John Scarffe, Black Hawk.  The preliminary design is nearing completion on the new trailhead and parking area at Hidden Treasure. During the regular Black Hawk City Council meeting on Wednesday, May 25, 2016 at 3p.m., at 211 Church Street, the Council awarded a contract for the processing and importing of material at the Hidden Treasure Trailhead Site.

The Council awarded the contract to Grapes and Sons Excavating in the amount of $72,000. The City owns more property along the highway, so it has an opportunity to maximize the parking area and potentially shorten a bridge crossing the highway, according to background information.

Staff solicited proposals from two local excavators, and Grapes and Sons Excavating had the lowest bid at $72,000. The project will be funded through the Maryland Mountain Improvements fund.

Public Works Director Thomas Isbester explained that this was a continuation of some of the work from the Hidden Treasure Trailhead site using material hauled in from the Gregory Street project. The City owns a little more property than originally thought, so he proposed processing and installing more material to widen that area, which will make the future expansion of that parking lot much easier and shorten the pedestrian bridge.

The Board also awarded a bid to A-1 Chipseal for the Chip and Slurry Seal Project on Miners Mesa, Bobtail, Clear Creek, Marchant and Horn Streets in an amount not to exceed $132,645.30.

Isbester told the Council this was the start of the annual Road Maintenance Program and the roads listed are less likely to get cut-up for other projects. He estimated the work to be done before July 4.

The Council approved a Water Storage Agreement with the City of Golden. Golden is required to deliver 125 acre feet of water to the City of Black Hawk each year.

This water is typically provided by the Vidler Tunnel. The Vidler water is trans-basin Water, which makes it valuable because the water can be used to extinction with no return flow requirements, according to the report. In most years, Black Hawk takes delivery of the Vidler water into Green Lake or Georgetown Lake, but because of the wet spring, room in these reservoirs is not available.

Golden has space available in its Guanella Reservoir and will store the water until Black Hawk can exchange it to Green Lake or Georgetown Lake. The cost of the storage is 50 percent of the water put into Guanella Reservoir, according to staff.

For example, if Black Hawk stores 125 acre feet in Guanella Reservoir, the City keeps 62.5 acre feet and Golden gets 62.5 acre feet. There is no monetary cost to the City. The alternative is to let the water go down stream and make no use of it.

A Council meeting took place on June 8, and the next meeting of the Black Hawk City Council will be at 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 22, 2016, at 211 Church Street.