Rangely council suspends Chamber special-event permits for one year after college alcohol violations

The Rangely Town Council voted to suspend the Rangely Area Chamber of Commerce’s special-event permits for one year after a town liquor-licensing investigation found multiple permit violations tied to a Feb. 22 Crab Crack event at Colorado Northwestern Community College.

Mary Bell, the town’s liquor-licensing agent, told the council she investigated complaints and concluded three violations occurred: alcohol was left unattended after the event; servers had not been instructed to check identification before service; and servers were permitted to remove alcohol from the permitted venue after the event. "I do believe that the Rangely Area Chamber of Commerce did violate their special event permit responsibilities," Bell said while reading her findings and the licensing statute language used in the investigation.

Bell told council staff interviewed students who served alcohol and that those students "were not orientated on their duties as bartenders by chamber representatives" and were not consistently carded at the event. Bell recommended sanctions to prevent recurrence, including no single-serve open containers, an ID-check system at entry or bar, and a prohibition on removing alcohol from the venue.

A council member made a motion to suspend the Chamber’s special-event permits for one year, with reinstatement set for April 1, 2026. The motion was seconded and the council voted to carry the motion. No roll-call tally was recorded in the meeting minutes; the meeting audio indicates the motion "carries." The council did not adopt additional written conditions beyond the timeline and the licensing agent’s recommendations during the public action.

The matter arose during a public comment and permit review process and follows a March 11 public hearing on the event. The licensing statement cited state licensing provisions and local regulations governing special-event permits. The town did not announce any civil fines in the council meeting minutes; the action recorded was the suspension of permit privileges for the organization for one year.

What’s next: the suspension will remain in effect through March 31, 2026, with possible reinstatement on April 1, 2026, per the motion. The licensing agent recommended that the Chamber implement mandatory server orientation and a clear ID-check procedure before tentatively returning to special-event permitting.