Council Meeting Business
By David Josselyn
If you have been living under a rock, the Central City Council met with the Business Improvement District (BID) Board on March 15, 2018. One of the topics of discussion was the performances with gunfights of the Wild Bunch Gang during BID events that include alcohol. Additionally, some board members expressed their desire to not have the Wild Bunch perform at all during the summer if they insisted on using guns. Later, the BID Executive Director, Joe Behm, informed the Register Call that, “I do not feel gunfights should be banned,” and restated that the primary concern is the gunfights during alcohol related events causing panic among uninformed guests. The City Council held a work session on April 3, 2018, to discuss the matter further; the council chambers were packed with people, including former members of the Wild Bunch, wanting to let the Council know their opinions on the matter and show support for the Wild Bunch. The opposing views were overshadowed by the overwhelming support to keep the Wild Bunch. In response, the City Council scheduled a meeting with the leaders of the Wild Bunch, along with two Council Members, Jeff Aiken and Mary Bell, and two members of Staff to consider options to the current arrangement. At the work session tonight, April 17, 2018, Manager Miera revealed the result of that meeting. The consensus was that the Wild Bunch Gang would move their performances from the center of Main Street to the apex of the “Big-T Lot” (the parking lot south of Main Street across bordered by Nevada and Spring Streets) which would lessen the noise of gunshots on Main Street. Sometime between the meeting with the Wild Bunch and tonight, the City Staff came up with an idea to use an area on Spring Street directly across from the apex of the Big-T Lot, to house a wild-west backdrop the Wild Bunch Gang could use in their performances. Outlaw leader Mike Keeler had mentioned this idea in their prior meeting. The backdrop could require funding from the City. Alderwoman Laratta mentioned that the spot on the Big-T parking lot was a possible location for the historic steam shovel that Central City is obtaining from Nederland Historical Association. Council consensus was to move forward with the plan to move the Wild Bunch Gang to the Big-T and then to look at the Spring Street idea in greater detail including costs and permit issues. The Wild Bunch Gang will not be performing during the popular alcohol-related events Stills in the Hills or the Great Central City Beer Fest.
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