Carefree Truth
Issue #688, September 10, 2018
During the Consent Agenda, Councilman Gene Orrico asked that item #6 be pulled for discussion and Councilman Mike Farrar asked that items #2, 4, and 6 be pulled. Items #1, 3, and 5 were approved. On Item #2, Mr. Farrar questioned why, for the League of Cities and Towns conference expenses, reimbursements were paid out to Town Clerk Kandace French, Councilman Stephen Hatcher and Mayor Les Peterson when the rooms were prepaid and most meals were provided. Mrs. French-Contreras reminded him, "As I sent out an email to each of you after the conference, they did not bill correctly. Even though the card was put on file, they did not bill correctly. Some of the rooms did bill to the Town card. Other room expenses they billed to the personal cards. And so those were the reimbursements for the personal cards that were used."
Mr. Farrar, looking at Item #4, asked if street closures for the Thunderbird Artists show were for Easy Street, Ho Hum Road, Hum Road, and a partial closure of Ho Road. Mayor Les Peterson explained that the street closures would be discussed during agenda Item #9. This was just for the liquor license. He asked if that was also the question on Item #6. Both Mr. Farrar and Mr. Orrico confirmed that it was. Items # 2, 4, and 6 were then approved.
https://vimeo.com/288651003
The Mayor announced that the 50th anniversary of the Sundial will occur in 2019. The Town will be doing as yet to be determined celebratory events in conjunction with that.
He then turned the floor over to Councilman Mike Krahe to update everyone on the progress of the new Desert Foothills Leadership Program, suggested a few months ago by Phil Corso, and picked up by Dr. Krahe. Dr. Krahe reported that this nascent organization has now formed a Board of Directors that includes Vice Mayor John Crane, Jennifer McGirr and Patty Villaneuve from the Chamber, attorney Judy Zimet, Black Mountain campus PVCC site manager Daren Dorm, and Dr. Krahe. They are working on By laws, an EIN #, a website, email, bank accounts, etc, with the desire to become a 501(c)3 non- profit. They have had several meetings and are beginning to build more detailed plans. They hope to launch shortly.
A Directors' meeting will be held in the Council Chamber on September 27th. The goal is to develop leadership in all facets of the North Valley community. Dr. Krahe finds it refreshing that he is being contacted via phone and email by people who want to get involved, who think it's important to do. They are building an Advisory Committee. There is a tremendous amount of intellect, and opportunities abound to develop leaders up here who can give back to the community. More information will be provided as they "lift off".
Vice Mayor Crane said there is a potential for a Veteran's Memorial monument. It ran in COINS and got a lot of positive feedback from veterans and others who cared about the project. Once people return, a call will be put out to pull people and organizations together, solicit ideas, and get a sense of direction. "You'll be hearing from us." Mr. Farrar repeated the information he had given for the monument he and his committee had designed. See Carefree Truth issue #684.
Mr. Hatcher asked if there were a mechanism, such as COINS, to solicit donations from the community. Vice Mayor Crane said there would be ample opportunity to do so. After it initially ran in COINS, people responded asking how they could contribute. One gentleman offered to make up the shortfall delta. It was very well received financially. Mr. Hatcher asked about the cost. The Vice Mayor said that is unknown as the design has yet to be determined.
Vice Mayor Crane announced that Carefree Physical Therapy, on the corner of Tom Darlington Drive and Cave Creek Road, would be holding a blood drive on Saturday, September 8th from 8 AM - noon. More information was available on their website at www.bloodhero.com. Blood can be donated up to 3 times a year. The Vice Mayor said it's a good thing to do.
(Lyn's note: Although the drive has already taken place, I assume that Carefree Physical Therapy will repeat this worthy endeavor, so do check their website if you are interested in giving blood. Blood drives are also held sporadically at the Carefree Fire Station.)
https://vimeo.com/288837005
Mayor Peterson introduced Beth Renfro, the new Director of Marketing. He said she is a very qualified and knowledgeable individual, and is jumping into the fray.
The Mayor reminded people that Call to the Public has a 3 minute time limit and asked that people prioritize their comments. He also announced that starting with this meeting, public comments on all the agenda items would be taken during Call to the Public, rather than waiting until after each agenda item to receive public comments.
Tom Rawles said this is the beginning of a new era so he thought it was good to put some things in a philosophical perspective and to remind the Council of what he called "the purpose of government". Thomas Jefferson said government exists to protect our rights. George Will said government exists to secure our freedoms, not our happiness. Abraham Lincoln said it is to do for men what they cannot do for themselves. "And as Tom Rawles frequently says, 'Government does not exist to maximize its revenue or to take from the many to give to the few' ". Government does not exist to be the marketing arm of a particular group within a community. He feels that Carefree's government is taking his money, by force, to promote businesses in the downtown area that, under the free market, have the ability, the right and the opportunity to market themselves. The Town's job is not to maximize its revenue by promoting businesses.
He next noted that the budget surplus is touted as a point of pride. When trying to get bond ratings, most entities require a surplus of 20-40% of the annual budget. Mr. Rawles called Carefree's reserve fund "outrageous and immoral", and said Carefree is not a business. Business sell goods and services voluntarily to their customers. Government takes money by force. Carefree takes his money and spends it on something that benefits only a few. To take his money and sit on it for years is outrageous and immoral, because it is taken by the use of force. He proposed cutting or eliminating sales tax until the surplus is vastly reduced. He said that would help the local businesses.
Mayor Peterson clarified that around $1.2 million on a $6 million budget was contributed to the reserves in the last fiscal year, which was approximately 20% of that budget. In this fiscal year, approximately $2 million will be spent on road maintenance, and looking out 10 years, the roads will cost $25 million. Mr. Rawles returned to the podium to say that the Council is not supposed to respond to anything said at Call to the Public. He said that if the Town wants to spend the $8.5 million, that's fine. But don't tout it as a great accomplishment, because they sat on his money. "That is immoral."
https://vimeo.com/288659004
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.