Carefree Truth
Issue #505, August 14, 2016
After the intermission, M.C. Preston Westmoreland read a question from the audience, starting at the other end of the dias with candidate Mike Krahe. The question was, "Could you provide examples of anchor companies?"
Mike Krahe replied that Ed Lewis' condos are a sort of anchor, a prime example of something that will make a significant change. What do people want? Do we want a 7-11 or a Dairy Queen? He thought not. Boutique chain stores may have an interest in putting in a small store here as the population increases. Micro breweries are big now. One in the area that brews whiskey is always packed. There has been talk of a boutique hotel. We have to figure out what we want to attract and how to go after those businesses to sell the story of our lovely town. The Council has done great things to make us sparkle, and businesses will be increasingly interested as we move incrementally down the runway.
Vice Mayor John Crane didn't think national chains were the ticket. Today's anchors are restaurants. If Sam Fox opened a great restaurant in town other good restaurants would be attracted, creating critical mass. Then Carefree would be "off to the races". A brewery is also a great suggestion. That and a boutique hotel are plausible and would attract people and restaurants. But the key is to mind the character of the town and to draw a desirable type of clientele.
Councilman Mike Farrar said they were excellent statements by John Crane. Mr. Farrar was in commercial Real Estate for a number of years, specializing in retail and office land. He quoted the old saying, "Rooftops drive retail". Carefree contains 8.8 square miles with about 1600 families, many of whom are seasonal. Permanent rooftops are needed. The future homes to the south on Pima that Jim Van Allen spoke of will help the tiny sub-market of N. Scottsdale, Carefree, and Cave Creek. More homes will mean that more businesses will want to invest in Carefree, which has no town property tax.
Revenues that fund town services are derived from retail sales tax, so the Town pays attention to retailers that want to come here, which is why we spend and why we invest in marketing to always stay in front of retailers and developers.
The general consumer population is gaining confidence in the economy. The tidal wave that hit us hit everybody when the economy fell off the cliff. Many retailers feel less risk averse going south of us, but once lease rates there climb it will be more advantageous for them to move to this market. With a rising demographic, we will see a change.
Mayor Les Peterson agreed with the previously made statements. Retail is the sales of every day goods we consume. Many eat out in restaurants several times a week. We buy groceries and hardware goods, etc. Ace, Basha's, CVS, and Lowes service a wide area and contribute more than half of Carefree's sales tax revenue. Accommodations are also a major contributor. A big successful boutique hotel and/or a revitalized Carefree Resort, perhaps with a theme such as health and wellness that would appeal to our citizens and would serve as a destination for others, could contribute over $1 million dollars a year each to the coffers. Hotel rooms and hotel restaurants produce sales tax. Restaurants also tend to flow from around these.
Candidate Jim Van Allen agreed with the Mayor. He read in the paper that there are 240 empty big box stores in Maricopa County; 120 of them are in places similar to Carefree. There is no activity in the space formerly occupied by Albertson's, and El Pedregal is largely inactive. Many people are already concentrating on downtown Carefree. Mr. Van Allen plans to concentrate his time and efforts on the General Managers of the Carefree Resort and Lowes.
Councilman Gene Orrico noted that there is roughly 300,000 square feet of vacant retail space in downtown Carefree. We are not going to get a big anchor to locate there. We need to fill those spaces with small entrepreneurs who will serve a niche market for homes being built now and in the next 10 years, and they must be able to attract people year round, which is difficult to do. An 89.9 acre development on Cave Creek Road is going through the approval process in Scottsdale. This development would include an 18 hole par 3 golf course, a clubhouse, and 190 homes starting at $1.3 to $1.5 million. The developer, who bought the land from Desert Mountain for $28 million, is ready to get started as soon as Scottsdale approves the project. Those people will have to shop somewhere.
A big problem is that the existing commercial property owners are unwilling to work with those interested in coming here, and will not reduce their rents, the same problem seen in El Pedregal. Those looking to open a new small business can't afford to pay exorbitant rents. Carefree moved the Council Chambers out of the 100 Easy Street building because we were not willing to pay $48,000 a year for a tomb with no windows. They tried to negotiate a deal, but it just wouldn't happen. Meetings were moved to the Holland Center at a cost of $4,000 a year until the Town owned space being rented to Ed Lewis becomes available. Like small merchants, the Town is looking to save money, which is why Carefree has over $6.5 million in unrestricted funds, unlike some of our neighboring communities that are millions of dollars in the hole.
The next question from the audience was, "Is a boutique hotel for Carefree still in the cards even though there's one going up in Cave Creek?"
Mayor Peterson replied that it is on the drawing board and is still in discussion. Part of what they are telling us is that they have 5 other developments going, but we're high on the list as soon as they have enough hours in the day. He is aware of one in Cave Creek that is committed.
