"Thomas Jefferson said a democracy is dependent on an informed citizenry. I don't care whether it sounds corny or not. It's the truth." -Jim Lehrer
Carefree Truth
Issue #1091, June 1, 2024
Issue #1091, June 1, 2024
Dear Supporters,
I want to thank you for your continued support for my Town Council run. I appreciate you spreading the word, putting out my campaign sign in your yard and putting editorials in the Sonoran News. It means a lot to me.
I wanted to bring something to your attention and then let you know my stance (or position), directly from me.
Over the weekend, Our Carefree sent out an email to their subscriber list. I am assuming some on you are on that list. Our Carefree has been lobbying over the last several months for what they want to see included or removed from the General Plan. They state that they represent 80% of the Carefree residents views. That is not correct. Just because 80% of the people voted against a property tax (and I was one of them), does not mean any issue ever to come up that they have input on means that 80% of the people agree with them….on everything.
There has been much discussion on the SPA (Special Planning Area) for the NW corner of Tom Darlington and Carefree Highway. Our Carefree wants the SPA removed from the General Plan. They SAY the reason is because of the lack of transparency and that the public involvement process was done during COVID and so there was not as much participation as there would have been at another time. There was almost 2 year’s worth of public input and discussions before the SPA was finalized. More importantly, there will be more public input opportunities BEFORE any developer can build anything under the current SPA. It would need to go through a zoning change with Planning and Zoning and the Town Council. Both of those processes include public input, so to say that the public will not have an opportunity before anything is done, is disingenuous.
I stated my position on the SPA during the Town Hall Forum, I know some of you were in attendance. For those that were not, I will let you know here my thoughts. I am in favor of keeping the SPA in the General Plan. The reason is this:
Because the current SPA is so specific, I have asked those who say they want more input, WHAT would they remove from the current SPA or WHAT would they add? They cannot answer the question, they just say, we need to start the process over. Why would you start a process over, if there were nothing you would change?? You wouldn’t. Honestly, I think the Our Carefree team wants nothing built on the corner. They will say otherwise but it does not make sense based on their answers. Remember, this property is owned by an individual, just like you, and has private property rights. How would you like it if someone told you what you could do not do with your own property? I don’t think you would, I know I wouldn’t.
Our town derives the bulk of it’s income (about 62%) from sales tax revenue. We don’t have that many opportunities for development left. We need to develop the NE Corner of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Rd, which is being worked on now. We need to fill the empty CVS space and the Ace Hardware space that will be vacant by years end. We also need to work on the Town Center. I think taking out the NW Corner is not fiscally responsible to the town.
I was told that if I did not support Our Carefree’s position regarding the SPA then they would not support me for Town Council. They would pick someone who did, and they have, Nakisa Azizi. Nakisa wants them to remove the SPA from the General Plan. Nakisa does not want any development. She stated at the Town Hall, that we don’t need development, we can raise funds for the Town by Crowdsourcing and that residents have money and they will just donate it to the Town. I don’t feel that is being fiscally responsible to our Town.
Our Carefree is always saying that the Town is not transparent but I wonder how transparent Our Carefree is. They tell you how they want you to vote. They tell you what needs to be added or removed from the General Plan. As a resident, it is our job to do the research for things impacting our town and then make the best decision based on our own values etc. We should not let someone tell us what is best for us or our Town. That is what we see in the mainstream media every day.
I thought it would be very transparent to get the Town Hall Forum video out to all the residents, so they could hear from all the candidates to be able to make their own decision on who they thought would best represent the Town. Unfortunately, the Town Council, must remain neutral so they are not able to put out the video. I decided to reach out to everyone that I thought had a large distribution list to see if they would send out the video. I was glad to see that Carefree Unity and Carefree Truth both were happy to send it out. I also reached out to Our Carefree and got no response, and no video was sent out. How transparent is that?
I strongly encourage you to watch the Town Hall Forum video, so that you can hear directly what the candidates positions and thoughts are for the Town. Here is the link for you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-nhjaYMMrI Full Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIAgJ1qAE70&t=7s Colleen’s Answers
I also have it on my website at www.colleenforcarefreetowncouncil.com . There is a full video and a second one with just my answers, should you want to review them.
I want to represent you and the Town, the best way possible. I think I have the integrity, character, values and ethics to do the best job. I did not let Our Carefree intimidate me to change my mind on the SPA, because it is not the right thing to do for our Town.
Please reach out with any questions, or concerns. I will be at the Town Council meeting on Tuesday, July 2nd and hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Colleen Rose-Scurti
For Carefree Town Council 2024
408-656-6251
colleenfortc@pm.me
I want to thank you for your continued support for my Town Council run. I appreciate you spreading the word, putting out my campaign sign in your yard and putting editorials in the Sonoran News. It means a lot to me.
I wanted to bring something to your attention and then let you know my stance (or position), directly from me.
