“Smoke-free” Group lobbies Black Hawk Aldermen

Lynn Volkens

2/2/2006 - With Mayor Kathryn Eccker absent from the Wednesday afternoon meeting of the Black Hawk City Council, Alderman David Spellman directed business as Mayor pro tem. Aldermen Paul Bennett, Dick Cottrell, Kathy Doles, Tom Kerr, and Carl Swanson were present.

Smoke-free Casinos?

  Five people had signed up to speak during public comment and Spellman allowed one more, who hadn’t, to address the Council regarding the Smoke Free Colorado Act now being considered by the State Legislature. Casinos may be exempted by the act. Patrick Nash, an 11-year survivor of throat cancer, began by telling Council he would come to gamble more often if the casino environments were smoke-free. This view was proffered by the four people commenting after Nash, several who said they had surveyed friends and family (smokers and non-smokers), some who said they don’t come to the casinos at all because of the smoke, or would come more frequently if casinos prohibited or contained smoking. One person told Council she found the danger of people with oxygen tanks seated next to or near someone smoking, “terrifying,” because the oxygen could easily ignite. The potential health danger of second-hand smoke to casino employees was also a unifying thread of the speakers. Stephanie Steinberg spoke last, representing the organization “Smoke Free Gaming of Colorado.” Steinberg said she had brought a second-hand smoke demonstration consisting of a covered aquarium in which she had planned to light and leave burning four cigarettes to show the toxicity and danger of second-hand smoke. (Black Hawk Fire Chief Brian Lesher put the kibosh on the demonstration. “It’s illegal in this building,” he explained later.) Steinberg said her organization is doing outreach work for patrons and employees of casinos. All speakers urged the Council to “get behind” the Smoke-Free Colorado Act and Steinberg specifically urged the Aldermen to pass a resolution backing the legislation. Alderman Swanson responded to the presentation, “You need to make this presentation in front of casino owners, not the Legislature,” he said. “I’m not an advocate for or against smoking,” he said, “I’m an advocate for liberty. It’s about choice.” Casino patrons have a choice to go into areas where there is smoking, he noted, and employees of casinos have a choice whether to work there or not. He further explained his opinion that casinos are privately owned places (as opposed to those owned by public agencies) and that the people who “put their lives and life savings” into those businesses have the right to say what goes on inside their establishments. Spellman thanked the speakers and moved on to the next item of City business.

City Supports Veterans

  Veterans Teodoro Dominguez and Linold Begg, seated in Council’s audience, didn’t even have time to rise before Council had moved, seconded and passed unanimously their funding request for the Veterans’ Memorial constructed at the Gilpin County Recreation Center in 2005. The written request, on behalf of the local American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars organizations, said $2,327.06 had been raised in donations so far. Total cost of the memorial is $5,250. Black Hawk’s donation was $1,500.

Historic Preservation Funding Matters

  The Aldermen also didn’t hesitate to approve an Emergency Preservation Grant of $7,118 to replace the sewer line at 351 High Street, property owned by Alan Wyngarden. The sewer line and related plumbing had failed in the historical (1900) structure.

  At 221 Chase Street, a home owned by Derek Blake, Council approved a “scope of work” funding request (amount to be determined), to cover water damage caused by a broken water main and a complete rehabilitation of the property. The substandard foundation will be replaced, exterior wood siding will replace the current stucco siding, windows and interior walls will be redone, and the cabinets, kitchen and bathroom elements will be updated. As is being done with the Amacher residence on Chase Street, Blake requested and was granted approval to add a second story (at his expense) to the structure. Only the first floor is historic and covered under the City’s historic preservation program.

  Council continued the application for rehabilitation grant funding of $357,107 for Terry Ballowe’s property at 410 Chase Street to the February 8^th Council meeting. Ballowe’s application indicates he wants to restore the property as exactly as possible to its Victorian era condition. According to City Planning and Development Director, Sean McCartney, the expense of some items (chiefly a higher grade of wood that can be stained, as opposed to painted), causes an increase to the overall price of the restoration. Staff (and the City’s Historic Architecture Review Commission) recommended the continuance to reconsider the grade of wood, noting the lower grade would lessen the impact to the applicant’s tax liability. Alderman Cottrell noted the tax obligation is the owner’s to take on and that it’s the applicant’s choice to restore to the original form if he so chooses. City Manager Richard Lessner said that, because of  “some financial constraints on the (rehabilitation grant) program this year,” the Council might want to maximize the number of applicants or consider setting standards to address this situation. “We’ll be spending the entire fund balance this year,” he noted.

