Please feel free to send us any pictures you'd like included. Here is the link to this week's Pictures of the Week.
http://carefreeazbusinesses.com/pictures-of-the-week-7918.html
http://carefreeazbusinesses.com/pictures-of-the-week-7918.html
Photo by Loraine Simons
Here are your bonus rounds from Herbert.
http://aneyeonyouproduction.com/63018-am.html
Here are your bonus rounds from Herbert.
http://aneyeonyouproduction.com/63018-am.html
Photos by Herbert Hitchon
Town of Carefree Marketing newsletter
http://www.carefree.org/336/IN-THE-NEWS
CITYSunTimes link:
http://news.citysuntimes.com/
Here's a fun video Herbert did of the Drone Light Show at Civana, co-sponsored by the Town of Carefree, on the 4th of July.
https://vimeo.com/278603867
He also captured the clip on national CBS News where Mayor Les Peterson spoke twice about the drone show. This show, and Carefree, were talked about in TV, print and social media all around the country! Cool!
Town of Carefree Marketing newsletter
http://www.carefree.org/336/IN-THE-NEWS
CITYSunTimes link:
http://news.citysuntimes.com/
Here's a fun video Herbert did of the Drone Light Show at Civana, co-sponsored by the Town of Carefree, on the 4th of July.
https://vimeo.com/278603867
He also captured the clip on national CBS News where Mayor Les Peterson spoke twice about the drone show. This show, and Carefree, were talked about in TV, print and social media all around the country! Cool!
Carefree is increasingly on the radar screen for national publications and stations. The NYTimes called on Wednesday to talk about the drones, but we didn’t make connections until Thursday, at which time it was too late to talk about the drones but they asked me about the impending heat wave. So we talked about heat for a while, and they briefly quoted me in the last paragraph of their article, which appeared yesterday, July 6th.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/06/health/ways-to-stay-cool-summer-heat-nyt.html
Les Peterson
A community like Carefree can’t justify the cost of maintaining its own police force, so Carefree contracts with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office to provide these required services. To be effective, a close and harmonious working relationship between the two entities is required to properly balance the frequently contradictory goals of public safety and affordability.
Mayor Peterson and Sheriff Penzone have been working closely together to optimize the types and scope of the services being provided for the benefit of Carefree residents, yet remaining within the limits of affordability. Mayor Peterson wants to personally thank Sheriff Penzone for his untiring efforts on behalf of Carefree residents, and to wish him and the entire MCSO organization continued success. Sheriff Penzone summarized his thoughts in the accompanying letter.
Sheriff Penzone and Mayor Les Peterson
Submitted by Mary Peterson
Submitted by Mary Peterson
Voting info from the Town of Carefree
Early Voting Opportunities:
Maricopa County Elections Office will hold early election voting opportunities at our Town Council Center located at 33 Easy Street on the following dates:
FOR PRIMARY
August 20th thru the 24th from 8:00am to 5:00pm
then
August 28th from 6:00am to 7:00pm
FOR GENERAL
October 29th thru November 2nd from 8:00am to 5:00pm
then
November 6th from 6:00am to 7:00pm
Citizens from any precinct can cast a ballot at this location.
Mail in ballots can be dropped off at this location as well.
In addition to the six council seats and seat for mayor for the Town of Carefree, there will be several federal, state and municipal elections as well.
Detailed information can be found at https://ballotpedia.org/Arizona_elections,_2018
Map of the Carefree Precinct boundaries at www.carefree.org/DocumentCenter/View/2589/Carefree-Precinct-Voting--Boundaries-12-27-2017
Are you going to be out of town for the Carefree August 28th Primary Election?
Did you know that the post office is federally prohibited from forwarding your ballot to your temporary address even if you have a forwarding request on file?
There are still two ways to vote by mail-in ballot.
Mail a written request to Maricopa County Elections. The written request must include the following:
1. Full Name
2. Date of Birth
3. Residence Address
4. Temporary Address
5. Signature
Include a note granting the Maricopa County Elections Office permission to mail your ballot to a temporary address.