Over the weekend, Our Carefree sent out an email to their subscriber list. I am assuming some on you are on that list. Our Carefree has been lobbying over the last several months for what they want to see included or removed from the General Plan. They state that they represent 80% of the Carefree residents views. That is not correct. Just because 80% of the people voted against a property tax (and I was one of them), does not mean any issue ever to come up that they have input on means that 80% of the people agree with them….on everything.
There has been much discussion on the SPA (Special Planning Area) for the NW corner of Tom Darlington and Carefree Highway. Our Carefree wants the SPA removed from the General Plan. They SAY the reason is because of the lack of transparency and that the public involvement process was done during COVID and so there was not as much participation as there would have been at another time. There was almost 2 year’s worth of public input and discussions before the SPA was finalized. More importantly, there will be more public input opportunities BEFORE any developer can build anything under the current SPA. It would need to go through a zoning change with Planning and Zoning and the Town Council. Both of those processes include public input, so to say that the public will not have an opportunity before anything is done, is disingenuous.
I stated my position on the SPA during the Town Hall Forum, I know some of you were in attendance. For those that were not, I will let you know here my thoughts. I am in favor of keeping the SPA in the General Plan. The reason is this:
- I have read the full 68 page SPA agreement- it is very specific on what can be built there and what cannot.
- I have toured the whole area in question and walked the property.
- I have met with the neighbors who directly connect to the parcels in question, and they WANT the SPA to stay. Originally, they did not want a resort there or the SPA, however, after much discussion with the Economic Development Director and each other, they came up with a plan that they are very happy with. In fact, this is what they would like to see developed on that property.
- For those that say, they want to be part of the process….they will be. They can be as much a part of the process as they want, once a developer comes forward with a plan, if they ever do.
- If the SPA process were to be redone, I don’t believe it would be as specific as it currently is. I think it would be vaguer offering more opportunities for other commercial projects that the residents and the neighbors right next to it, do not want. We have the most control with the current SPA that is in place.
Because the current SPA is so specific, I have asked those who say they want more input, WHAT would they remove from the current SPA or WHAT would they add? They cannot answer the question, they just say, we need to start the process over. Why would you start a process over, if there were nothing you would change?? You wouldn’t. Honestly, I think the Our Carefree team wants nothing built on the corner. They will say otherwise but it does not make sense based on their answers. Remember, this property is owned by an individual, just like you, and has private property rights. How would you like it if someone told you what you could do not do with your own property? I don’t think you would, I know I wouldn’t.
Our town derives the bulk of it’s income (about 62%) from sales tax revenue. We don’t have that many opportunities for development left. We need to develop the NE Corner of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Rd, which is being worked on now. We need to fill the empty CVS space and the Ace Hardware space that will be vacant by years end. We also need to work on the Town Center. I think taking out the NW Corner is not fiscally responsible to the town.
I was told that if I did not support Our Carefree’s position regarding the SPA then they would not support me for Town Council. They would pick someone who did, and they have, Nakisa Azizi. Nakisa wants them to remove the SPA from the General Plan. Nakisa does not want any development. She stated at the Town Hall, that we don’t need development, we can raise funds for the Town by Crowdsourcing and that residents have money and they will just donate it to the Town. I don’t feel that is being fiscally responsible to our Town.
Our Carefree is always saying that the Town is not transparent but I wonder how transparent Our Carefree is. They tell you how they want you to vote. They tell you what needs to be added or removed from the General Plan. As a resident, it is our job to do the research for things impacting our town and then make the best decision based on our own values etc. We should not let someone tell us what is best for us or our Town. That is what we see in the mainstream media every day.
I thought it would be very transparent to get the Town Hall Forum video out to all the residents, so they could hear from all the candidates to be able to make their own decision on who they thought would best represent the Town. Unfortunately, the Town Council, must remain neutral so they are not able to put out the video. I decided to reach out to everyone that I thought had a large distribution list to see if they would send out the video. I was glad to see that Carefree Unity and Carefree Truth both were happy to send it out. I also reached out to Our Carefree and got no response, and no video was sent out. How transparent is that?
I strongly encourage you to watch the Town Hall Forum video, so that you can hear directly what the candidates positions and thoughts are for the Town. Here is the link for you:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-nhjaYMMrI Full Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIAgJ1qAE70&t=7s Colleen’s Answers
I also have it on my website at www.colleenforcarefreetowncouncil.com . There is a full video and a second one with just my answers, should you want to review them.
I want to represent you and the Town, the best way possible. I think I have the integrity, character, values and ethics to do the best job. I did not let Our Carefree intimidate me to change my mind on the SPA, because it is not the right thing to do for our Town.
Please reach out with any questions, or concerns. I will be at the Town Council meeting on Tuesday, July 2nd and hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Colleen Rose-Scurti
For Carefree Town Council 2024
408-656-6251
colleenfortc@pm.me