Resolutions and ordinances

Black Hawk Council Keeps Busy By Jaclyn Morrow Mayor David Spellman and the City Council met Wednesday, July 26, 2017 in the old Presbyterian Church, in their upstairs chambers at 211 Church Street in Black Hawk, Colorado. The original agenda had planned to tour Chase Gulch at 1:00 pm and call the meeting to order immediately following the tour. Due to the monsoon weather predicting 100% chance of rain, the tour was cancelled and rescheduled before the August 9 th meeting. This regular bi-monthly meeting was held at the normal time of 3 pm. The original church bell inside the building was rung by Black Hawk’s newest firefighter, Aaron Skeen to begin the meeting. A Call to Order by Mayor Spellman was quickly followed by roll call. Deputy City Clerk, Michele Martin, called the names to confirm the presence of Alderwoman Armbright and Aldermen Bennet, Johnson, Midcap, Moates, and Torres. Paul Bennet had missed the last meeting due to cataract surgery and is happy to see much more clearly now. Also seated at the council table with the Alderman were Mayor Spellman, City Manager Jack Lewis, City Attorney Corey Hoffman, and Deputy City Clerk Michelle Martin who maintains the minutes of each meeting. City staff attending was new firefighter Aaron Skeen, Fire Chief Donald Taylor, Police Chief Stephen Cole and Community Planning & Development Administrator Cindy Linker. Everyone in the chambers stood to show respect during the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States Flag. Agenda changes were recognized to only be the rescheduling of the Chase Gulch tour. Conflict of interest decree was read by City Attorney Corey Hoffmann. Mr. Hoffmann specified that Resolution 53-2017 was a consideration to approve a rehabilitation grant between the City and Alderman Torres and his wife, so he was to be excused for that topic’s discussion and vote. A request for public comments regarding the agenda brought no responses. The minutes of the July 12, 2017 regular meeting were approved. Fire Chief Donald Taylor introduced the newest firefighter to the force, Aaron Skeen. He did get to ring the bell again today to start the meeting as he did June 14 expecting to be formally introduced, however the crew had to respond to a call and they did not get to finish the official introduction until July 26 th . This time, Fire Chief Taylor introduced Mr. Skeen as having come to the Black Hawk Fire Department beginning April 4 th from the Timberline Department. His wife and family are very happy with this move for him, as are his Black Hawk Firefighter team. The public hearings began with Corey Hoffmann reminding the Council that he had explained last meeting that Council Bill 14, an Ordinance Amending Section 16-67, was to be presented in two parts. Because public notice is required to notify the public of these changes, now that time line was complete so the council could proceed with amending the requirement to connect to city water and sewer. Last meeting they approved the first part as CB13 to require all property inside the city limits to connect to municipal water services. CB14 removes language from Sec. 16-67 which authorized onsite water systems “in areas that are on the periphery of the City.” The motion was approved by a unanimous vote. CB15 - an Ordinance Approving the Adult Protective Services Memorandum of Understanding between the City of Black Hawk and Various Governmental Entities The Adult Protective Services MOU is between the Gilpin County Department of Human Services, the Office of the District Attorney 1st Judicial District, State of Colorado, Gilpin County Sheriff Communications, Black Hawk Police Communications, Gilpin County Sheriff’s Office, Black Hawk Police Department, and the City of Black Hawk Police Chief Stephen Cole introduced this bill and some on the council seemed to remember doing this before. Mr. Hoffman gave an explanation about dates and they proceeded with the reasons to approve this bill, with the summary and background information following: Betty Donovan, Director of Gilpin County Human Services, requested a Memorandum of Understanding, MOU, from all law enforcement agencies in Gilpin County regarding at-risk adult neglect and abuse investigations. According to Betty Donovan the Department of Human Services is required to have an MOU with every law enforcement agency in its jurisdiction (Gilpin County). The MOU establishes guidelines for sharing information and conducting joint investigation in cases involving at-risk adult abuse and neglect. The Black Hawk Police Department has a good working relationship with Gilpin County Human Services and supports the approval of the MOU. CB 15 was unanimously approved. CB16 - an Ordinance Amending Chapter 8, Article I, of the Black Hawk Municipal Code to Revise and Add Traffic Offenses in Conformance with 2017 State Legislation Police Chief Cole simplified this request to help Black Hawk be aligned with recent changes regarding two items. First is clarifying language to make it more appropriate for officers in the Colorado to suggest that unsafe driving may have been a result of drivers under 18 using a phone while driving, either manually texting or being a distracted driver because of a wireless device. Apparently to avoid state court appearances, this offense, with approval of the bill, will allow this local municipality to convict offenders. Second, when a driver has had a hold put on their driving privileges and they are found to be continuing to drive, now more specific consequences are asked to be approved by each municipality. CB16 was approved. CB17 - an Ordinance Approving the Intergovernmental Agreement between the City of Black Hawk and Gilpin County Regarding the November 7, 2017 Special Election Melissa Greiner, City Clerk is named in this election agreement. CPD Administrator Cindy Linker presented documentations for this Bill and the following four resolutions on the agenda. The Council’s approval of this bill is part of the process to receive the completeness certification of the ballot, for the November 2017 election. It includes the assurance that ordering of election supplies occurs to mail notices packets to voters as well as ballots. The motion was approved. Resolution 51-2017 - a Resolution Approving the Temporary Construction Easement from Judith Jasper to the City of Black Hawk for the Property at 251 Church Street. Easement for the exterior painter to be near the neighboring property, many photos and maps were provided with the request made by the property owners on June 22 proposing to begin in July 2017. Updated photos would be provided with progress on the project. Resolution was passed. Resolution 52-2017 – a Resolution Approving the Rehabilitation Grant Program Agreement Between the City of Black Hawk and Benito and Patti Torres for the Property Located at 211 Horn Street. This formality for the Council to approve the grant funding of historic properties maintains the quality of wellness of residences in Historic Districts, such as Black Hawk. Resolution 52-2-17 passed with Alderman Torres stepping off the floor to abstain from voting. Resolution 53-2017 – a Resolution Adopting the Revised Community Restoration and Preservation Guide to Programs, Revised July 2017 Ms. Linker said that the staff has worked a long time to complete updates to the Community Restoration and Preservation Guide. Apparently there had been a delay in responses that had been applied from the Historic Preservation Commission, who did give recommendations regarding specific language. Section 1 covered at least eight items revised to be more specific regarding out buildings, fencing, extensive additions, wall alignments, returning some parts to original wording, appearances of buildings and historic preservations. Section 2 made reference to the money that is granted to the property owner to do restorations. State wording seems to tax the money that is in escrow for the projects and the updates on this agreement say the city will not tax the funds. Resolution 53-2017 unanimously passed. Paul Bennet read the script to identify items to be discussed in executive session. He commented how differently the script appeared. The Council moved to executive session at 3:15 pm. The next regular City of Black Hawk Council Meeting will be August 9, 2017. The council will tour Chase Gulch at 1:00 pm and the regular meeting will begin immediately after the tour at 211 Church Street in Black Hawk, Colorado.

Patrick Henry Sweeney

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