Councilman Orrico said the only problem is in relation to the current commercial height restriction of 30'. Unless a hotel has a big footprint, he assumes they would require more than 30' or they would not be able to build enough rooms to make it viable. A developer has optioned 5 pieces of property in Cave Creek and is planning to build a good sized hotel right on Cave Creek Road.
The 3rd question was, "I have friends who were born and raised in Arizona, live off of Pinnacle Peak Road, but they have never come to Carefree because they are not motivated. How do you get people to visit the town?"
Candidate Van Allen cited the splash pad and Ray Villafane's sand sculpture as examples of what the Town is doing to bring people here. He and his wife took their 2 grandbabies to the splash pad last week. 2 couples with children were there who had come from Scottsdale and had never been to Carefree before. They saw it in a magazine. Unfortunately, Mr. Van Allen still does not see the economic development benefit in the splash pad because those coming tend to bring their own treats.
Mayor Peterson said that one of the primary purposes of the marketing programs the Town is running, like the Pumpkin Festival and the Christmas Festival, is that they bring people from all over the Valley. He heard about people who came from Desert Ridge and booked a hotel room, thinking it was too far to go home. Even some of our residents who live a mile away say they had no idea this was here. The events are getting attendees from all over. This year, the Pumpkin Festival will be bigger and better because there was a whole year to plan it instead of 3 months. Marketing Director Gina Kaegi is going all out, as she did last year.
Candidate Van Allen noted that there was a big feature about the sand sculpture and photos from the 2015 Pumpkin Festival on Channel 5 that morning.
Councilman Farrar stated that Carefree has a wonderful Christmas Festival, as well as Ray Villafane's Pumpkin Festival and sand carvings. The Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT) looked at Carefree and now this prominent State agency is promoting our community, which really helps us get people to make that drive and gets people from out of state to spend some time in Carefree. Our efforts knocking on the AOT door, saying please put us in your book and on your calendar, got them to come up and experience what we experience.
Candidate Cheryl Kroyer added that we are beginning to get the events that draw people up here, but there has to be more here than just events, otherwise they will come for the festivals but won't see a reason to return. We have to start building businesses and infrastructure so people will want to come back because there is so much to do up here.
https://vimeo.com/178334435
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list. Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.
Issue #505, August 14, 2016
After the intermission, M.C. Preston Westmoreland read a question from the audience, starting at the other end of the dias with candidate Mike Krahe. The question was, "Could you provide examples of anchor companies?"
Mike Krahe replied that Ed Lewis' condos are a sort of anchor, a prime example of something that will make a significant change. What do people want? Do we want a 7-11 or a Dairy Queen? He thought not. Boutique chain stores may have an interest in putting in a small store here as the population increases. Micro breweries are big now. One in the area that brews whiskey is always packed. There has been talk of a boutique hotel. We have to figure out what we want to attract and how to go after those businesses to sell the story of our lovely town. The Council has done great things to make us sparkle, and businesses will be increasingly interested as we move incrementally down the runway.
Vice Mayor John Crane didn't think national chains were the ticket. Today's anchors are restaurants. If Sam Fox opened a great restaurant in town other good restaurants would be attracted, creating critical mass. Then Carefree would be "off to the races". A brewery is also a great suggestion. That and a boutique hotel are plausible and would attract people and restaurants. But the key is to mind the character of the town and to draw a desirable type of clientele.
Councilman Mike Farrar said they were excellent statements by John Crane. Mr. Farrar was in commercial Real Estate for a number of years, specializing in retail and office land. He quoted the old saying, "Rooftops drive retail". Carefree contains 8.8 square miles with about 1600 families, many of whom are seasonal. Permanent rooftops are needed. The future homes to the south on Pima that Jim Van Allen spoke of will help the tiny sub-market of N. Scottsdale, Carefree, and Cave Creek. More homes will mean that more businesses will want to invest in Carefree, which has no town property tax.
Revenues that fund town services are derived from retail sales tax, so the Town pays attention to retailers that want to come here, which is why we spend and why we invest in marketing to always stay in front of retailers and developers.
The general consumer population is gaining confidence in the economy. The tidal wave that hit us hit everybody when the economy fell off the cliff. Many retailers feel less risk averse going south of us, but once lease rates there climb it will be more advantageous for them to move to this market. With a rising demographic, we will see a change.
