Town Council Meeting January 27, 2026

On January 19th there was a post on the Rangely Bulletin Board about Flock cameras. There was much discussion and most of those who commented were against having these cameras in town. Then someone put up a survey asking if the cameras should stay or go. At least 85% of those responding said no to the cameras. I do not use Facebook so I am a little vague, but I heard about all of this from people I trust.

At least one council member was reading the comments and posted:

If you are responding or reading via a smartphone, I hate to be the guy to tell you this, your data has LONG since been hacked, and continues to be hacked.. That doesn’t make it okay, but this fight is 20 years too late.

As a council person, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this issue, but I’m not going to put any official weight on facebook posts. These posts leave out many facts and are churched up to push a narrative. They also foster anger and leave out real human conversation emotions. I try to approach any issue objectively and as best I can. There is A LOT of good that comes from these cameras, and there were conversations surrounding them.
Todd Thayn, Trustee

Well there it is. Speaking out both sides of his mouth he first says that gathering up your data has been going on for 20 years, that does not make it okay, but you might as well give up and take more. Then out of the other side says that he will ignore the Facebook posts, the cameras are good and that there were conversations surrounding them. What conversations? The public was not involved in any conversations. That is why this has been going on for 20 years. Self-serving politicians (as opposed to public-serving) do as they please ignoring input from the public. Todd is a Flock advocate (in my opinion) but don't forget he is objective--he says so right there in his post.

This might be a coincidence, but it is also possible that Todd wanted to be sure that there was plenty of support for the Flock cameras at the January 27 Town Council meeting. At the call for public input, he stepped froward and addressed the council to publicly thank members of EMS and the police for handling a routine 911 call on January 15. To name some in attendance: Police Chief Hamblin, Lt. Garner, the dispatch supervisor & EMS Director Kelly Hamblin. All who spoke in favor of keeping the cameras when questions about the cameras were raised following Todd's comments. Police Chief Hamblin had a presentation ready to present.

The excerpt of the January 27 Town Council meeting of comments about Flock is worth the watch.

Key points in the video include:

  • The cameras cost $9000 per year and there is a two year contract. [01:40]
  • The contract will be reviewed this year to determine if it will be extended. [01:50]
  • Law Enforcement opposes a bill being considered that would require a warrant to search the data. [03:00]
  • Rangely data is shared with other law enforcement agencies nationwide. [04:20]
  • Chief admits that anything can be hacked but they do the best they can to avoid hacking. [05:42]
  • Since June there have been 2 arrests out of all the hits. [08:00]1
  • Chief insists that only the rear of a vehicle is seen [20:11]2
  • Chief says all "HITS" show only the rear of a vehicle [20:50]2
  • If a car comes into town there is no way to know if they left [21:08]
  • If someone in town were to abduct a child Flock can not be used see if the car left town [23:14]
  • Tim agrees that it is Evil after hearing comments opposing mass surveillance [31:06]
  • Ron can't or won't see the big picture. He insists that there is no problem with Rangely cameras. [33:50]
  • Chief deflects concerns over tracking with confusing language about notifications. [37:17]3
  • Andy says like it or not the cameras stay (but all agree that the dialog is good) [38:04]

    • Presumably the Town Council and/or the NEW Town Manager can make a decision to end the contract with Flock and have the cameras removed. So it is up to you. Tell the Town Council to ban the cameras.

    If it bothers you that Rangely has become part of a nationwide surveillance system send a quick note to the Town Council. Better yet, attend a Town Council meeting and make a comment during the "Petitions and Public Input" part of the meeting (right after the approval of the minutes) putting it on the public record. The Town Council meets the second and fourth Tuesday each month in the Town Hall at 7PM. The new Town Manager is Jonah Bollinger contact him at 970-675-8476. Be Polite. Please don't assume that others will take action, it is up to each individual to make their opinion known.

    Take a look at news articles from around the country....


    1 A "Hit" refers to a notification sent to the police when the video captures a license plate on the list of wanted vehicles.

    2 Hits almost always show only the rear of the vehicle. However video is captured by every vehicle. A search of the database could show a vehicle leaving town.

    3 The discussion is about tracking a vehicles location. The Chief describes hits which is altogether different. He states that only wanted individuals cause a notification to police. That is a true statement. But a search will show every place where a vehicle has passed a Flock camera (depending upon the permissions to share data between agencies).



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