The Black Hawk City Council approved turning parking spaces into storage for the Lady Luck Casino during a regular meeting at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, July 13, 2022, at 211 Church Street.

The Council also approved the Retirement Governmental Money Purchase Plan Adoption Agreement, a Professional Services Agreement with ERO Resources Corporation for an Environmental Assessment, and accepted the City of Black Hawk’s 2021 Audit.

Julie Esterl with the engineering firm Baseline Corporation introduced a resolution conditionally approving the Lady Luck Casino Parking Garage Site Development Plan Amendment for the conversion of parking spaces to storage use.

In March 2021, the City of Black Hawk received an inquiry from Chris Carlson, formerly of the Lady Luck Casino, regarding the process of converting some parking spaces within Level 1 of the Lady Luck Casino Parking Garage into a storage area.

A site visit by City staff and consultants revealed that two storage areas already existed in the parking garage, neither of which had received proper land use approval or building permits. Planning and Building staff determined that for any future storage to be constructed, the existing storage areas would need to come into compliance with the zoning and building code.

A Site Development Plan (SDP) Amendment was prepared and submitted by Lady Luck staff and their architect. The acquisition of the appropriate building permits is a condition of amendment approval before any additional storage construction.

Carlson submitted a pre-application to the City’s Community Planning and Development (CP&D) Department in April 2021. A Development Review Committee (DRC) meeting was held on site and it was noted that Level 1 of the garage already contained a large fenced storage area, and that Level 2 of the garage also contained a small fenced storage area.

“Building permits were issued in 2018 and were found for the Level 1 storage area, but had expired prior to the start and completion of the intended work and became invalid. Without the proper building permits being completed, the existing storage areas were determined to be in violation of the building code,” according to the staff summary.

In addition to current and complete building permits, it was determined that a Site Development Plan (SDP) Amendment would be required for the change of use and the reduction in parking spaces. Simultaneous applications for both existing and new storage areas were determined to be appropriate so that the SDP would not have to be amended twice.

Staff from Baseline Corporation recommended that a Site Development Plan Amendment be granted. The proposed changes in use provide additional storage for the facility while still meeting the minimum required parking. Staff recommended that the Lady Luck Parking Garage Site Development Plan Amendment be approved, subject to conditions.

Alderman Hal Midcap said he would give up 105 parking spots, and that seems contrary. “Is it going to be easy to convert back to parking spaces?” he asked. The reply was that they have two garages and never have any parking issues.

The Council approved the resolution to convert parking spaces into storage for Lady Luck Casino.

City Clerk Melissa Greiner introduced a resolution approving the MissionSquare Retirement Governmental Money Purchase Plan Adoption Agreement. She said this is a housekeeping measure.

Per instructions from the IRS, each plan sponsor using the MissionSquare 401(a) Retirement Plan document is required to execute a new adoption agreement restating the plan every six years. There are no changes to the plan. The Council approved the resolution.

Public Works Director Tom Isbester, filling in for former Water Manager Jim Ford, introduced a resolution approving a Professional Services Agreement with ERO Resources Corporation for the Environmental Assessment and Individual 404 ACOE (Army Corps of Engineers) Permit for the City of Black Hawk Water Supply Project in an amount not to exceed $361,799.57.

It is an alternative analysis for locations for reservoirs and services and it was submitted to the Army Corps of Engineers. They are on the second round of comments. There will be an environmental assessment before proceeding.

Staff has been working for the past ten plus years on the Alternatives Analysis for the City’s water supply project. This work included estimating the City’s future water demands, listing the many options for water supply projects, identifying numerous locations for reservoirs, as well as other improvements necessary to able to supply the City’s future water demand

The next step is the actual Environmental Assessment for the Alternative Analysis and ultimately an Individual 404 permit with the ACOE to complete the improvements.

This analysis is necessary to show that the selected alternatives are the least environmentally damaging practicable alternative. Some of these other improvements include a new infiltration gallery on North Clear Creek and the ability to fully utilize the recently constructed infiltration gallery on Clear Creek at Hidden Valley.

The Council approved the resolution.

The Council accepted the City of Black Hawk 2021Audit. Finance Director Lance Hillis said the company issued a clean or unqualified opinion. It is straightforward and a better year than budgeted. 2022 is good so far, he reported.

Colorado State law requires that the financial statements of the City of Black Hawk be audited by an independent Certified Public Accountant. The City’s auditor, John Cutler & Associates, LLC, has issued a clean or unqualified opinion, meaning that the Financial Statements fairly present the financial position of the City.

New City employees were introduced. New Fire Marshal Jason Walsh rang the traditional bell to start the meeting.

Walsh’s focus in this role is ensuring fire and life safety for our residents, visitors, and business partners. “I am also looking forward to working with our first responders to ensure emergency operations are successful. I have over 20 years of experience in the field of emergency services; the majority of those years has been with CAL-FIRE/ Riverside County Fire in the same role.”

He holds certifications with the International Code Council, National Fire Protection Association, and attended the National Fire Academy Fire Prevention Program Management.

The other new employee, Rhea Shirley, Communications Officer I, grew up in Illinois but moved to Colorado five years ago and currently resides in Gilpin County. She graduated from Eastern Illinois University in 2015 with a bachelor of science degree in environmental biology and bachelor of arts degree in Spanish.

She is a licensed massage therapist and occasional substitute teacher. “I’m happiest when I’m with my son and our two cats and dog,” she said. “Working for Black Hawk has given me the chance to meet a lot of interesting people, and I love my coworkers and the camaraderie within the department.”

The next meeting of the Black Hawk Council will be on Wednesday, July 27, 2022. For more information, go to https://www.cityofblackhawk.org/.