Mayor Les Peterson agreed with the previously made statements. Retail is the sales of every day goods we consume. Many eat out in restaurants several times a week. We buy groceries and hardware goods, etc. Ace, Basha's, CVS, and Lowes service a wide area and contribute more than half of Carefree's sales tax revenue. Accommodations are also a major contributor. A big successful boutique hotel and/or a revitalized Carefree Resort, perhaps with a theme such as health and wellness that would appeal to our citizens and would serve as a destination for others, could contribute over $1 million dollars a year each to the coffers. Hotel rooms and hotel restaurants produce sales tax. Restaurants also tend to flow from around these.
Candidate Jim Van Allen agreed with the Mayor. He read in the paper that there are 240 empty big box stores in Maricopa County; 120 of them are in places similar to Carefree. There is no activity in the space formerly occupied by Albertson's, and El Pedregal is largely inactive. Many people are already concentrating on downtown Carefree. Mr. Van Allen plans to concentrate his time and efforts on the General Managers of the Carefree Resort and Lowes.
Councilman Gene Orrico noted that there is roughly 300,000 square feet of vacant retail space in downtown Carefree. We are not going to get a big anchor to locate there. We need to fill those spaces with small entrepreneurs who will serve a niche market for homes being built now and in the next 10 years, and they must be able to attract people year round, which is difficult to do. An 89.9 acre development on Cave Creek Road is going through the approval process in Scottsdale. This development would include an 18 hole par 3 golf course, a clubhouse, and 190 homes starting at $1.3 to $1.5 million. The developer, who bought the land from Desert Mountain for $28 million, is ready to get started as soon as Scottsdale approves the project. Those people will have to shop somewhere.
A big problem is that the existing commercial property owners are unwilling to work with those interested in coming here, and will not reduce their rents, the same problem seen in El Pedregal. Those looking to open a new small business can't afford to pay exorbitant rents. Carefree moved the Council Chambers out of the 100 Easy Street building because we were not willing to pay $48,000 a year for a tomb with no windows. They tried to negotiate a deal, but it just wouldn't happen. Meetings were moved to the Holland Center at a cost of $4,000 a year until the Town owned space being rented to Ed Lewis becomes available. Like small merchants, the Town is looking to save money, which is why Carefree has over $6.5 million in unrestricted funds, unlike some of our neighboring communities that are millions of dollars in the hole.
The next question from the audience was, "Is a boutique hotel for Carefree still in the cards even though there's one going up in Cave Creek?"
Mayor Peterson replied that it is on the drawing board and is still in discussion. Part of what they are telling us is that they have 5 other developments going, but we're high on the list as soon as they have enough hours in the day. He is aware of one in Cave Creek that is committed.
Councilman Orrico said the only problem is in relation to the current commercial height restriction of 30'. Unless a hotel has a big footprint, he assumes they would require more than 30' or they would not be able to build enough rooms to make it viable. A developer has optioned 5 pieces of property in Cave Creek and is planning to build a good sized hotel right on Cave Creek Road.
The 3rd question was, "I have friends who were born and raised in Arizona, live off of Pinnacle Peak Road, but they have never come to Carefree because they are not motivated. How do you get people to visit the town?"
Candidate Van Allen cited the splash pad and Ray Villafane's sand sculpture as examples of what the Town is doing to bring people here. He and his wife took their 2 grandbabies to the splash pad last week. 2 couples with children were there who had come from Scottsdale and had never been to Carefree before. They saw it in a magazine. Unfortunately, Mr. Van Allen still does not see the economic development benefit in the splash pad because those coming tend to bring their own treats.
Mayor Peterson said that one of the primary purposes of the marketing programs the Town is running, like the Pumpkin Festival and the Christmas Festival, is that they bring people from all over the Valley. He heard about people who came from Desert Ridge and booked a hotel room, thinking it was too far to go home. Even some of our residents who live a mile away say they had no idea this was here. The events are getting attendees from all over. This year, the Pumpkin Festival will be bigger and better because there was a whole year to plan it instead of 3 months. Marketing Director Gina Kaegi is going all out, as she did last year.
Candidate Van Allen noted that there was a big feature about the sand sculpture and photos from the 2015 Pumpkin Festival on Channel 5 that morning.
Councilman Farrar stated that Carefree has a wonderful Christmas Festival, as well as Ray Villafane's Pumpkin Festival and sand carvings. The Arizona Office of Tourism (AOT) looked at Carefree and now this prominent State agency is promoting our community, which really helps us get people to make that drive and gets people from out of state to spend some time in Carefree. Our efforts knocking on the AOT door, saying please put us in your book and on your calendar, got them to come up and experience what we experience.
Candidate Cheryl Kroyer added that we are beginning to get the events that draw people up here, but there has to be more here than just events, otherwise they will come for the festivals but won't see a reason to return. We have to start building businesses and infrastructure so people will want to come back because there is so much to do up here.
https://vimeo.com/178334435
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list. Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.