Black Hawk committed to rebuilding the City

The amendment springs from an effort to expand the pool of qualified applicants.

When gambling was legalized, Black Hawk City Council vowed to rebuild the city, according to Mayor David Spellman – not just the infrastructure, but also residential properties.

“Even if gaming, at some point, were to go away, we will have rebuilt the city of Black Hawk. All of our residential properties and all of the infrastructure; and we are good to go for another 100-150 years. It does come at a cost, but 25-50 years from now, no one is going to look at what we spent, they are going to look at the end product.”

The resolutions presented to the Council during their April 24 meeting focused on the residential rehabilitation of 121 Marchant Street, with an estimated cost of about $1.5 million.

The City of Black Hawk entered into a contract with WCG Construction on October 26, 2022, to provide pre-construction and construction services necessary to complete the residential rehabilitation program on two historic residential homes, located at 187 Clear Creek Street and 121 Marchant Street.

The City of Black Hawk intended to perform the complete rehabilitation of these two historic homes concurrently, but because both properties tested positive for environmental hazards, the rehabilitation of the properties had to be done separately.

Amendment No. 2 to the Construction Manager/General Contractor Agreement between the City of Black Hawk and WCG Construction for the residential rehabilitation project at 121 Marchant Street breaks down to:

• Homeowner Escrow $22,435,
• Historic Preservation at $982,897
and
• Grant Rehabilitation at $521,828.

The completion of the rehabilitation is slated for January 2025.

Director of Community Planning and Development Cynthia Linker spoke to the council about the projects, saying that the lessons learned during the 187 Clear Creek Street project will be carefully utilized during the 121 Marchant Street project.

“It was a very big learning curve for everyone.” She expects the final cost of 187 Clear Creek to be under budget.

Linker said the only salvageable items from 121 Marchant will be the south and west walls; everything else will be new construction.

She assured the Council that WCG is very transparent and detailed when remitting receipts for costs of labor and supplies.

The council voted on, and unanimously approved, Resolution 39-2024, a Resolution Approving Amendment No. 2 to the Construction Manager/General Contractor Agreement Between the City of Black Hawk and WCG Construction for the Residential Rehabilitation Program Project at 121 Marchant Street in an Amount Not to Exceed $1,527,160.

Subsequent resolutions also concerned the 121 Marchant property and were all approved, including:

Resolution 40-2024, A Resolution Approving the Historic Preservation Easement Agreement Between the City of Black Hawk and the Branecki Family Limited Liability Company LLC in an Amount Not to Exceed $982,897.

Resolution 41-2024, A Resolution Approving the Rehabilitation Grant Program Agreement Between the City of Black Hawk and the Branecki Family Limited Liability Company LLC in an Amount Not to Exceed $544,263.

Resolution 42-2024, A Resolution Approving a Temporary Construction Easement Between the City of Black Hawk and the Branecki Family Limited Liability Company LLC Associated with Improvements to the Property Located at 121 Marchant Street

Resolution 43-2024, A Resolution Approving a Temporary Construction Easement Between the City of Black Hawk and Jim J. Johnson Jr. and Curtis Linder Associated with Improvements to the Property Located at 121 Marchant Street

Resolution 44-2024, A Resolution Approving a Temporary Construction Easement Between the City of Black Hawk and David M. Craft Associated with Improvements to the Property Located at 121 Marchant Street

Linker explained that the Historic Preservation Easement Agreement will cover the exterior of the property, whereas the Rehabilitation Grant Program Agreement concerns the interior.

Alderman Jim Johnson recused himself from the meeting during Resolution 43-2024 due to his conflict of interest.

City Attorney Corey Hoffman informed the Council that one of their vendors for pipeline work recently filed for bankruptcy. The City of Black Hawk contracted with JBS Pipeline for a roads/sanitary sewer line project in 2023, which was completed, and the warranty is effective until April 2027. The City has a payment and performance bond on the warranty and will discuss legal recourse during the Executive Session.

No public comment was made during the Public Hearing on Council Bill #8, An Ordinance Amending Various Sections of the Black Hawk Employee Handbook, but the Council will revisit Section 2, where it concerns language about pre-appointment alcohol testing that was discussed last December. Torres requested more work and clarity on the language and Hoffman said the staff would rewrite the paragraph.

Other amendments included in the ordinance stated, “Immediate family members shall not work in the same UNIT WITHIN A DIVISION OF A department,” whereas before it read that they could not work in the same division. The amendment springs from an effort to expand the pool of qualified applicants. The Council voted to approve the changes without Section 2.

The next regular meeting of the Black Hawk City Council is scheduled for May 8, 2024, at 3 p.m. in the Council Chambers located at 211 Church Street, Black Hawk, Colorado.