To transmit the written request it can be scanned to evreq@risc.maricopa.gov, faxed to 480-360-3628 or mailed to:
Maricopa County Elections
Attn: Early Voting
510 S 3rd Ave.
Phoenix, AZ 85003
In the alternative – Have a trusted friend or relative collect your mail at the post office. Box it up and mail it to your temporary address. You can mail your completed ballot from anywhere in the U.S.A. Just make sure it is in the mail in time to be RECEIVED by the Election Office by August 28, 2018.
For further information, call 602-506-1511
The call to public at the last council meeting was once again a pathetic attempt to smear the Mayor, some council members and the town attorney.
What is Carefree putting in the water that a person would complain that in the council meeting people took more than 3 minutes after he agreed to waive the 3 minute rule?
Then councilman Orrico states Civana “is not in concert with us”. This he quoted from councilman Farrar’s statement. Shows a rough draft of a poster not even the final product, trying to tear down the goodwill of a new Carefree business.
The drone show was a fabulous idea and garnered thousands and thousands worth of free television advertising. Those stations that were not there played videos of their watchers who sent in their private videos. ALL FREE. Carefree was on every channel. Carefree was mentioned so many times that groups on Facebook are putting together drone parties to watch next year.
Why would two Carefree councilmen try to tear apart a new Carefree business that has already done more for the town of Carefree than they have in all of the years they have been on the council?
Makes you wonder which businesses they will go after next.
Don’t be bullied, vote what’s best for Carefree.
Susan Martin
Lyn:
As you know from previous email messages, I will be voting for Les Peterson for Mayor. I first met Les when he was involved with the Boulders HOA on the Black Mountain Sewer problem. I was involved on behalf of the Canyon Creek Estates HOA. Since we were a small group (23 home sites), I was working through the Arizona Corporation Commission’s RUCO division. Les and testified before the commission on the same date. My concern was about Black Mountain’s rate increase request, Les was more worried about the sewage issue.
Les is a diligent, hard-working, think-it-through, type of person getting facts and using them for the benefit of Carefree residents.
There are far too many signs, all over town, for Mayor Michael Edward Farrar. Yesterday, there was a Magic Bird Festivals panel truck outside the post office, plastered with Mikey signs.
He has obviously been smooth-talking many of the merchants about what he says is wrong, and that he will do more, but I have yet to see or hear any specific plans. Typical Mikey, talk and more talk. I am sure you have noticed at recent Council Meetings how he chirps in to make a comment on whatever favorable momentum may be being discussed.
As with politics these days, truth isn't important. Mikey has long been a critic of Craft Shows and Festivals, with comments that they do not benefit the merchants. In another breath he has commented that the merchants should be responsible for their own marketing. Using another of his hydra-heads he says the Town is spending too much money in marketing. It goes back to the days when I was Council Member liaison for marketing at the request of David Schwan. We had monthly meeting with a PR firm, inviting Mikey and other Council Members to attend. He never did. I gave monthly updates to Council along with minutes of each meeting, but he had no ideas, I doubt that he ever read any of the minutes. His mantra...just whatever anyone does is not enough, doesn't work, etc.
Late August is a tough time for an election, even if it just a primary, it will still have an outcome. Many better-informed people will be out of town, often resulting in a very poor voter turnout. Since it is a mail-in ballot, I urge all voters to get their ballots, wherever they may be and send them in.
"Peterson for Mayor, Doing, not just Talking."
Arthur Gimson
Lyn
I have always admired and supported your efforts to keep the town informed. As a carefree business owner I have a vested interest in what decisions are made by our local representatives.
Sadly I must say how disappointed I am in your recent posts attacking a candidate for mayor. This is beneath you and your husband and is not a public service. These attacks are personal and in my opinion not consistent with the purpose of your posts. I implore you to sit on the sidelines for this and any other election and report without personal attacks. This town has so many assets and so much potential. I certainly hope we can disagree without attacking people.