Blue Bird Bus Approved

  After questioning Philo Shelton, Director of Black Hawk Transportation Authority (BHTA), and determining that a new bus is needed regardless of the proposed expanded bus service to points in Gilpin County, the Aldermen approved a lease purchase agreement for an additional Blue Bird bus. Colorado West will provide the 30-passenger bus at a total cost of $265,400 to be paid in five annual payments of $58,308.

Elevator Inspection “Up” for Renewal

  Denver Regional Council of Government (DRCOG) has been providing the City’s elevator inspection services since 1995. The Aldermen voted to renew the DRCOG contract for another year at $11,440 or $130 per each of the 88 elevator/escalator units in the City.

Hidden in the Walls of the City

  While the Aldermen have indicated in the past that they would like to see utility lines placed behind the City’s historic walls, especially along Marchant and Clear Creek Streets, Shelton informed them that bid prices, per home, were now running $20-$50,000 per home. This is due to complex construction conditions such as encountering bedrock. In some cases, portions of the wall would have to be dismantled and rebuilt or patched, said Shelton, and the reconstructed or patched portions would not match the original parts the walls. He said he was also concerned the walls could fail completely in the dismantling process. Shelton asked Council to consider metal covers for the utilities using a brown powder coating or a “rock” decal that would help disguise them. Council advised Shelton to install the utilities behind the walls when possible, to look at exceptions case by case and keep the Council informed.

Easements for Pipeline

  Phase II of the Mountain Supply Pipeline Replacement Project calls for two permanent easements to be exchanged between the City and individual property owner, Betty Humphreys. Humphreys, owner of the St. James mining claim, has agreed to grant the City permanent easement and the City, in return, grants Humphreys a permanent easement (for driveway purposes) across the City-owned Pontiac mining claim. The easement fees, each at a cost of $10 to the parties involved, are a wash.

City Cuts Back CPI Contribution

  Aldermen were not supportive of sending a contribution to Colorado Preservation Incorporation (CPI), nor to sending staff to the CPI conference beyond manning the City’s promotional kiosk there this year. The kiosk was a provision of the City’s $20,000 donation last year. Said Alderman Cottrell, “We keep getting shot in the foot by CPI.” Alderman Kerr suggested not making a contribution to CPI next year. Cottrell responded, “We already decided that – we’re giving them $2.”

Citizen Appreciation Dinner Date Set

  City Clerk Jeanie Magno asked Council to set a date for the Citizen Appreciation Dinner. That will be May 12, 2006. Location and other details are yet to be determined.

Motherlode Vendors to Pay Half Insurance

  Vendors at the annual City-sponsored “Motherlode Rodeo” will need to ante up one half of their insurance fees this year. The City has paid the entire premium for each vendor in past years but Aldermen said the intent was to pay the premiums only until the event was well-established. The move to have vendors partner this year in the payment is a move toward that goal. Vendors already get a break by being allowed to have booths at the event without having to pay a space fee, said the Council members. Alderman Cottrell said he is hoping there will be more booths there this year with more variety of goods, “something like funnel cakes,” he suggested.

Map and Stickers for Kids

  McCartney returned to Council’s table to inform the Aldermen that Black Hawk would be participating in a promotional “adventure map” featuring points of interest in a five-county (Clear Creek, Gilpin, Grand, Jefferson and Summit) area. The hand-drawn cartoon style map is aimed toward kids, he said, and when they visit the places on the map they receive a sticker to put on it. The maps are due out in May or June. The pick-up point in Black Hawk will be Crook’s Palace if the family-friendly restaurant is open by then, and the City Hall if not.

Not This Elk

  City Manager Lessner distributed a brochure of an elk statue for the Aldermen to consider adding to the City’s menagerie, but this particular model got shot down.

The (City-Selected) Doctor is In

  Most Aldermen showed no interest in funding a workers’ compensation lobbying organization requesting funding regarding a legislative bill to allow individuals to pick their own doctor. Cost containment for the City and potential abuses were cited as reasons to deny support.

Black Hawk Joins in Community Promotion

  The Council held an executive session at 3:10 p.m. to consult with City Attorney Corey Hoffmann about matters of negotiation and strategy, personnel, the (Wolf) quarry application and the Hidden Valley Water line. When they returned to public session, the Council passed a motion to spend $15,000 and join Gilpin County, Central City and the Casino Association in a cooperative promotional effort of the area.