Three new politicians to take office this month

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SOB ballot question is back

Central cabaret issue

likely on Nov. 4 ballot

It’s the $602.62 question that will spark titillating debate

around Central City over the next two months: Will the city’s 542

voters approve or reject a zoning change that would allow Rick’s

Cabaret and Steakhouse continue operating as a Sexually Oriented

Business after the Nov. 4 election?

City council will decide whether to give final approval to a ballot

question at a special meeting scheduled for 3 p.m. next Wednes-

day, Sept. 3. The first reading was approved by a 3-2 vote during a

special council meeting on Monday afternoon, Aug. 25, when the

aldermen authorized the city to inform Gilpin County Clerk and

Recorder Sahari McCormick that Central plans to present her with

a final version of the ballot question before the Sept. 5 deadline set

by the state.

According to Central City Manager Daniel Miera, it will cost the

city $602.62 to place the question on the ballot for Central’s 542

registered voters, which is about $1.11 per voter. This amount does

not include legal fees charged by City Attorney Marcus McAskin’s

office.

Mayor Jeremy Fey and Councilmen Chuck Spencer and Todd

Williams voted to place the question on the Nov. 4 ballot, with

aldermen Zane Plsek and Marcia Enloe voting no. Coincidentally,

Williams proposed placing an SOB-related question on the ballot

around the same time last year, although the measure failed.

The subject of the potential ballot-rezoning question sparked

another verbal donnybrook during Monday afternoon’s session

with Fey, four aldermen, residents, and RCI Hospitality Holdings’

Travis Reese. The discussion also raised the question of whether

Rick’s Central City is a cabaret or a strip club. (See related story.)

The proposed ballot issue does not include the name of RCI

Hospitality Holdings, the NASDAQ-listed company that owns the

Former mayor and businessman Buddy Schmalz blasted

the council for “not doing its job” enforcing city regulations

against Rick’s Cabaret. The former county commissioner

stated that council members are elected to enforce city

rules, not pass them off to voters to decide.

Photos by Don Ireland Continued on page 4

Proposed 4% lodging tax boost

heads to voters for okay

On Nov. 4, Gilpin voters will have the

opportunity to raise the county’s two-

percent lodging tax to six percent. This

measure could increase the county’s

coffers by $348,500 next year to help

fund road and infrastructure improve-

ments, childcare, housing needs, and

more.

Gilpin County Commissioners Sandy

Hollingsworth and Jeff Aiken ap-

proved adding the lodging-tax increase

to the fall ballot during their meeting

on Tuesday afternoon, Aug. 26. Susan

Berumen, the third commissioner, was

not in attendance.

For residents, the financial support

will come from visitors traveling to un-

incorporated Gilpin County and staying

in hotels, motels, bed-and-breakfast

inns, short-term rentals (including

Airbnbs and VRBOs), timeshares,

private campgrounds, and recreational

vehicle parks. The proposed lodging tax

would not include Black Hawk or Cen-

tral City, which have their own separate

lodging taxes.

Approval of the extra four-percent

tax, combined with the existing two-

percent rate that’s been in place for

two years, would generate an estimated

$534,733 for Gilpin County. About

10 percent of that, or $52,275, would

go to the Gilpin Advertising Panel, an

appointed board that uses its funds to

promote tourism and support the an-

nual Gilpin County Fair.

County Manager Ray Rears encour-

aged residents to support the ballot

measure, explaining that the money

will help improve the quality of life in

the county. “The lodging tax, if ap-

proved, would go toward childcare,

housing, and infrastructure in broad

buckets. It could help the Gilpin

largest chain of adult enter-

tainment venues and strip

clubs in the country, nor does

it mention the company’s

Central City Rick’s Cabaret

and Steakhouse.

Instead, it will ask voters to

amend a section of Central’s

Land Development Code “to

permit the operation of a

Sexually Oriented Business

use in a limited part of the

Historic Downtown Gaming

district (i.e., Main Street).”

Rick’s Cabaret, located at 130

Main St., officially opened for

business on June 26.

If approved by voters,

Rick’s Cabaret would be

allowed to operate from 10

p.m. to 4 a.m., as long as it

is less than 300 feet from

other SOBs, lots with homes,

residential zones, schools,

setback.

explaining it would per-

mit another SOB business

– possibly a bookstore or

“Fascinations-type” adult toy

store — to open at the other

end of Main Street. Others

complained that approving

the ballot question would

grant RCI a monopoly in

downtown Central City.

question.

keeps talking out of both

sides of its mouth. In my

heart and mind, I know this

[ballot question] is about

RCI and SOBS. Will you

shut down the cabaret?”

Fellow resident Kath-

leen Ashpaugh said the

proposed ballot question

lacks clarity. “Why not

just ask the people if they

want a titty bar on Main

Street?” She also accused

Fey of being “a spokes-

person for RCI” because

of his friendship with

RCI CEO and President

Eric Langan. “We don’t

need a red-light district

in Central City. Is RCI

immune from following

Echoed resident Brent

Lamby to the council, “You

have a duty to represent

all the people. It’s sad our

council has been a council of

Businessman and former

Mayor Buddy Schmalz blast-

ed the council for not doing

its job of enforcing city

ordinances and regulations.

Instead, he said, putting

the issue on the ballot “feels

like you’re going to pull one

over on the residents.” The

former county commissioner

added, “It just smells bad.

We are better than this.” He

also noted that the council

has suddenly started schedul-

ing special meetings at 3 p.m.

to discuss the matter, saying,

“It looks like you’re trying to

hide something by holding

Schmalz also asked the

council if they have a plan in

case voters reject the ballot

question, which could shut

down Rick’s.

