RANGELY | Colorado Northwestern Community College (CNCC) President Ron Granger told the Rangely Board of Trustees they are hoping for 150 attendees this Saturday at the seaplane Splash-In. CNCC will be dedicating the seaplane donated to the school’s aviation program. Everyone is invited to attend the event, which is held at Kenney Reservoir and includes a free barbecue. See News Briefs on Page 3A for details.
Also during public participation, the board of trustees heard from Rio Blanco County Economic Development Coordinator Makala Barton, who announced that Rachel Gates will be her new assistant. They plan on spending time in Rangely each month, with days and times to be announced.
Barton also shared her experience testifying on behalf of the Jordan Cove Project with Commissioner Jeff Rector in Oregon. If approved, the facility would have the capacity to export up to 7.8 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas per year and would have a positive impact on the natural resource industry in Rio Blanco County and other western Colorado counties.
Jennifer O’Hearon, case manager for long term care options and caregiver support services for the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, spoke to the trustees about her role in keeping seniors out of nursing facilities and in the community and handed out information about the programs she manages.
Macy Morgan and Ethan Hacking, representing the Rangely Hurricanes Swim Team, thanked the trustees for a recent donation towards a planned swim meet. The young team members then returned the donation, stating that a conflict of interest canceled their swim meet and they were unable to use the funds.
Suzanne Tornell, a resident at White River Village, thanked the trustees and the Town of Rangely for providing a “wonderful, safe area for low income seniors.” Tornell, previously a longtime resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, spoke about the hard work of the town employees and her appreciation for what they do.
According to Town Manager Lisa Piering the turn out for a June 27 workshop with Master’s students from University of Colorado was very diverse. Business owners, residents and leaders of several different organizations came together to give their input on a potential design for Main Street.
Janet Miller stated in her supervisor report she had 33 weed control code violations in June that had been closed because the residents had been compliant. The department has been busy weeding town property and watering the trees and flowers on Main Street. They relocated flowers and trees impacted by the CDOT project. She and her crew also rehabbed the White River Village garden area which was overgrown with weeds and dilapidated. Mayor Shaffer thanked Miller for all of her hard work, especially with weed control code enforcement.
Town Manager Piering then spoke about the CDOT Pedestrian Improvement project and the Aerospace Road Show during her update. She said the CDOT project crew did a nice job clearing out the cones over the Fourth of July weekend and reported that, “The Aerospace Road Show was very interesting and I had some good conversations about getting information to them (the vendors) and made sure that they know what we have to offer. They were very impressed with the internet and they all loved the look of our community and we had lots of compliments for Meeker and Rangely, which is a testament to the place that we love and appreciate.”
Marlo Coates, owner of Colorado CPA, presented the results of a 2018 Audited Financial Statement for the Town of Rangely. In short, Colorado CPA gave the Town of Rangely an “unmodified opinion,” meaning that they did not find anything materially wrong with their financial statements. Key moved to approve the financial statement as presented and Hacking seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
Trustee Geer moved to appoint Don Reed to serve on the White River Planning Advisory Committee. The committee will guide the process of determining whether county citizens want to pursue an Integrated Water Management Plan.
By ROXIE FROMANG | Special to the Herald Times
