BLACK HAWK – Two Gilpin County residents urged the Black Hawk City Council to halt or pause its plans for additional groundwater wells during the council’s meeting on September 9, 2026.

Rhonda Horwitz-Romano approached the council and stated her name and address, which is typically requested at public meetings before the speaker comments.

She said she lives in “Black Hawk,” to which Mayor David Spellman interrupted, “Now, I just want to, for the record, I want to correct this. The address was given as a Black Hawk address. It is in unincorporated Gilpin County, not a Black Hawk resident.”

Many residents of unincorporated Gilpin County have Black Hawk mailing addresses despite living outside the city limits. Spellman made a point of clarifying that distinction before Horwitz-Romano continued.

She said she was troubled by the City’s plans to buy and drill wells as the City of Black Hawk works toward expanding as a resort destination.

Horwitz-Romano said she has lived in the area for 38 years and has watched the community change with gaming.

“The saddest part of all this for me is that during the worst drought in recorded history, it was written in a plan, the plan to take our water away. . .while it's, quote unquote, still viable, to provide entertainment and lodging to people who are not our neighbors and care little for our community and our way of life,” she said.

“I am actually pleading with you as neighbors and friends to stop this plan for more and to be satisfied with all we have,” she told the council.

Spellman did not address the concerns directly (typical for government meetings), but said her comments were now part of the public record.

Phil Gibbs, who lives on Dory Hill Road, followed with similar concerns.

Gibbs pointed to Black Hawk’s 2024 comprehensive plan, which calls for growing the city from about 1,500 hotel rooms to 3,000 and eventually as many as 6,000.

He brought up Fourmile Gulch Well No. 6, which the council approved earlier this year. He said the planned 1,000-foot well could provide up to 161 acre-feet of water a year, or about 52 million gallons, enough for 500 homes.

Gibbs pointed to an ERO Resources report that shows just how much more water Black Hawk could need if its resort plans become a reality. The city currently uses up to about 157 million gallons a year. That could climb to roughly 1 billion gallons.

The report looks to groundwater from Aspen Springs and larger reservoirs in Pickle Gulch, between Missouri Lakes and Paradise Valley, to help meet that demand. Gibbs said what concerned him was what he did not see in the report: discussion of what that could mean for nearby residential wells.

He said residents in Aspen Springs, Chalet Park, and near Gilpin County Schools could face risks to their water supply while seeing no tangible benefit from the city’s growth. 

He asked the City to pause plans for more wells until it considers those impacts or can show there would be no harm.

Spellman then moved on to discuss approval of the meeting minutes from the last meeting. 

Other business

The council approved a final change order of $85,916.56 for the Hidden Valley Water Treatment Plant expansion. The change covers electrical and piping work on the roughly $3.7 million project.

The City-owned plant is located about two miles east of Idaho Springs near I-70’s Hidden Valley exit. It supplies treated Clear Creek water to Black Hawk.

The council also unanimously approved administrative review of the site development plan and architectural compatibility certificate for the Bates Hill Liberty Gazebo project.

The council also approved its 2027 property and casualty coverage through the Colorado Intergovernmental Risk Sharing Agency. The cost is $535,449, about the same as last year.

Resolution 48-2026, involving the proposed sale of vacant land to the Wesley Frederick Arends and Shirley Ann Arends Joint Revocable Trust, was continued again to the next council meeting. 

Renovations encouraged

The council unanimously approved a temporary use-tax waiver aimed at encouraging existing businesses to renovate and upgrade their properties.

The waiver applies to qualifying commercial renovation projects with completed permit applications submitted by April 4, 2028. It does not apply to routine maintenance, expansion of existing gaming premises, or new hotel projects.

Initiative 177 

Spellman said he plans to bring forward a resolution supporting Initiative 177, concerning natural gas in Colorado, likely at the first council meeting in October.

“Out of all the ballot measures, that's probably one of the most important for us to continue to have success in Black Hawk as well as the livability and viability of the city,” Spellman said. 

Black Hawk already has natural gas infrastructure, and the statewide measure would protect the ability of Colorado homes and businesses to continue purchasing natural gas.

At the end of the meeting, the council went into executive session to discuss property in the HARD District and other City-owned property, along with possible agreements with Central City. 

The Black Hawk City Council will hold its next regular meeting on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at 3 p.m. at 211 Church Street.