Black Hawk ofers $$ to Central City for parking lot

Continued from previous page

all the council members, a
symbolic expression we do
not often do. After the Black
Hawk Council meeting on
February 14, City Manager
Cole and I will hand-deliver
the letter to Mayor Fey and
City Manager Miera.”

from the City Council of
Central.”

(Editor’s note: The Weekly
Register-Call was unable to
reach Sen. Nicholson for ad-
ditional information regarding
the future of Gilpin Senior Liv-
ing at our deadline on Tues-
day. There was no information
regarding the decision on the
organization’s website.)

Black Hawk also said it
will give a Quit Claim deed
for a 5.75-acre mining claim
near the KOA Campground
and Gold Mountain Vil-
lage Apartments in Central
City. According to the Black
Hawk letter, the lot could
be a potential site for a one
million-gallon water stor-
age tank for Central City’s
municipal water system.
“Based on Black Hawk’s
acquisition of these and
other mining claims, we
believe this land convey-
ance to Central is valued at
approximately $115,000,”
the offer said.

According to the offer,
Black Hawk would relieve
Central from cleaning and
maintaining the grizzly
screen and flume running
for the stream beneath the
Briggs lot. The city also
would agree to Central’s
architectural and light-
ing guidelines should city
leaders allow Black Hawk to
annex the property.

In addition, the lease re-
quired Senior Living to provide
proof that the buildings and the
property were insured and that
no explosive items would be
kept there.

When contacted, Fey said
he was aware of the forth-
coming offer but declined
to comment. “I can’t talk
about it. They haven’t
presented anything to [the]
council yet. Until [the]
council sees it and con-
solidates an opinion, I can’t
talk about it,” according to
Fey. “If I were going to give
an opinion on this [today],
it would disqualify me from
giving one later.”

Nicholson, who has been
pursuing senior citizen hous-

Black Hawk also said it
wouldn’t excavate any of the
land adjoining the Briggs
lot beyond the 8,200-foot
elevation contour line on
the property. The city said
the conversion of the lot to
a trailhead for its Maryland
Mountain/Quartz Valley
would require Black Hawk
to install a 28-foot-long
footbridge and set of stairs
over part of the property to
connect with the forthcom-
ing trail system.

Spellman and City Man-
ager Stephen Cole were
scheduled to present the
letter to Central City Man-
ager Daniel Miera and May-
or Jeremy Fey at a meeting
this morning (Feb. 15).

The Central mayor said he
will know more after receiv-
ing the offer letter from
Black Hawk. “It’s better
than getting a lawsuit,” he
said, with a chuckle in his
voice.

Noted Spellman, “We
have had on-again-off-again
conversations with the City
of Central over the last
several years regarding this
request by the City of Black
Hawk. The Black Hawk
City Council now wants to
advance the proposal in a
meaningful and impactful
fashion, benefiting both
cities and their respective
projects. We firmly believe
we are offering the right
ingredients to make this
a win-win for both cities,
and we look forward to the
City of Central’s thoughtful
response. As a demonstra-
tion of the sincerity of the
Black Hawk Council, we will
include the signatures of

Central City’s aldermen
could consider the Black
Hawk letter, the potential
$250,000 donation, and
the offer to give Central the
5.75 parcel near Lake Gulch
Road as early as their meet-
ing on Tuesday, Feb. 20.

“In the longer term, Black
Hawk may consider con-
structing a parking garage
and, if feasible, a boutique
hotel on the property,”
according to the letter. “In
doing so, as part of any for-
malized agreement between
Central and Black Hawk,
Black Hawk is willing to
enter into a binding agree-
ment and recorded height
limitation of 75 feet on any
building constructed on the
property.”

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In Black Hawk’s council
packet for its Feb. 14 meet-
ing, the proposed letter
said, “The Black Hawk City
Council believes this is
truly a ‘win-win’ for both
Central and Black Hawk,
both in the short-term and
the long-term, and hopes to
receive a positive response
and acceptance of this offer

(Editor’s note: A story re-
garding Central’s response
to the Black Hawk offer
is planned for next week’s
edition.)

By Peter Droge
President, Belvidere

The active restora-
tion of the Belvidere
Theater has taken a
mid-winter break to
avoid construction
in snowy weather.
However, planning
is underway for con-
struction to begin in
the early spring, focus-
ing on completing
exterior brickwork and
beginning structural
improvements on the
interior.

The big accomplish-
ment over the last few
months has been the
removal of all asbestos
from the interior. It
was a bigger job than
anticipated but has
been completed ac-
cording to the rigorous
standards required for
this type of project by
the state.

Recent progress at the Belvidere Theater includes removing asbestos in the Nevada Street building.

Drone photo by Don Ireland

The restoration of the exterior has so far
required replacing thousands of bricks. When
complete, the exterior brickwork will be sealed
but not painted to maintain the historic charac-
ter of the building.

The Foundation is grateful to the City of
Central and the many community members
who have supported the restoration efforts.
The primary responsibility of the Foundation is
to restore the Belvidere for future generations
of Gilpin County residents. Once the renova-
tion nears completion, the Foundation looks
forward to exploring possible ways to use the
building.