Another anti-SOB resident,

Rebecca Blondo, noted that

the council had voted less

than one week earlier to hire

a special attorney to help

the city investigate Rick’s

Cabaret. “How did we get

from there to here three

or four days later?” she

asked. “Is Central City

being put up for sale?

This [ballot question] is

Resident Peter Droege

said RCI opened a strip

club “illegally” instead

of a nightclub. “Maybe

this meeting was called,

not for residents, but for

RCI. The only one who

benefits from this is RCI,

not the residents,” ac-

cording to Droege, who

said the council suffers

from “a dereliction of

Nathan Fisher, associ-

ate director of the New

Catholic Conference,

joined the meeting via

Zoom and said Rick’s

opened illegally and

doesn’t promote human

dignity. “I urge you to

vote against this,” he told

the council before their

vote.

vice president and a

member of the Central

City Business Improve-

ment District, told the

council via Zoom that

he supports putting the

question on the ballot

so everyone can cast

their feelings. “I find it

ironic that a handful of

people claim to represent

the majority of residents,”

he commented.

Droege said anti-SOB resi-

dents might be at a disadvan-

tage before Nov. 4, claiming

RCI could spend thousands

of dollars promoting a “vote

yes” campaign supporting the

ballot question.

Plsek left the meeting, tell-

ing the Weekly Register-Call,

“I share the frustration that

was said in that room. I think

what happened today was an

abomination.” He pledged to

keep fighting RCI while sup-

porting residents who are op-

posed to Rick’s Cabaret. “RCI

is not immune to the point

where we are now. [Council]

is trying to make an illegal

strip club illegal.”

During Monday’s meeting,

Plsek accused Fey of having

a conflict of interest because

of his friendship with RCI

CEO Eric Langan, including

a free trip the mayor took on

RCI’s private jet to attend an

NFL game in Houston almost

two years ago. However, as at

the Aug. 19 meeting, Plsek’s

motion to demand Fey recuse

himself failed due to the lack

of a second.

Fey, who recused himself

during the past year from

council topics related to

RCI, announced he will no

longer leave council ses-

sions when RCI-related

subjects are discussed. The

mayor explained he made

the decision after consulting

with a private attorney, who

offered a different opinion

from McAskin.

Plsek also told residents

he found it strange that Fey,

after voting with the council

the previous Tuesday night,

sent him a text message the

next morning, informing the

council he wanted to call a

special council meeting for

Thursday, Aug. 21. However,

McAskin stepped in, inform-

ing leaders that a 48-hour

notice was legally required to

hold the session, pushing the

date to Monday, Aug. 25.

Voters likely to decide Central cabaret issue

Mayor Jeremy Fey (center) told residents he spoke to a private

attorney and doesn’t believe he has a conflict of interest that

would prevent him from voting on RCI-related matters. The

mayor said he has a friendship with RCI President Eric Langan

but has friendships with many others in the community.

Photos by Don Ireland

Kathleen Ashpaugh and several other residents voiced their

opposition to the proposed ballot question, stating that the

council already knows how the community feels about having a

Sexually Oriented Business on Main Street.

Cabaret vs. strip club query

Is Rick’s Cabaret and Steakhouse on Central

City’s Main Street a nightclub or a Sexually

Oriented Business featuring topless strippers?

That’s a question Central City Manager

Daniel Miera said City Attorney Marcus

McAskin and special counsel

Scott Bergthold are currently

reviewing. However, Miera

said he couldn’t disclose how

the city’s legal team is pursu-

ing answers amid residents’

allegations that the dancers

in the building at 130 Main

Street aren’t wearing anything,

rather than bikinis or some

type of latex coverings, on

their breast areas.

If the club’s dancers are

wearing something, the operation isn’t con-

sidered a Sexually Oriented Business, which is

prohibited by city zoning regulations. Howev-

er, if the female dancers are genuinely topless,

Rick’s Cabaret would be in possible violation

of zoning regulations.

“As far as the question [of whether] RCI is

operating as an SOB as currently defined in

our code, that is still a legal question that [the]

council has authorized the staff and attorney’s

office in moving forward and investigating,”

Miera told the Weekly Register-Call after a

special council meeting Monday. “They will

investigate the options the city has. I can’t

give you an answer whether they’re operating

under the letter of the law – that’s something

the attorneys are working on.”

When asked if anyone from the city has gone

into the club after 10 p.m., when the dancing

begins, to determine what the dancers are—or

are not—wearing, Miera responded, “I believe

that is a process being controlled by the city

attorney’s office and the special council, so I’ll

direct you to them.”

(Editor’s note: McAskin

couldn’t be reached for comment

before our press deadline.)

Separately, Miera confirmed

Rick’s Cabaret was issued a cita-

tion and fined for operating with-

out an occupancy certificate after

it opened in late June. “I don’t

recall what the exact amount

was,” he commented. “This is

an administrative process, as I

understand it. I can’t speak much

to the legal elements of it.”

On Aug. 19, following a lengthy executive

session, the council reconvened its regu-

lar meeting and voted unanimously to hire

Bergthold, an attorney whose Tennessee-based

firm specializes in helping municipalities fight

adult-oriented businesses.

Central Council members Zane Plsek and

Marcia Enloe cast several unsuccessful votes

in recent weeks to try to better regulate RCI.

This NASDAQ-traded company operates the

nation’s largest chain of strip clubs.

Fellow alderman Chuck Spencer agreed, tell-

ing the Weekly Register-Call after Monday’s

special council meeting, “According to our cur-

rent zoning laws, they should be shut down.”

“As far as the question

as currently defined in

our code, that is still a

legal question…”

Central City Manager

“I find it ironic that

claim to represent the

majority of residents.”

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Three new politicians to take office this month

Patrick Henry Sweeney

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