Since taking over the Meet Market, Miss Fabina had rarely left the Lyre and Animalia as she handled the business of the club and related media that came with it. While things like Covid had interrupted things in 2020 and 2021, and hadn't necessarily vanished, the business was recovering and showing where, regardless of the opinions or beliefs, people had a fair amount of interest in Animalians many ways. Adult entertainment was just one of the ways. But as the colonies expanded and did business there were ways that this expanded the need for them, and when they ran into areas where that trend couldn't easily follow.
The big part of that had been with Dino City in Texas, where it turned out state laws forbid the establishment of casinos and gambling houses. It was something that Miss Fabina took as a reminder to check local and state laws first rather than just try to establish things only to find that what was wanted was not allowed. It was that issue that in turn had brought her to Denver to meet with one of the representatives of the state government, though the person she was to meet with was a member of the staff state agencies that would be handling many of the sorts of businesses that the Meat Market was either connected to or supported. It was the best she could manage and felt a face-to-face meeting would allow for any questions that could be misinterpreted to be understood. Of course, it also raised its own questions as the representative looked at Miss Fabina and blinked hard.
"A lot of this just seems to raise a lot of questions on my part," the man spoke as he pushed his glasses up, "our offices here had gotten the calls regarding our rules and regulations for things that would relate to Mesozoic Enclave... Which, I suppose could make sense, given a lot of things that relate to what Animalia has engaged in over the years... that you'd be getting things in order and prepared so that the "colony city" will have some means of economic activity as it gets started."
Miss Fabina only looked on as the man scratched the back of his head. He looked a bit nervous by the movement of his eyes and lips, but that wasn't the only thing that gave her that indication. It was like some instinct in the back of her mind told her he was nervous about something and thus determined a question to get to why he was nervous and then set things at ease.
"I'm guessing you were expecting a Dinotopian to show up," Miss Fabina spoke, "given that a lot of this is in connection to Mesozoic Enclave and its construction... and what will come after everything is built."
"Well... in a way, yeah," the man spoke, "reports indicate that Dino City has gotten a lot of attention and popularity in a way that may exceed the space available. Thus, the idea to establish Mesozoic Enclave... though, I'd think for the moment the construction companies are working with the city engineers to design the city with the space available and with the land that can be bought."
"And to my understanding, on the same basis as what was made for Dino City in Texas," Miss Fabina nodded, "thus you could have new homes built for new Dinotopians next to an existing Human home... and of one that doesn't wish to convert. But my purpose is more in line with establishing certain businesses and venues that has worked in Lyre/Animalia in Nevada quite well but has not been applicable in Texas."
"Yes... well... I suppose things regarding casinos are pretty liberalized in Nevada," the man chuckled, "Las Vegas and all that. But not all states do that, and to many... gambling has come off as a rather bad business, in the sense that one has stacked the odds against the customer who gives money for the chance of winning something, but more often will end up with nothing. And a great many states put in place laws to heavily regulate those sorts of things..."
"Unless were talking about groups technically outside the state laws," Miss Fabina nodded, "Dino City's mayor has explained that the cassino in Texas is run by a Native American tribe and that cassino is either on or close to the tribe's reservation and thus us under THEIR law and not Texas state law... which Animalian colonies don't and can't claim."
The man nodded in acceptance of that, which Fabina noted. It also seemed to be a bit of an ice breaker and made things a bit easier between them. He still seemed a bit nervous, but not as nervous as when she'd first entered the office, or at least the room that they were in. It functioned like an office, but wasn't quite the same, which let her guess that the man she was speaking with was either a secretary or an agent lower down the proverbial totem pole than the head of the state agency, which could make sense. Colorado had its gambling laws up on their own state website, and she was able to find that things were far more relaxed in the state than was the case in Texas. There was paperwork to fill out and state requirements to fill, and Miss Fabina knew that once Mesozoic Enclave was set up and running, she would need to be able educate the one who would be running the facilities in the new colony city on those rules.
"And as I said on the phone, I'm more than happy to fill out the forms and everything else that comes with the state's laws," Miss Fabina continued, "but there are other businesses that I run and work with have had demand in Dino City... or at least desire for, but for whatever reason, they can't perform..."
"The strip club... the Meat Market," the man said slowly.
"Yes, and all perfectly legal," Miss Fabina answered, "the club's dancers are not to engage or get physical with guests, at least not during working hours, and any romantic association is not to be a paid transaction. Thus, showing that I'm not running a brothel, as I know that pretty much every state, including Nevada, has laws and regulations against that to varying degrees."
"Which is all good, ma'am," the man asked, "but THAT leaves me asking why you would come to me with this?"
"Mostly to see on what the state of Colorado would allow," Miss Fabina answered, "Dino City will allow the distribution of material that's been made somewhere else, or within the privacy of one's own home or apartment there, but they won't allow for a full on club like the Meat Market... at least not one that would allow for what goes on at the Meat Market. I'm also still not sure on how Texas would have laws against strip clubs."
"The state of Texas probably doesn't," the man answered, "at least not that I'm aware of. They probably have plenty of strip clubs in various spots throughout the state, though, often in bigger cities where the demand for it will be higher."
"But Dino City has said..." Miss Fabina began and that got the main to raise a hand up and show her his palm.
"What you've encountered might actually be a local law for the city and the region in Dino City, specifically, not the entire state," the man spoke, "at least so far as where strip clubs are concerned. And that region around Glen Rose is actually known for some pretty strong religious leanings... including claims that certain elements of the trackways there prove that man and dinosaurs walked the Earth together."
"So, you're saying?" Miss Fabina began to ask and raising one eyebrow and letting her voice fall off at the end, hoping to get the man to finish the sentence for her.
"That when Dino City was founded, the residents that were there to form the first "city council" were relatively few in number and just happened to be the more religious sort," the man answered, "they knew that Animalians, and thus Dinotopians, have a higher libido than normal Humans and that such performances are pretty easily tolerated among Animalians, even if the Animalian in question doesn't personally wish to perform or has no reason to. So, they then put in a local ordinance that would assure that if Dinotopians wanted to perform in a strip club, it would have to be somewhere other than in Dino City."
Local ordinances made sense to Miss Fabina, and while a part of her might wish to actually lobby for it, particularly now that the Dino City government largely had more Dinotopians in it, she also figured a lot of that may change with time. The bigger chance for the moment would be to focus on what would be there for Mesozoic Enclave.
"And I'm mostly here to see to whether or not such ordinances would come about at Mesozoic Enclave once it's built," Miss Fabina spoke.
"I'm afraid that's not an answer I can really give... for one, Colorado as a state isn't going to have a statewide ban on things like strip clubs," the man answered, "there will be the obvious rules on who is allowed in, but that goes without saying. As all persons must at least be of legal age, 18, or is a double dosed Animalian. And I can't really give you any assurances that local residents in where Mesozoic Enclave will be built won't do anything similar to what those in Dino City did. The colony is to be built near Dinosaur National Monument, on our state's border with Utah. And that county... Moffat is pretty conservative. Though even there... while they may have their religious nuts that may want to mandate things to suit the Old Testament, that isn't going to mean that there are those that might otherwise support you in the bigger picture, might oppose it as part of a means to oppose an industry generally designed to entertain men."
"And you can't... counter this, if it happens?" Miss Fabina asked.
"The state government could not," the man answered, "no... though, you could get lucky in that any sort of provisional city government won't have to last long once the colony is established and new residents move in."
"Though, that'll take time with some of the storms that have blown through," Miss Fabina commented.
"That's something we're all at the mercy of," the man replied.