Silver Cliff Town Board Meeting
—April 1, 2019
by Lisa Frank
There was a meeting prior to the Silver Cliff Town Board regular meeting with agents from the Custer County Economic Development Corp, Charles Bogle and Dale Mullen, and representatives from the Pinnacle Consulting Group, Mark Carmel and Tom Ramirez. The meeting began at 4 p.m. and ended just prior to the regular meeting.
The meeting began at 5:35 p.m. with the Pledge of Allegiance, roll call, attendee introductions. The Consent Agenda that was approved unanimously.

Mayor Pro-Temp Buck Wenzel spearheaded this resolution and brought it to the Town Board. His reason is to protect Silver Cliff’s citizens from any illegal seizure of their weapons that might occur when Colorado’s new Extreme Risk Protection Order Red Flag/Gun Confiscation Bill is signed by the governor. A motion was made, seconded and passed unanimously.

Old Business
● Senior Center Update – Nothing new to report
● Viscount Update – Nothing to report from Viscount.
● Seifert Enterprises reported to the Town that they had found gold in one of 12 core holes and discontinued mining the Rhyolite in that area immediately. Per the contract that addresses finding any precious metals, Silver Cliff has the right to stop any mining should they be discovered. At a depth of 12 ft. a singular speck of gold was found on the west side of the pit. Silver at that level is minimal but gold was not expected. Both the Town and Seifert Enterprises want and need professional advice to continue, and Seifert Enterprises reported that enough material has been mined in order to continue crushing into the winter months. A meeting between all parties and an expert will be on the May agenda. Rhyolite is apparently, currently, the hottest commodity in Colorado.
● Ideas for Increasing Revenue – The Mayor skimmed over this and said he would address it later.
● Update on Postal Service Concerns – The Mayor spoke first stating that he sent an email to the person supposedly in charge of complaints, but that person was no longer there. Mayor pro tem Buck Wenzel then spoke stating that he reached out to Scott Tipton about the Post Office issues. He is getting weekly updates and will share them with the Board. Mr. Wenzel also put in an urgent request to restore Silver Cliff’s zip code and will continue to follow up on this important detail. (Silver Cliff lost their zipcode years ago and share one with the Town of Westcliffe. Due to duplicate addresses, ie Main St. , it causes delivery issues)
New Business
● Trails for All – Janet Smith gave the Town Board an update and said she only wanted to know if Silver Cliff was interested in TforA pursuing their plan. The Board agreed that they were.
● CART – Jackie Barnes gave the Town Board an update on what they are doing.
● Consideration of Approval of Amended Ordinance 02-2019 Regulating Residential Growing, Cultivating and Processing Marijuana – This ordinance was previously delayed for approval
because of the County’s changes to their ordinance. The County is done revising so Silver Cliff has re-written the ordinance reflecting those changes. There were no questions or comments and a motion was made, seconded and passed unanimously.
● Consideration of Approval of Resolution 04-2019 Declaring the Town of Silver Cliff to be a Second Amendment Sanctuary Town – Mayor Pro-Temp Buck Wenzel spearheaded this resolution and brought it to the Town Board. His reason is to protect Silver Cliff’s citizens from any illegal seizure of their weapons that might occur when Colorado’s new Extreme Risk Protection Order Red Flag/Gun Confiscation Bill is signed by the governor. A motion was made, seconded and passed unanimously.
(Meanwhile opposition of the bill continues with over half of Colorado’s counties passed resolutions in opposition. The extreme risk protection order or “red flag” bill is sponsored by Majority Leader Alec Garnett (D-Denver) and Representative Tom Sullivan (D-Centennial), as well as Senators Lois Court (D-Denver) and Brittany Pettersen (D-Jefferson). It is on Gov. Polis’s desk as of Monday and he is expected to sign it into law. It would authorize the seizure of firearms from individuals without due process. The petition can be originated by a broad class of individuals, to include roommates and anyone you’ve had an “intimate relationship” with. Unchallenged statements made by a petitioner before a judge, alleging that someone is a danger to themselves or others in an ex parte proceeding — prior to any formal court hearing at which the respondent can be represented by counsel and present counter evidence — would be sufficient for law enforcement to enter that person’s home and confiscate their private property.)
● Presentation and Consideration of Approval of the 2018 Draft Audit – Auditors commended Town Clerk Ileen Squire and the Silver Cliff Town Board on the excellent job they are doing managing their finances, and they wrote a letter highly complimenting Clerk Ileen Squire. Squire was congratulated by the Board and audience and a motion was made, seconded and passed unanimously.
Staff Reports
● Building & Zoning – Roger Camper reported that building permits are continuing to increase and then went on to address the extreme urgency of the state of Silver Cliff’s roads. There was much discussion concerning the road problems the Town is facing, the incredibly high cost of correcting the problems, and the frustration that everyone is expressing. A former Mayor was in the audience and had much to say about the roads and what must first be addressed before the roads themselves are fixed. Drainage is a particular concern. The discussion went on interminably and the final result was to call a Road Committee meeting. There was a citizen in the audience who volunteered to freely donate whatever time he could to run equipment for the Town. He has experience with most heavy equipment and has a contact who would train him on the road grader. More conversation on insurance, drug-testing, liability etc. went on for additional time.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.