CENTRAL CITY — The Central City Council passed a revised ordinance of the City of Central Municipal Code concerning business licenses for sexually oriented businesses (SOB) at their regularly scheduled meeting March 17.

The Council met in executive session for a half hour prior to the start of the meeting.

They also passed a revised ordinance of the Municipal Code adopting building code regulations in line with the Colorado Wildfire Resilience Code, and heard from Municipal Court Judge Jack Berryhill.

Eric Langan was the only audience member to speak during the first public participation section of the meeting. Langan spoke against the SOB licensing ordinance and warned of costly litigation if it passed.

"I was told there is a building up here and we met with city council and they said we could put an adult cabaret in a building they had for sale, " he said. "I put in a business plan and said I was going to put in an upscale adult cabaret." He now says that the City "misled " him about legal uses for that property, and has since filed a lawsuit against Central City.

Langan added, "This ordinance will be fought in court for longer than any of you will sit on this council. You will be spending millions of dollars of taxpayer money over the long haul, I believe."

Mayor Jeremy Fey was the only council member to speak during the discussion prior to the SOB licensing vote. The ordinance passed 4 to 1, with Fey as the lone no vote.

When it was time for council comments, Alderman Todd Williams informed the council he is moving to South Carolina in April and will be stepping down from his position after the April 21 meeting.

Williams said it was his honor to represent the city on the council for the last four years, and he appreciated the opportunity to serve.

Alderman Chuck Spencer said that he would miss Williams and their chats. He also informed the Council that Bob Young Sr. had passed away the previous Friday and that another pillar of the community was gone.

Fey expressed his condolences. Bob Young Jr. told Fey that it was “as good as a passing could be, and as good as a life could be,” living into his 90s surrounded by loved ones. Fey wanted to work with the Young family to come up with a memorial mile or marker along the Parkway to recognize Bob Young Sr.

In his presentation, Municipal Court Judge Jack Berryhill thanked the council for reappointing him and said the last court case was in May 2024. He gave an update on changes as to how municipal courts can rule, and concluded by stating that municipal courts in home rule cities like Central City have exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate alleged violations of the City’s own ordinances.

In new business, the Council voted unanimously on first reading to revise their ordinance on building code regulations in order to incorporate some regulations promoted by the International Code Council, the State of Colorado, and the Colorado Wildfire Resilience Code.

After discussing the pros and cons of being included in the Denver Regional Council of Governments’ (DRCOG) Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), the Council voted unanimously not to oppose the inclusion of Central City within the boundaries of the MPO planning area.

During the second public participation period, Sharon Bella thanked everyone working in City government for going above and beyond for the town. She said she loves living in Central City.

Alderman Zane Plsek updated the Council on the Gilpin County Board of Commissioners work session that morning. The topic of particular interest to him under the Increased Funding Opportunities portion of the meeting was the topic of a county sales tax. He urged everybody to look at the slide presentation that was on the County website and keep their eyes and ears open on the matter.

Plsek also commented on the Tax Incentive Financing (TIF) discussions at the work session and added that it was premature to talk about its impact since the Council has not approved the Gregory Gulch project yet and wouldn’t know the full ramifications for the county and school district until it did.

Fey highlighted positives of TIF and encouraged everyone to learn more about the concept and practice.

Final comments by Fey were directed toward the potential county sales tax. He said he had already made up his mind on it: He is against it.

The next Central City Council meeting will be April 7 in Council chambers. Council will have a second reading of the ordinance to update building code regulations.