Rifle

The city of Rifle sits nestled in the morning sun as the Roan Cliffs loom large in the background. Post Independent/Kelley Cox Click to Enlarge

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Downtown Rifle has several new storefronts as well as some more familiar ones. Post Independent/Kelley Cox Click to Enlarge

Rifle was incorporated in 1905 and now has a population of more than 8,000, rivaling Glenwood Springs in size.

It is said to be the only city in the country with the name of Rifle. There are several legends about how Rifle got its name, though they all conclude that a survey party had left a rifle leaning against a tree near Rifle Creek and named the creek and later the town for the scene.

In 1882, Abram Maxfield was the first man to travel west of Glenwood Springs with a wagon. He had to take the wagon apart to pack it around cliffs and ledges and then put it back together, according to the book “Garfield County: The First Hundred Years” by Andrew Gulliford. Maxfield was the first settler in Rifle.

Farming and ranching were the major industries in the area and Rifle became a trade center when the railroad came though town in 1899. Teddy Roosevelt stayed in the Winchester Hotel in 1901. The Winchester and Wiseman’s Rifle House were among the only buildings to survive a major blaze in 1902.

Rifle’s population has been growing rapidly, as the natural gas industry continues to boom in the Rifle region. Commercial is also on the rise. Much of the development is occurring south of Interstate 70 off Airport Road and includes hotel chains, fast food restaurants, an office park and other shops, restaurants and retail businesses. Construction of Colorado Mountain College’s West Garfield County Campus was completed and the doors opened for classes in the fall of 2007.

The city has seen numerous proposed residential subdivisions, with the largest being the Rimrock subdivision — a 360-acre property in north Rifle west of the junction of Colorado Highway 13 and County Road 335. The subdivision is slated for 1,200 to 1,400 residential units along with a commercial center, parks, trails and an amphitheater. In 2007, council also approved its largest capital improvement project, a $23 million wastewater treatment facility, and voters approved a 2.5 percent lodging tax on local motels and hotels.

Rifle Info
City Hall
202 Railroad Ave.
P.O. Box 1908
Rifle, CO 81650
(970) 625-2121
(970) 625-3210 (fax)

Mayor
Keith Lambert

Council Members
Jennifer Sanborn
Jonathan Rice
Jeanette Thompson
Beth Bascom
Alan Lambert
Jay D. Miller

City Manager
John Hier
(970) 625-2121
jhier@rifleco.org

Assistant City Manager
Matt Sturgeon
(970) 625-2121
msturgeon@rifleco.org

City Clerk
Wanda Nelson
(970) 625-2121
wnelson@rifleco.org

Deputy City Clerk
Andrea Madden
(970) 625-6237

Building Official
Terry Walton
(970) 625-6226
twalton@rifleco.org

Finance Director
Charles Kelty
(970) 625-6240
ckelty@rifleco.org

Public Works Director
Bill Sappington
(970) 625-6227
publicworks@rifleco.org

City Attorney
Lee Leavenworth
(970) 945-2261

Assistant City Attorney
Jim Neu
(970) 945-2261

Recreation Director
Aleks Briedis
(970) 625-2151
recreation@rifleco.org

Parks Director
Tom Whitmore
(970) 625-6228
twhitmore@rifleco.org

Police Department
Chief Daryl Meisner
(970) 625-2331
dmeisner@rifleco.org

Municipal Court
Judge Victor Zerbi
(970) 625-1526
court@rifleco.org

Non-emergency crime reporting
(970) 625-8095
police@rifleco.org

Police Records
(970) 625-6244
police@rifleco.org

Rifle Fire Protection
District
(970) 625-1243

Rifle Animal Shelter
(970) 625-8808
www.rifleanimalshelter.org, www.petfinder.com

Senior Center
Marie George
(970) 625-1877

Public Access Channel 10
Director Jim Bell
(970) 625-6255
jbell@rifleco.org

Chamber of Commerce
Information Center
(970) 625-2085
www.riflechamber.org

Rifle Branch Library
107 E. Second St.
Rifle, CO 81650
(970) 625-3471