RANGELY | After hearing the Rangely District Hospital presentation about the proposed mill levy Tuesday, Rangely Mayor Andy Shaffer called the regular town board of trustees meeting to order. There were no public input, changes to the agenda public hearings, or reports from the council during this meeting.
During the supervisor’s report interim Chief of Police Ty Hamblin reported that the Rangely Police Department had a busy month serving the community. The department held a successful Narcan training and will offer another community training on Aug. 26 at CNCC. Together with the Rio Blanco County Sheriff ‘s Office, the department held a community meeting about a sexually violent predator who has since relocated out of the county. Officers assisted with New Eden’s 5k Color Run during the Fourth of July, the Senior Picnic, traffic control for local events, and held a successful National Night Out on Aug. 6.
Hamblin said he attended an instructor’s training in Durango, Colorado, and a legal update about changing laws including House Bill 19-1263. The bill, which goes into effect in March 2020, makes possession of four grams or less of a controlled substance listed in schedule I or II a level 1 drug misdemeanor. This would include drugs such as marijuana, OxyContin and Percocet (oxycodone), opium, codeine, morphine, hydromorphone (Dilaudid), methadone, Demerol (meperidine), and fentanyl, amphetamine (Dexedrine, Adderall), methamphetamine (Desoxyn), and methylphenidate (Ritalin). He told the trustees about the department’s use of Lexipol which is a public safety policy and training software they implemented in December, and he introduced the newly hired patrol officer Lavon Block who recently returned to the area from the Adams County Sheriff’s Department. Officer Block, previously a Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Deputy, is a Level 1 accident investigator and brings 10 years of patrol experience to the department.
Town Manager Lisa Piering reported that the National Night Out was a huge success and thanked all the people who helped organize the event.
The Colorado Preserve America Youth Summit visited Rangely and the surrounding area. The Colorado Preserve America Youth Summit began in 2007 with the goal of creating an opportunity for young people aged 13 to 18 to get out of the classroom and into the field to learn about history, archaeology, heritage tourism and preservation.
Piering gave an update about the White River signage project that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has been working on. The project designated public areas from Kenney Reservoir to the Utah border where the public can access the river. To date they have installed 40 signs and they still have seven more to place.
Piering also attended a state revolving fund workshop in Craig.
Alyssa Logan, a representative from Senator Michael Bennet’s office, will be in Rangely at Town Hall on Aug. 20 to meet with residents.
The Town of Rangely will be videoing and posting all of their meetings on their website in accordance to House Bill 19-1087.
Piering said that she and Town Clerk Marybel Cox conducted interviews for the marketing director position and they have narrowed it down to two candidates.
The following donations were approved by the board: $500 to the Rangely Food Bank and $1,400 to the Rangely Rock N Bulls event held by the CNCC Rodeo Team.
By Roxie Fromang | Special to the Herald Times
