The first Silver Cliff Board of Trustees (BOT) meeting of 2025 took place on January 7. The action items on the agenda included three public hearings for projects that had been recommended for consideration by the Planning Commission (PC): first, a street and alley vacation application from Scott and Lisa Nolan for the development of a tiny home subdivision; then, another street and alley vacation for IRA Real Estate, LLC. Both of these applications concerned portions of Wood Street north of Highway 96. The third public hearing was for a Special Use Permit (SUP) for Cloudbreak Energy Partners, working in conjunction with Black Hills Energy, for a community solar garden to be located on 22 acres south of Highway 96 and immediately north of the Silver Cliff Cemetery. After the public hearing, the BOT voted unanimously on motions to approve all three projects.
Allie OâNeal, a representative from Cloudbreak Energy, was on hand to make a presentation to the BOT similar to those she had given to the PC at meetings in 2024. She emphasized that Cloudbreak had developed this type of solar energy installation in other parts of Colorado and will be partnering with Black Hills to provide discounted, solar-generated electricity to customers in the Black Hills service area, with first priority for subscriptions to be given to Silver Cliff residents. She also reviewed the plans for dryland prairie seeding, fire and wildlife mitigation measures, and vegetation screening on the cemetery side of the property. OâNeal said that construction on the project, if approved, could begin in 2025, with a possibility that it could be completed by the end of the year. During the discussion, the BOT asked for clarification on benefits that Cloudbreak will be offering to the area, including donations to nonprofit organizations, scholarships for students interested in a career in alternative energy, and the window for Silver Cliff residents to receive priority for subscriptions for service (four months, said OâNeal).
Trustee Troy Bomgardner asked if future residents of Silver Cliff would have the same opportunity to subscribe to solar garden services as present ones. âYes, we are incentivized [by Black Hills] to reach back out for new residents to sign up,â OâNeal replied. After a motion to approve was seconded, Bomgardner also asked about the disposal of the equipment after the project is decommissioned. OâNeal reiterated that most of the equipment is recyclable and that none of the non-recyclable materials would be disposed of in the local landfill, offering to put that pledge into writing upon Bomgardnerâs request. The motion was amended to approve with the requirement for that written agreement and passed unanimously, with Mayor Pro-Tem Jake Shy abstaining.
In other business, the BOT approved the hiring of Chris McKillip as the new Building and Zoning Official and the appointment of Jerry Peterson to the PC; held a first reading on Ordinance 01-2025, revising town code on tiny houses, as well as manufactured and modular houses; discussed and approved funding for an environmental analysis of the property proposed for the new Town Plaza; and heard an update from Barry Keene on the recent activities of the Custer County Workforce Housing Committee, which will be centered primarily on a new Housing Needs Assessment for the towns and the county, and development of affordable workforce housing on county-owned lots in Silver Cliff.
Finally, during discussion at the end of the meeting, Mayor Buck Wenzel gave an update on the federal legislation that would authorize the restoration of Silver Cliffâs ZIP code. The bill passed the House in December, 2024, but has been held up in committee in the Senate. âI havenât heard anything from our congresspeople yet,â Wenzel said: âIâve been working with a national ZIP code group. [The legislation] has been carried over to this session of Congress. Senators put holds on the bill because they wanted to add more and more ZIP codes to the bill!â Wenzel said he would âlet everyone knowâ when there were more updates.
â Elliot Jackson