The Greeley Liquor Licensing Authority on July 18 approved transfer of the retail liquor-store license for Big Bear Liquors at 2401 Eighth Avenue to the estate’s personal representative and ordered a 180‑day review of the license.

The transfer was approved by Judge Gonzalez, presiding officer of the Greeley Liquor Licensing Authority, who said he would "find good moral character of Miss Ferguson" and directed staff to sign and send the application to the state. He also instructed the enforcement group to review the license in roughly 180 days.

The application was filed as an incorporation and routed to city departments for review. Licensing staff reported one comment from the police department and flagged unpaid sales‑tax returns for February–May 2025; finance staff testified the sales‑tax amounts had been paid before the hearing. Miss Fletcher, a city licensing staff member, read the administrative report into the record. Andy Ortiz, the finance reviewer, confirmed the city had received the outstanding payments.

Miss Ferguson, identified in the hearing as the personal representative of the estate of the late Mark Ferguson, told the authority that when she learned the state and city sales taxes were outstanding she "did that immediately" and provided proof by email. She also said window advertising placed by vendors that exceeded limits had been removed: "I did remove the ones that were covering the full window. The only ones that remain are the ones on the parking lot side."

Miss Sharma, appearing for the city attorney’s office, raised no objection after the city’s outstanding issues were addressed. The authority approved the transfer without an open hearing, finding Miss Ferguson fit to hold the license. The temporary license in the record had been issued April 3 and expires August 3; the authority said it would direct the clerk’s office to issue another temporary license if needed while the state completes its processing.

The authority emphasized it expects the estate to resolve the question of which store will retain a license within the review period. Miss Ferguson told the panel she is marketing the Greeley store for sale and understands she cannot hold licenses for both the Pierce store and the Greeley store indefinitely.

The clerk was directed to forward the signed transfer to the Colorado licensing authorities and to schedule an enforcement review in about 180 days.

Less-critical administrative details: planning and building raised no concerns; code compliance advised window signage be reduced to 25% of each pane visible from the public right of way; fingerprinting and background checks on the applicant produced no disqualifying criminal history.

The authority’s written order and the state processing will determine the effective final license date and any further conditions.