An agreement has been executed between the city of Cripple Creek and the Community of Caring (COC) Foundation, allowing the nonprofit to begin the design phase and construction of A Place for Kids Childcare and Exploration Center.

At its March 19 meeting, the Cripple Creek City Council voted to ratify the mayor’s signature on an Energy Impact Assistance Fund grant agreement, a requirement for execution of the agreement. The EIAF grant program “assists political subdivisions that are socially and/or economically impacted by the development, processing or energy conversion of minerals and mineral fuels.”

The grant agreement assures all contractual obligations concerning ownership, development, construction and management of the project are to be accomplished by COC, and that the role of the city is limited to preparing the application for the EIAF grant funds, administering grant paperwork, and to act as a conduit for authorized expenditures. The city’s role is to lead with design, bidding, awarding of bid and construction.

Along with the grant agreement, a promissory note between the city and the COC Foundation was signed, defining roles relating to the construction and operation of the child care facility, and partially funded by the state’s Department of Local Affairs.

DOLA awarded the project $1 million toward construction of the facility, with COC securing 25% in matching funds. They are in the process of finalizing the remaining funding for construction of the estimated $3.5 million project, which includes additional monies raised from fundraising and grants.

The promissory note details the grant funds repayment process by COC to make the city whole if the project fails to complete construction or operate as a childcare facility for at least 10 years. Although the city will be responsible for repayment of the grant, based on the payment schedule, reimbursement from COC is defined within the agreement with the foundation having established options to guarantee repayment of funds, or donation of the completed building to the city.

Moving forward, the council then considered and approved a professional services contract agreement with Compass/TDG Architecture, allowing city staff to release COC contracts with the company to produce architectural designs for the new child care facility. With COC reimbursing the city, there is no direct impact on the city budget.

In other city business, the council approved the 25-year water lease agreement with CC&V Mine, which was tabled at the Mar. 4 council meeting. City Administrator Bank Salvato informed council that the city of Victor now has a 25-year agreement with CC&V as well.

According to Salvato and as previously reported, “The new lease increases the per acre-foot (cost) of water to $1,586.25 with an annual increase of 5.75%. The new “take or pay” contract amount will be $436,218.75. An increase of $55,808.50 per year.”

The agreement states that CC&V shall pay Cripple Creek monthly for water delivered at an “initial (base) rate of $1,586.25 per acre-foot and that the base rate shall be adjusted upward each year at a rate of 5.75% to reflect increases in the fair market value of Cripple Creek water and increased production costs to provide the legal and physical supply of water.”

Historic Preservation grants increased
The council approved a motion to modify eligibility criteria for Historic Preservation grants, increasing residential grant amounts from $25,000 to $50,000.

Historic Preservation Coordinator J. Lynn Lyons said between inflation and construction costs, the $25,000 grant did not provide a sufficient amount of funds. Grant applicants must provide matching funds and the $50,000 is limited at $10,000 yearly. A program addressing historic, empty buildings for retail utilization was also discussed, with several options for owners to receive funds under certain criteria.

A.I. added to personnel handbook
Council approved a resolution amending the city’s personnel handbook to include employees’ use of A.I. in certain instances. Carol Stotts, director of HR/risk management, said at present the city’s use of A.I. is in the form of social media communication and that the city uses MS Co-Pilot, which is an open system.