The Central City Council meeting was called to order by Mayor Jeremy Fey on February 1, 2022, at 7:17 p.m. In attendance were Mayor Jeremy Fey, Mayor Pro-Tem Judy Laratta, Alderman Jeff Aiken, and Alderman Kara Tinucci.

Alderman Aiken made a motion to convene a Board of Ethics hearing on the agenda on an anonymous letter the Council had received with allegations of misconduct of Mayor Fey. The Council voted to hold the hearing and Mayor Fey recused himself.

Ordinance No. 22-01 amends sections of the Central City Municipal Code concerning floodplain regulations. This Ordinance will adopt the Flood Insurance Study for Gilpin County, Colorado and incorporated areas, produced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, effective April 5, 2022. Community Development Director Ray Rears requested to reschedule the motion for the reading to the next board meeting on February 15, 2022. The Council approved the request and will revisit the Ordinance at their next meeting.

Resolution No. 22-05 approves the Professional Service agreement with Digital Data Services, Inc. for GIS Consulting Services. The Council approved the Resolution unanimously.

The Council convened a Board of Ethics Hearing with Mayor Fey recusing himself and leaving the room. The hearing determined if there should be an investigation on allegations from an anonymous letter. The Council voted to initiate an independent investigation on four out of eleven allegations in the letter and to identify who wrote the letter. City staff will hire a third-party investigator and report the findings to Council when the investigation is complete.

Staff Updates: Mayor Pro-Tem Laratta asked City Manager Daniel Miera if the Federal infrastructure money would go toward Central City. Miera responded the money will be allocated to the State and portioned appropriately.

Division Chief Wheeler reported there have been 29 reported Covid cases in Gilpin County over the last seven days with no deaths. The number of hospitalizations is unknown. The mask mandate for Gilpin County expired on Tuesday, February 1.

Council Comments: Alderman Aiken referenced Mayor Fey’s speech from the last Council meeting that the Council should be held accountable. Aiken’s interpretation was that Fey meant the Council was holding him back from his vision by voting a certain way.

Mayor Pro Tem Laratta thought the special election was very close, and she was disappointed that out of the 528 registered voters in Central City, only 106 voted in the special election. Laratta thanked The Mountain-Ear newspaper for running candidate profiles before the election. She announced that this is her final year on the City Council and she plans to keep on as she has been.

Mayor Fey congratulated Jill Story on her election to the City Council. Fey welcomes an investigation into the allegations against him but he was surprised at the request for a hearing. Fey went on to say he takes pride in his integrity and wishes to get on with City business. He also responded to Aiken’s comments about being accountable and felt his comments have been misconstrued.

Public Comments: Betty Mahaffey addressed the Council on behalf of the Gilpin Historical Society. She urged the Council to donate the train that the Society has been asking for. She would like the City to support this action.

Jill Story revealed she was excited to become an Alderman for City Council, but after seeing what happened with the Board of Ethics, she is cautious. She feels that drama and personal attacks are not appropriate for Council meetings and are better left resolved behind closed doors. She felt the anonymous letter was inappropriate and is concerned that random allegations would be considered facts.

Through her campaign, she said, she heard residents’ dissatisfaction with these tactics and relayed a comment: “The Council is considered the Real Housewives of Central City reality show.”

Business Investment District spokesperson Joe Behm denied there was any inappropriate action when the BID gave a grant for the Levit Street market and warned the investigation will cost the City a lot of money.

The Council went into Executive Session at 8:39 p.m.

The next City Council meeting will be at 7 p.m. on February 15, 2022, at Central City Hall, 141 Nevada Street or online. Information can be found on the City website: centralcity.colorado.gov/ meetings.