Carefree Truth
                Issue #691, September 29, 2018


After completing her presentation, Denise Colter asked if there were any questions.  Councilman Gene Orrico said that he's struggled for years with Thunderbird Artists' vendors parking all around the Post Office building.  If there are 12 vehicles there, 10 of them belong to vendors, and they are parked there for 8 or 9 hours.  There is also no security telling them to move, like other festivals have.  Mrs. Colter said the security they hire works within the show.  Mr. Orrico said Mrs. Colter told his wife Vicki that she can have vendors vehicles towed. He did not feel it should be the merchants' responsibility to have the vehicles towed.  Mrs. Colter replied that if the merchants inform the promoters immediately, they will have the vendors move the vehicles.  They have all the vendor license plate numbers on record, so they can tell who owns the vehicles in question.  Thunderbird pays $1500 per show for artist parking on what was the Easy Street Project dirt lot.  It is included in Thunderbird's literature, as well as the notice that cars parked outside of the assigned area can be towed.


Councilman Stephen Hatcher repeated what Mrs. Colter had said to make sure he was clear on it.  Councilman Mike Krahe noted that if the merchants provide the tag numbers, Thunderbird will get the vendors to move their vehicles.  Mrs. Colter confirmed that.  Vice Mayor John Crane asked if there were security officers at the Post Office.  Mrs. Colter said there is an officer in front of the Post Office making sure that those parking there are only using the Post Office.  2 more officers are stationed by the 2 bank parking lots on Wampum Way.


Councilman Mike Farrar said he loved the shows and has volunteered at them, but said the parking is a problem.  He has spoken to Patty at the Chamber of Commerce about it.  He asked if towing is in the vendor release forms.  Mrs. Colter said it is not, but that it is a good idea.  Mr. Farrar said without that, it has no teeth.  Mrs. Colter disagreed, saying it was included in Thunderbird's rules and is made clear to the artists.  A staff member checks the artists in at their assigned parking spaces.  Some say they don't use them because someone dropped them off.  Occasionally, big vans parked elsewhere are incorrectly assumed to be an artist's vehicle. 



Mrs. Colter had told the merchants they could call to have the vehicles towed if they were parked in front of their businesses.  Mr. Orrico said Ted Denton, who owns the art gallery next to Mrs. Orrico's consignment shop, has often complained, feeling that Mr. Orrico, as a Council member, should do something about it.  The onus should not be on the merchants.  Mrs. Colter said Thunderbird used to have cars towed, but the company no longer tows them to a location nearby, but to one somewhere in Phoenix, so they view towing as a last resort.


Mayor Les Peterson asked if Thunderbird felt confident that they can handle this problem of vendor parking on private property around the Post Office building, and Mrs. Colter replied yes.  Vice Mayor John Crane added that Thunderbird needs to step up their patrolling.  Vendors parking in the public parking spaces impacts not only the local merchants but also Thunderbird's customers who are looking for parking.  He said the message from the Council is that you have good tools but you need to press that.


Councilman Mike Farrar noted that there was a proposal for doing a Thunderbird sculpture show in a different location.  Mrs. Colter said that would never work.  She talked to several artists and they had no interest.  Mr. Farrar said he was not talking about the sculpture show now.  He was talking about not blocking Easy Street and relocating the regular arts shows, as had been discussed for the sculpture show, using all of the Gardens and the other side of Easy Street that does not have commercial stores.  While they had some testimonials from merchants on Easy Street, many others were not happy that their parking was eliminated by the art shows.  Thunderbird founder Judi Combs said they had been talking about a proposed sculpture show that was much smaller in size.  They were invited elsewhere to do the sculpture show, but were asked to consider Carefree.  After hearing the suggestion to relocate that show off of the traditional commercial location along Easy Street, they decided to do the sculpture show elsewhere, and will just stay with the 3 traditional art shows here.  



Mr. Farrar said the limited street closures for the Pumpkin Festival are ideal, and asked if they had considered those.  Mrs. Colter replied, "Do they have 165 vendors?"  Mr. Farrar repeated his conviction that they should use all of the Gardens and the other side of Easy Street, keeping it away from the shops and restaurants.  He said that was the conversation they had going forward with other Thunderbird shows.  Mrs. Colter said that would not work.  Mr. Farrar claimed that Councilman Mike Krahe had made the suggestion to include that road closure concept for all of the Thunderbird shows.  Mayor Peterson replied they had said they would look at it to see if it would be appropriate for the larger shows and it was determined to be inappropriate.
Dr. Krahe corrected Mr. Farrar's statement, saying what he had said was that the possibility should be looked at and discussed.  He did not say, "We need to do that."  "That's not what was discussed."  Dr. Krahe said his understanding was that Thunderbird wanted to leave it the way it's been.  Mrs. Combs said that was correct.  Mrs. Colter said they did look into it but the artists don't feel comfortable in the Gardens and the show doesn't fit.  They don't want to potentially damage the beautiful Gardens.



Mayor Peterson said all the points were out on the table and he called for a motion.  Dr. Krahe made the motion to approve the street closures and asked that Thunderbird "double down" on the parking issues.  The motion was approved 5-2, with Mr. Farrar and Mr. Orrico opposed.



Mr. Farrar began to explain his vote.  Mayor Peterson said the vote was over and it was time to move on to the next agenda item.  Mr. Farrar continued to talk.  Dr. Krahe reiterated that the vote was taken and it was time to move on to the next item.  When Mr. Farrar continued, Dr. Krahe asked Town attorney Mike Wright to explain the Rules of Order.  Mr. Wright said, "There is no explanation for votes.  That's it".  Mr. Farrar said they have historically been able to explain their votes.  Mayor Peterson noted, "Yes, and it's gone on and on forever.  Item #10".


https://vimeo.com/288828132



Lyn Hitchon


Prepared by Carefree Truth
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