Pure Gold patrons to step back

By CHANCE PRIGGE

Journal Staff Writer

NICOLLET -- The Nicollet City Council amended its Adult Use Ordinance Wednesday to create a 24-inch distance between the stage and the patrons at the Pure Gold strip club.

Council members passed the change, while either not voting on or not passing several others, saying they wanted to keep patrons off the stage and to prevent them from touching the dancers.

Pure Gold co-owner Matt Halley, in attendance at the meeting, said he'd prefer there be no barrier between the two. The council brought the measurement down from a proposed 60 inches keeping in mind that customers need to be able to reach the dancers to give them tips. The idea of a tip jar was struck down at an earlier council meeting.

Amendments considered but not passed or voted on at this meeting included:

* Giving Pure Gold a liquor license. Council members said there were possible dangers when mixing live, nude entertainment with alcohol.

* Extending the club's hours from 12:30 a.m. on weekdays and 2:30 a.m. on weekends to 2 a.m. on weekdays and 4 a.m. on weekends. Council members expressed concern about changing the times because the times as they're set coincide with when local police go off duty.

Suggestions for change included the club hiring a licensed police officer for the new hours, but some council members said the officer would only be allowed to work on the club property and not patrol the town while people are leaving. Another suggestion was the city paying for a licensed officer to work the hours.

* Allowing lap dances. Council members said this would violate the just-passed 24-inch rule as well as the already-established rule of no touching in a stimulating nature, clothed or unclothed.

* Having a manager's station that always has a licensed manager on duty to hold people in the club accountable for any violations. Cameras and monitors were also considered. There was dispute about the necessity of cameras and exactly who in the club could be considered a "licensed" manager while at the station.

* Changing the rules regarding multiple-day violations at the club. As it is, one violation -- a broken light outside, for example -- that goes beyond one day can be treated as multiple violations. The change would have treated it as a single violation.

In other council news, Ordinance 120 was passed in order to amend Ordinance 79, creating an R4 residential facility. The council also discussed city hall remodeling, with Town and Country Suites donating 73.34 yards of carpeting valued at $1,833.50.