Rifle Honors Longtime Umpire Ronnie Chick as Council Adopts Fire Code

Ronnie Chick is walking away from 28 years of work next week.

Austin Rickstrew, Rifle’s Parks and Recreation Director, handed him a plaque on Wednesday night. It wasn’t just for the years. It was for the sweat. Rickstrew noted Chick spent countless hours preparing sports fields. He made sure games happened. He filled in at the last minute as a youth sports umpire so kids could play.

Chick was inducted into the Colorado Little League Hall of Fame in April 2022. That’s the kind of dedication Rifle is losing.

“Ronnie will be retiring next week,” Rickstrew said. “Thank you for 28 great years and congratulations on your retirement.”

The ceremony was the warm-up act. The real business started after.

The council adopted the Colorado Wildfire Resiliency Code on second reading. They introduced it in March. There were no changes. No one spoke up during the public hearing. It passed unanimously.

This isn’t just paperwork. It’s about defensible space. It dictates what flora and trees you can plant near new buildings in Rifle. It sets how far vegetation must stay from structures. The goal is simple: reduce the risk of buildings catching fire.

In a town sitting in a tinderbox, that matters. The code didn’t change between the March 18 introduction and the April 1 adoption. That suggests the city knew what it wanted and stuck to it. But silence from the public doesn’t mean approval. It often just means people are busy.

Then came the golf course.

The city took ownership of Rifle Creek Golf Course on March 31. Now, they’ve leased the food and beverage services to The Rough.

The deal is specific. The Rough provides restaurant service, beverage carts, and event support. They operate under the city. The cost? Around $17,000 in rent through the end of December.

The council passed the agreement unanimously. It’s a short-term fix for a long-term asset. The city owns the land. The Rough runs the concessions. It keeps the cash flow local while offloading the operational headache.

Before the main meeting, the council dug into their investment policy during a work session. They use a laddered buy and hold to maturity philosophy. Most of the portfolio sits in local government investment pools, or LGIPs, and treasury notes. It’s a conservative approach. Safe money. Predictable returns.

It’s the kind of financial hygiene locals expect from their government. But it’s boring. And that’s the point. You don’t gamble with taxpayer money when you’re trying to keep the lights on and the roads plowed.

The agenda was wide-ranging. It covered honors, fire codes, leases, and investments. It’s the standard rhythm of municipal government. But the retirement of Chick stands out.

Chick didn’t just maintain parks. He maintained community spirit. He was the guy who showed up. The code adoption is important, sure. The lease is practical. But when a man who has umpired more games than most locals can count walks out the door, the town loses a piece of its infrastructure.

Rickstrew said Chick’s work made a lasting impact. That’s not a press release platitude. It’s a fact. You can see it in the fields. You can hear it in the cheers at Little League games.

The council moved on. The code is law. The lease is signed. The investments are secure.

Chick is gone.

The question isn’t whether the city will function without him. It will. The systems are in place. The question is whether anyone else will put in the night and weekend hours. Whether someone else will step up when the umpire is late.

That’s the harder job.