Black Hawk’s response to proposed Senate Bill 101
Preservation and Restoration Funding
What follows is a synopsis of a presentation distributed to state legislators prior to the Senate Committee Hearing on SB101 on February 10, 2009…this portion addresses the concerns raised by Colorado Ethics Watch….
Funding for Interior Renovations
- Structural and exterior renovations frequently cause required changes to interior structures, many times based on building code compliance.
- Preservation and restoration efforts are complex and expensive undertakings ($175-$275 per sq./ft.).
- Preserving structures in gaming communities doesn’t stop with the exterior. If that were the case, we would be left with restored exteriors that are uninhabitable, rather than long-term, economically viable homes, with an objective of continued functional residential use.
Funding for Elected Officials
- At least 26 residents of Black Hawk are elected officials, Historic and Architectural Review Commission (HARC) members, city employees, or their immediate family members.
- Excluding them and their properties would exclude roughly 37% of the historic structures in Black Hawk.
- Every request for preservation and restoration funds in Black Hawk goes through the same process, regardless of who owns the structure. Elected officials (and, although not required by law, members of HARC) abstain from votes pertaining to their own properties pursuant to C.R.S. § 12-47.1-1202(3)(i), C.R.S. § 31-4-404, C.R.S. § 24-18-101, et seq., and Article II, Section 9 of the City of Black Hawk Home Rule Charter.
Municipal Infrastructure and Municipal Service Improvements
- The City’s pre-gaming municipal infrastructure required, and continues to require, a total restoration to accommodate the addition of gaming to the community; such restoration of dated and inadequate infrastructure is complex and expensive.
- Additional improvements are required to protect historic structures from fire and flood damage.
- For example, required slope stabilization calls for the extensive and expensive investment in rock retaining walls, which are one of the most historic attributes of the City of Black Hawk.
- The rock retaining walls provide stability and protection to all structures within the City, including residential and commercial structures and improvements, consistent with the historic character of the City.
- Similarly, a majority of the residential streets in Black Hawk require slope stabilization support from those same rock retaining walls.
- As part of the City’s attempt to preserve and restore the character of the City, it participated in a land swap with the BLM in order to preserve history vistas and historic environs, and encourage future heritage tourism in Black Hawk by ultimately creating an interpretative trail system connecting Black Hawk to Central City.
Did you know…
- Of the 70 homes eligible for preservation and restoration funding, approximately 30% have been restored. These homes are the basic resource and community infrastructure on which the continuance of the community depends. Without these 70 homes, Black Hawk does not have a community. Without the preservation and restoration program, these homes do not promote and will not sustain a healthy and vibrant residential community.
- To date, an additional 20% of the homes have benefited from partial restoration, with 28 structures slated for complete preservation and restoration.