Home Rule and Main Street Designation on the Table Again
Rick Langenberg
Talk about a small town that is confronting big-city prospects and ambitious aspirations, along with some significant infrastructure challenges and expenses.
Such is the reality for Cripple Creek, which in recent months has featured a full plate of hot issues, including jumping on the bandwagon as a Main Steet community, pursuing a $300,000-plus master plan and more recently, becoming a home-rule city.
At the same time, the town may have to prepare for $6 million to $8 million in state mandates for enhancements to its wastewater treatment facility. These were discussed last week in a workshop, with a probable deadline for 2032 for major improvements, like them or not.
As a result, plenty of community meetings are in store in the next year, with resident input desperately being sought.
Out of these, the bid attracting the most attention deals with the city’s possible movement to become a home-rule city and have its own mini-constitution and town charter. “It could allow us to run our own show,” said City Administrator Frank Salvato, in an interview last week. The city administrator conceded that a growing number of small cities are starting to wave the home-rule banner in Colorado. He cites actions taken by state lawmakers as one reason for an explosion of interest in the home-rule movement. Proponents of this idea say this could allow towns to chart their own course more and escape certain state restraints.
However, the home-rule process is quite cumbersome, and will involve two elections. And on the downside, the home-rule idea has been explored in the past for Cripple Creek with limited success.
“It is a community decision,” said Salvato, who says the initial ball rests in the city council’s court. In order for the ball to more forward, a home-rule board must get appointed and voted on, with the final tally dealing with an up and down verdict on the board’s proposed charter for Cripple Creek.
Recently, the town had a work session on this issue, with the pros and cons being thrown out. Salvato cited the advantages of allowing the city to have more flexibility regarding what it can legally do. The big plus is the ability for a community to control its own destiny more.
Statistically, more cities in Colorado are home-rule towns, such as Woodland Park and Manitou Springs. Cripple Creek waves the banner as a statutory town, meaning it must abide strictly by state rules regarding the passing of ordinances and even complying with new legislation.
This has posed some challenges recently with state laws. As an example, the city administrator cited the issue of not permitting individuals to carry concealed weapons into public buildings, courtesy of a new state law. This required the city council to approve an escape clause from this restriction in rapid fashion. If Cripple Creek was a home-rule town, it would not have been forced to take this step, noted Salvato.
But the home-rule movement isn’t an easy ordeal.
The big challenges are the detailed process and needed commitment from community leaders, and quite frankly, past history.
In the past, home rule has gotten a cold reception in Cripple Creek. Opposition was mounted by gaming operators who feared an increase in fees with this designation.
Ultimately, Salvato sees this idea involving much input from the community and local businesses, including the casinos. He sees this as a two-year effort.
Main Street Community
Home rule is just one pursuit being put on the table. Cripple Creek several months ago had a special meeting on the idea of becoming a Main Street community, similar to Victor and many tourist-related communities in the state. A future meeting on this issue is slated for some time in October in the Cripple Creek Heritage Center, when the concept will be unveiled before residents by state program leaders.
Main Street could give the town more leverage in getting grants and doing downtown enhancements, while reaping the benefits of its colorful past, according to proponents. The main obstacle is time and having a regular commitment towards this program. The Main Street concept, in fact, could get incorporated into the city’s forthcoming master plan project, a $300,000-plus effort that will involve many community meetings probably kicking off this fall.
Besides these issues, the city will face some surmountable expenses due to state mandated infrastructure requirements, previously dubbed as “white elephant in the room.”
Most likely, the town must deal with $6 million to $8 million in improvements to its wastewater treatment facility, with a probable compliance date of around 2032. This is just one example of what the gaming community could face regarding new infrastructure mandates.
