Main Street Designation and Home-Rule Status Part of the Betting Mix
Rick Langenberg
The city of Cripple Creek is rolling the dice big-time on some, rather bold future planning and political aspirations, aimed at bringing more people to town, sprucing up its downtown and offering leaders more local control.
And not surprisingly, like many current ventures, these ideas represent an unveiling of past pursuits that just never quite crossed the goal line due to less-than-ideal timing or just bad luck. But officials believe the town’s development scenario has definitely changed, giving these ambitious pursuits a betting chance of now becoming a reality
Besides finalizing a highly publicized $300,000 master plan project, providing the town a 20-year blueprint and a tourism and economic development roadmap for the first time in recent history, Cripple Creek leaders are now set on establishing the community as a designated Colorado Main Street town and possibly wagering its bets on the prospects of becoming a home-rule city. The initial fate of some of these ventures could be decided in the next few months.
“It is a very exciting time to be mayor of Cripple Creek,” said Mayor Annie Durham, in a recent interview. “We definitely have a lot on our plate.”
And although these plans appear quite ambitious on the surface, she cautions that many of these efforts can work together simultaneously as part of a way to revitalize the downtown core and encourage more economic development activity.
Earlier this year, the city took the first official step in making an official bid to become a Colorado Main Street candidate. This process, capped by a number of meetings, orchestrated by Colorado Main Street Coordinator Gayle Langley with interested businesses and civic leaders, has now hit the accelerator pedal. “We are proceeding as if we are going to be accepted as a Main Street candidate,” said Durham.
The Main Street program, which is associated with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs, can open the door for more grants and ways to revitalize its downtown area in a way that enhances the community’s historic character and gives business operators more resources. The Main Street program has gotten more towns on board in the last decade through its community-led approach and educational benefits. Victor is a big Main Street community and Woodland Park once waved this banner, but couldn’t keep up the momentum to fund a coordinator.
That won’t be a pitfall Cripple Creek will run into, based on early assessments.
Cripple Creek now plans on hiring a Main Street coordinator and interest is strong in forming a Main Steet board, both f which are critical steps in the process, according to the mayor. Later this fall, state officials will help with compiling a strategic Main Steet plan for Cripple Creek.
As for initial Main Street goals, the mayor said community leaders want to work on refurbishing the Pocket Park next to city hall, which now exists as a huge dirt area, showcased by a historic mural and newly established restrooms. She sees this area as an ideal spot for hosting events, having concerts, live music and entertainment and just serving as a great downtown gathering point. Other big objectives include sprucing up some of their badly deteriorated vacant buildings in the downtown area and doing more signage.
“It is amazing how a little paint (on old vacant buildings) can go a long way,” said Durham, in outlining the desire of many civic and business leaders to dress up buildings that have sat idle for decades. Cripple Creek Administrator Frank Salvato describes this eyesore as one of the town’s main development stumbling blocks.
Some of these structures, which once existed as casinos in the early years of gaming, have been purchased by real estate developers, who want to get big bucks for selling these structures to big casino interests. But for the most part, these intentions have not hit paydirt, with the same end result: a vacant commercial building in the heart of the downtown that looks beat up and gives Cripple Creek a bad image.
“I just see a lot of benefits to becoming a Main Street community,” said the mayor.
Home-rule Status Gets Revisited
Main Street isn’t the only driving development pursuit in Cripple Creek these days.
The city is now wagering its bets on ending its reliance on statutory regulations by becoming a home-rule city. This several-year process would require a number of votes, and would result in a home-rule charter, often described as the community’s mini-constitution. The process, in fact, would take about two years to finalize. A vote would initially have to occur on picking a home-rule charter committee in Nov. 2025. If that stage moves forward, another vote will occur on the proposed charter itself in 2026.
Most small cities in the area are home-rule towns, such as Woodland Park and Manitou Springs.
In fact, Cripple Creek is definitely one of the few tourism-related communities of 1,000-plus residents that isn’t home rule. “We are definitely in the minority,” related the mayor, who admitted she was surprised to learn of how many communities in Colorado are now home rule. Waving the home-rule banner is now even more popular due to the plethora of state laws, and a concern by many locals and elected leaders of Colorado government over-reach.
The main benefits are highlighted by the prospects of giving towns more local control and a better chance to control their own destiny. The downside is that the process is quite time consuming, and a perception does exist by some that it would provide the city council with too much power.
A forthcoming meeting is slated for June 17 at the Butte Theater to outline the benefits and the overall process. The public forum, which will be run by a key legal attorney who helped another Colorado town in its effort to become home rule, begins at 6 p.m. Several earlier informal meetings on home rule have already occurred, with mixed opinions.
“Community education is the key,” said Durham, who remains optimistic of the process and the city’s home-rule prospects.
The main hurdles Cripple Creek must overcome in both the Main Street and home-rule efforts is grappling with past history. Both plans were mulled in the past, with little success. Home rule, in fact, has been on the tables on several occasions in Cripple Creek, but often got a skeptical review by the gaming community.
However, times have changed on the development front. Several possible advantages this time is that through home rule, the city may be able to tabulate a better way to collect gaming device fees or assess lodging taxes or handle land use matters.
Cripple Creek officials have appeared supportive of both initiatives and the city, at a recent council meeting, agreed to foot some of the costs for the upcoming home-rule town hall forum.
