Chamber and CNCC defend handling of leftover alcohol at special event; council delays enforcement decision

Emma, an event organizer, told the Rangely Town Council during a public hearing that alcohol had been inadvertently left in a locked room after a Chamber special event but that the venue was secured and “no unauthorized individuals accessed it.” She said organizers found a half-open can and “approximately 20 unopened beer cans” left behind and described the lapse as an unintentional oversight.

Emma said the organizers have introduced a stricter post‑event removal procedure, including a designated staff member to perform a final alcohol sweep, additional training for staff and volunteers, and plans to implement wristbands or other ID-verification measures for future events. “We realize that we kind of spread ourselves a little bit too thin that night,” she said, adding that the group would assign one person to handle liquor‑licensing oversight.

Representatives from Colorado Northwestern Community College (CNCC) told the council they had found the alcohol product in a cooler and that students had access to the room. Charles Hike, director of the Ranger Law Enforcement Academy at CNCC, said his program sometimes allows 20‑year‑old cadets to participate but that those cadets lack peace‑officer authority and that the academy will reconsider future volunteer participation to avoid putting students at risk.

Angie Miller, identified as Executive Director of Human Resources at CNCC, and Nick Lefever, Facilities Director at CNCC, told the council that the cooler and a half‑empty can had been discovered Monday morning and that certain student groups had routine access to the room. Lefever said the room is not always fully locked and that some student groups had been in the room the prior weekend.

Council members pressed organizers on whether IDs were checked universally or wristbands used at entry; organizers said staff attempted to ID attendees but had not completed the wristband system that night due to time constraints. Ashley Taran, who identified herself as the owner of Coaches Corner, clarified that Colorado law allows 18‑year‑olds to serve alcohol under supervision and emphasized that, to her knowledge, no minors were served.

Jessco Leas, introduced as president of the Chamber, said the Chamber had provided the organizers with a briefing and that the group had largely followed the plan for bartending and cleanup; she and organizers discussed using an outside licensed bartender for some future events so that the outside vendor would handle the initial sweep and cleanup.

The council emphasized that its review was limited to issues affecting the liquor license and special-event permit; it declined to take enforcement action tonight and said it would follow up with parties if it had additional questions. Council members urged organizers to adopt the described ID/wristband and final‑sweep procedures before the next large event.

The hearing produced no vote or formal penalty; the council said it would reach out to organizers if further information was required.