Three seek two seats on WRBM Park and Rec. board

Three candidates are running for two positions on the Western Rio Blanco Metropolitan Recreation and Park District (WRBM) Board of Directors in Tuesday’s election at the Rangely Town Hall.
Current board member Jeff LeBleu and candidates Robby Elam and Ryan Torsell will run for LeBleu’s seat and termed-out board member Janet Mackey’s position. Candidates are elected to four-year terms for up to two terms.
LeBleu, the public works supervisor for the Town of Rangely and a longtime Elks Club member and officer, has been on the board for two years. He said he wants to continue helping move WRBM forward and is excited about future management opportunities the district may have in the community.
“I like making decisions that affect the public; I like being part of that,” he said. “I hope to kind of continue what I’ve started. I’m just falling into place with how things run, starting to see how things click.”
Robby Elam, an I&E technician for Encana Oil and Gas, said that understanding the needs of the community he’s lived in all his life and raising children in Rangely are primary reasons for running.
“Our kids are pretty much involved with anything that goes on with the recreation district,” he said. “They use the park and the pool, I use the softball field. I want to be a part of making sure all that stuff keeps going.”
Elam, the Cedar Ridges Men’s Club president for the last six years, said that if elected, he hopes to be involved with continued facility upgrades and improvements, including putting more funds into the golf course.
“We have a fantastic place but we need some upgrades,” he said.
Ryan Torsell, a tool pusher for Alliance Energy Services Corporation (AESC), has also grown up in Rangely, where he now raises a family. He said his family’s use of recreation district amenities has also prompted his wanting to be part of future decision-making.
“I want to be a little more active in the community being as I have four kids that are going to be doing all the recreation activities,” he said. “I don’t really have an agenda. I don’t think (the board) is making any bad or wrong decisions. I just want to have more of an idea of how things work and what’s going on.”
Torsell added that, given that fewer than 300 people voted in the recent town council election, he hoped more people would show up to the combined polling place election to select members to the WRBM and Rangely Hospital District board of directors.
“If you don’t vote, you can’t complain about the results,” he said. “Get out there and vote.”
Voters can fill out separate ballots for each district at the Rangely Town Hall between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Tuesday. To request absentee ballots, registered voters can complete separate forms available at Rangely District Hospital and the recreation center by Friday.