Ameristar wows Colorado County Clerks, Secretary of State
Gilpin County hosts convention in Black Hawk
When the Colorado County Clerks Association voted to hold their winter conference at Ameristar, they might not have known it, but they were launching Black Hawk towards its goal of becoming a destination city and resort. The Clerks and their staff from most of Colorado’s 64 counties began arriving in Black Hawk last Monday for four days of training, seminars and presentations and, at least a little bit of fun. The group, averaging 190 per day, was the largest conference convergence at Ameristar’s Event Center, to-date.
Hosted by Gilpin County’s Clerk and Recorder, Jessica Kays, they started off Tuesday morning with Opening Ceremonies. VFW Post 7563 and Boy Scout Pack 251 Presented the Colors; the Pride of the Divide Choir from Gilpin School sang the Star-Spangled Banner. Reverend Pam Everhart gave the Invocation. Central City Mayor Ron Slinger advised the group to take full advantage of the beautiful hotel, but reminded them that his city was “just a short little jaunt” where they would find the seat of Gilpin County with the historic courthouse, businesses and even a casino or two. County Manager Roger Baker followed Slinger, recounting his brief time as County Clerk (doing interim duties after the previous Clerk was removed from office eight years ago). “I did a primary and general election and we elected Jessica,” he told them. Acknowledging their job is much more political and technical now, he said the conference offered the Clerks a chance to compare notes and develop strategy. Commissioner Jeanne Nicholson completed the welcoming committee. She suggested the Clerks try to get out and about to see some of the “many delightful free things” Gilpin has to offer – a drive on the Peak-to-Peak, for example. “This is a very big deal,” she said, “We’re thrilled to have you here and hope you love it. It’s our first experience hosting a statewide conference. Thank you for coming.” With the formalities out of the way, the Clerks began conducting the business of their conference with various recognitions and reports, followed by panel discussions and days of breakout sessions.
Colorado’s County Clerks deal with all kinds of licensing (motor vehicle, marriage, liquor,etc.) with associated registration, permits and fees. They are responsible for recording various documents and titles and they conduct the elections. To that end, their training included topics such as “Passport Services” (which Gilpin County staff is now researching for potential future service), “Marriage License-ID,” “Corrections to the Record,” “Repair Shop Procedure,” “Mechanic and Storage Lien Procedure,” “Bond Procedure,” “Private and Public Tow Procedures,” “eRecording,” “Election Forms,” “Election Equipment,” “Ballot Creation,” “Vote Centers,” “Title Batching,” “Document Training,” and “Indexing.” Legislative updates rounded out the agenda. In between sessions, the Clerks perused the tables of approximately 30 vendors lining the hallways of the Event Center. Some vendors had flown in from other states (escaping the ice storms of the mid-west in at least one case) for the opportunity to gain Colorado clients. They offered the latest equipment, software and services in election and balloting, document scanning and management, online records access, district mapping plus a multitude of their company name-branded freebies to collect along the way.
Ameristar Event Center’s 15,000 square feet of meeting space met every conference need for the County Clerks Association and the hotel/casino didn’t lack after hours, either. Clerks could relax in luxurious rooms where the marble foyers, large beds with posh linens, spacious bathrooms with spa-quality soaps and lotions, plasma-screen television and high-speed internet met their needs in style. Those wanting to try their luck could do so at any of Ameristar’s 1,600 slot/video machines, 18 table games and 14 live poker tables with just a ride down the elevator. They could choose from several restaurants and bars within the casino, to meet later socially or they could take that same elevator and press “Up” for the enclosed rooftop swimming pool, hot tubs and fire pits on the covered rooftop deck-if they didn’t take a side trip to the full-service spa, sauna, steam rooms or exercise room along the way. Kays had organized evening events both at the hotel (a game night with free table games, an evening of music with a disc jockey and Karaoke, a pool party) and further afield (scavenger hunts in Black Hawk and Central City).
Secretary of State Bernie Buescher joined the Clerks for a Wednesday evening reception and banquet. He was welcomed to Black Hawk by Mayor David Spellman, who asked the Secretary what he thought of having the conference at Ameristar. Buescher was complimentary and impressed. He said he was almost embarrassed that he didn’t know what Ameristar had to offer but, he confessed, he’d never been into the hotel before. “This is fabulous!” he enthused. At the reception, as the room filled with County Clerk personnel (and plates of hors d’oeuvres), the comments were equally favorable. “Would you come back here for another conference?” a woman was asked. “Come back?” she responded, “I don’t want to leave.” That’s a sentiment Spellman loves to hear. He has referred to the Ameristar as “the hallmark of what Black Hawk has to offer,” and hopes to see other casinos expanding their hotel space to entice more visitors to stay longer and enjoy what the area has to offer. Recognizing the employment opportunities and revenue stream Ameristar brings to the area, Spellman told Buescher the hotel, which just opened last fall, is “33 stories of economic stimulus.” (The conference, alone, brought in at least $63,000 via the 395 nights worth of hotel rooms and event services. Crook’s Palace extended an invitation to the Clerks and donated $1 for every meal ordered. That and a silent auction raised $1,400 for the Colorado County Clerks Association Scholarship Fund.) Although not there yet, Black Hawk would like to broaden the local experience to include other recreational activities, said Spellman. That ties in with the desire of Central City officials to feature their historic buildings and Gilpin County’s efforts to draw more businesses, including those that serve the hikers and outdoor recreationalists who come to experience the back country. Meanwhile, those who hosted and those who attended were hoping the Clerks will come back for next year’s convention.
On Monday, as Kays regrouped, she said she was 99.9% sure that would happen. “It was more successful than we could have imagined,” she said. The fairly central location of Black Hawk, and the good deals from Ameristar had won the bid for this year’s convention. There were so many favorable comments when the Clerks discussed the prospect that some counties had withdrawn their bids for next year’s event. They also talked of choosing Black Hawk for a future summer conference site. Kays expressed thanks to everyone who had made the convention work, including the support of sponsors who each made contributions ranging from $500 to $2,500 (City of Black Hawk, Dostal Alley, ESS, SKLD, Simplifile, Hart Intercivic, Aptitude Solutions, RecordFusion, Mentis Technology). She had told the Clerks to “be prepared to leave Gilpin County richer (hopefully in ALL respects).” In holding their convention here, the Clerks left Gilpin richer, too.