John Scarffe, Central City.   The City of Central Council approved an ordinance ratifying the submission of a grant application for the Belvidere Theatre Rehabilitation project during a regular meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, August 7, 2018, at the City Hall. The Council also approved calling for the November 2018 General Municipal Election as a mail ballot election and approved a Promise Program request for educational funding.

The Council approved a resolution ratifying the submission of a Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) Energy and Mineral Impact Assistance Program Tier I Application for the Belvidere Theatre Rehabilitation Project and authorizing the City manager to finalize and submit other grant applications related to the project, according to meeting minutes.

The City has identified improvements and renovations to the historic Belvidere Theatre which, if completed, will provide significant value to City of Central residents. The Belvidere Theatre is a contributing historic building in the Central City-Black Hawk National Historic Landmark District, and the project aims to fully rehabilitate the building as a combination community/cultural arts center and commercial property in accordance with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties.

The City filed a Tier I application with DOLA by the August 1 deadline seeking grant funding of costs in the amount of $179,350 to finalize architectural and engineering plans for the project. As set forth in the DOLA grant application, the City will match 50 percent of the costs of the Project.

Total costs for architectural and engineering will be $358,700. The City’s portion of these costs will be approximately $179,350, subject to adjustment.

The Council approved the application.

The Council considered a resolution calling for the November 2018 General Municipal Election to be held as a Mail Ballot Election in accordance with the Municipal Election Code. City Clerk Reba Bechtel explained that the proposed resolution reviews the governing regulations to hold a stand-alone mail ballot election and designates the City Clerk as the election official responsible for conducting the election and supervising the distributing, handling, counting of ballots and the survey of returns, according to the minutes.

Preliminary cost is estimated at $2,000 to $2,500. The Council approved the resolution unanimously.

Manager Miera reviewed the background for the Central City Promise Program, which was initiated by City Council to encourage high school graduates and G.E.D. recipients of Central City to make post-secondary education a priority. The Promise Program helps make it possible for Central City residents to attend a university, community college or trade school by providing assistance with associated costs.

The 2018 Budget has $15,000 allocated for the Promise Program, according to the minutes. This is the third formal request received-to-date for Fiscal Year 2018. Granting the request will leave a remaining balance of zero in the Public Education account, Miera said.

Rachel Schmaltz is a second-time applicant of the Promise Program. She has submitted the required information and paperwork and is requesting Promise Program funds in the amount of $5,000 in 2018.

She is continuing her post-secondary education at Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska. The Promise Program Guidelines limit the amount that an individual can receive to a total of $20,000 or four years of funding.

Schmaltz added that she is working on a double major in history and communications and thanked the Council for continuing support. The Council approved the request unanimously.

(Originally published in the September 20, 2018, print edition of The Mountain-Ear.)