Mayor Jeremy Fey called the Central City Council (CCC) regular meeting to order at 7:10 p.m. on Tuesday, October 3, 2023. In attendance were Mayor Jeremy Fey, Mayor Pro-tem Kara Tinucci, Alderman Jeff Aiken, Alderman Marcia Enloe, and Alderman Todd Williams. Staff present included City Manager Daniel R. Miera and City Clerk Reba Bechtel. City Attorney Marcus McCaskin attended virtually.

Joe Behm from the Central City Business Improvement District spoke during the Public Forum, thanking Staff for the speedy work on the current resolution because it will be helpful to the City as they move through construction projects.

Fey closed the Public Forum at 7:14 p.m.

New business included Ordinance No. 23-16, amending the City of Central Municipal Code to add Chapter 17, titled Guidelines and Regulations for Areas and Activities of State Interest of the City of Central.

Upon first reading, the council heard some background from McCaskin. The city has retained special counsel to assist the City with the draft 1041 regulations. Tory Jarvis attended the meeting virtually to field questions.

On August 15, 2023, Ordinance 23-11 was adopted, in which the City designated the site selection of arterial highways and interchanges and the areas around the interchanges as matters of State interest pursuant to the areas and activities of State interest. No person is authorized to make a site selection of these areas until the City Council has adopted guidelines and regulations.

The Resolution basically gives the City more control over the areas around arterial highways when it comes to State interests and provides a standard.

Jarvis explained the determination of finding significant impact and the permit requirement for the areas around interchanges and how it does not, in any way, impact the existing requirements in the Code.

Enloe moved to approve Ordinance No. 23-16. Williams seconded and the topic was open to discussion. There were no questions or discussion. All were in favor. There will be a second reading and public hearing on Tuesday, October 17, 2023.

Council Comments included Aiken thanking Sam Hoover for the fine job he did behind the building.

Fey said he was comment-free for the first time in his life, eliciting laughter from the audience, but then changed his mind and made a long comment about his recent experience during Yom Kippur. He said, “A fool isn’t one who makes mistakes, a fool is one who doesn’t learn from those mistakes.” He promised to do his best to learn from any mistakes he makes going forward.

During the final Public Forum, one resident asked about the progress concerning the ATV/OHV regulations and that Silverton is currently voting on a similar issue. He remarked that Silverton has a lot of the same concerns and issues that have been voiced here: noise, business impact, how to measure the study, etc. He said, “I hope we get to vote,” and that he will continue to ask for new information.

The council said there are no updates as of yet.

Aiken made a motion to adjourn, Enloe seconded, and all were in favor.

The next Central City Council meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, at Central City Hall, 141 Nevada Street, second floor; or online via Zoom. Information can be found on the City website, centralcity.colorado.gov/ meetings.