we want everyone’s input. We want your support and things the County can do internally. It will cost between $12,000 and $15,000 to move the shovel,” Martin said.

They have to separate it into three pieces and put them onto lowboy trailers. It weighs 130,000 pounds and is very wide. They would travel to the destination and a crane would come and reassembles it. The County does have a lowboy and if they could provide that, police escort and travel control when the semis come in, Martin said.

Permitting is required and Gilpin County has very strict laws, so they will need permits and are asking the County for the permit. They will move from 3 a.m. to 11 a.m. Martin said they will have to do a detailed plan, and they know exactly what it will take to do it.

It is seven feet tall until you get it separated. It’s worth well over a million dollars. It’s a national treasure. The bucket is insured for half a million.

Isenhart said the County can put signage out. Martin said: “We want to be sure people really want this. It seems to be the right thing for Central City.”

Isenhart said, “I think it would fit perfectly in Central City, and this would be an attraction for history buffs.” Evans said there is every possibility it will be on the national register. They have started the process, and they suggested we get it to point B to start that process. The grant cycle is in April.

Commissioner Gail Watson said, “I’m thrilled it’s coming back to Gilpin County”, and Board Chair Ron Engels said this is more for Public Works, permitting, travel control and all those things. He suggested County Manager Leslie Klusmire coordinate with the Nederland Historical Society.

“If it comes down to a little bit of cash, you can come back to us,” Engels said.

Next, Captains Tom Ihme and Tonia Kapke requested additional staff for the County Detention Facility and double bunking. The average daily population in the jail consistently meets or exceeds capacity for the past 16 months, states the request.

The jail has been understaffed since 2008, and officers are concerned for the safety of staff. As a result, they propose hiring two additional staff members for the Detention Facility.

The staff members could be added at the corporal level, they could add two noncertified staff or one corporal and one noncertified staff member. The second part of the request is for double bunking the back pods.

The total cost of 35 double bunks with 35 ladders would be $18,552.80. Right now, they are using plastic cots on the floor. Ihme told the story of one result from double bunking. An inmate used an unattached bed to attack an officer.

Engels said that about half the double bunkers use ladders and the rest don’t. It makes sense to have the ladders. Kapke said they had people falling out so they had the ladders built.

Watson said the Commissioners are aware we have an issue due to the increasing numbers. She asked about the difference between certified vs. noncertified.

Kapke said a noncertified staff member hasn’t gone through all the training, but now more things are mandated that must be taught to employees. There is a lot of information, so the training is going to be extended for them.

Ihme said a certified staff member receives 15 to 18 weeks in training if they go to an academy. He was very much in favor of hiring noncertified personnel, but now thinks he was wrong. “We don’t have the means to train these people, and if you went to an academy you would get a head start.”

Isenhart said this is well presented. Engles supported hiring up to two post certified deputies. Watson said it’s very timely and necessary.

They made a motion for the second option of one certified and one non-certified staff member, and the motion was approved.

The next meeting of the Gilpin County Board of County Commissioners will be at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 10, 2018 at the Central City Hall.

(Originally published in the April 5, 2018, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)