Just my 2 cents.
Larry Foppe
Owner
Sticks Cigar Lounge
Bodega 13
(Lyn's note: Carefree Truth began in 2009 as a way to combat, using public record facts, the vicious lies that were being told by the group out to recall Mayor David Schwan. John Traynor, with whom Mike Farrar is now working in lock step, was the candidate running against David. They are still using that playbook of lying to demonize the opponent. They did this then and are doing it now because they have nothing else to offer. The only avenue they have to advance is to cut down others with their lies and insinuations. I will continue to challenge those lies with public record facts.
My newsletter on Monday contained facts from a Public Records request. Mike Farrar has been claiming he has had a longstanding concern about Carefree customers on Cave Creek Water, and that he requested an engineering study last September. To do so, he would have needed to request that it be an agenda item. As you could see, this did not occur. He also claims to be the only one who showed concern and the only reason Les Peterson jumped on it now was that Mike made it a campaign issue. This is blatantly false. There has been a Water Committee in place to research and discuss this issue for the past year or more. That Committee included Les Peterson and John Crane. Mike Farrar expressed no interest in participating. The process had progressed to the point where the Town was ready to bring in an engineering firm to do the required study.
I know a lot of the "experts" Mike talked to, and they universally said that all he knew about water before he started scrambling to play catch up very late in the game was that if he turned on the tap, that's what came out. Even as they tried to explain it to him, it was clear to them that although he was making notes frantically, he wasn't really understanding it at all. What he wrote in a recent post was copied word for word from article in azcentral.com or was presented at the informational water meeting in late June.
The text of my newsletters follows the uncut videos, which are included if people want to check that. Monday's newsletter content was also public record, with those documents included, as will be anything else I publish about Mike Farrar in a newsletter. Unlike John Traynor and Mike Farrar, none of it is my editorial comments. It is all verifiable. Letters from Readers is editorial in nature, as is true of Letter sections in all publications. But my newsletters are reporting on Council meetings and/or reporting public record facts.
It is not OK for people to tell vicious lies in an attempt to ruin the reputation and credibility of others, then claim they are "persecuted" when those people who have been slandered and/or liabled speak up to defend themselves. I will continue to call them their onerous behavior.
Herbert and I would be delighted if everyone got along and worked together, or disagreed politely and based on good faith. But when the malicious liars poke their heads up, I make no apologies for playing Whack a Mole. Carefree voters need and deserve to hear something more than their lies. If that's all they hear, that's what they will believe, which is what was happening early on during the recall attempt before our group of volunteers stepped up to the plate to combat the lies. I've been there. This is deja vu.)
Lyn
Then u agree that my opinion as a business owner in Carefree should be heard. Thanks for publishing it.
Larry
(Lyn's note: Absolutely. I was just explaining my position too, and giving you some history. I'm saddened by the way Mike Farrar is running his campaign. Herbert and I have worked with him, taking pics of and publicizing the trolley, several Italian Club functions and the Italian Festival, per his request. The way he is behaving now is something we find shocking and dismaying. We are right back to the behaviors from the days of the failed recall attempt.)
Lyn, based on one of your Readers comments in this edition, It appears that the town council might be contemplating moving to a self -funding approach for providing health insurance to the Town’s employees. I strongly disagree with Mr. D'Aliesio’s opinion that 200 individuals is of sufficient size for a risk pool. As someone who has been in the health insurance business for 20 years, (his assertion) he should know that one catastrophic health care event could bankrupt the pool even if there is reinsurance involved. As a former health insurance executive (BCBS), hospital administrator and healthcare consultant, I would advise the Town Council to give careful analysis as to the risk’s associated with self -funding employee healthcare. It would be money well spent if the town council requested an actuarial analysis on the feasibility of such a plan including tracking the past 5 years of medical claims history of projected employee participants in a self-funded risk pool.
John Nimsky
(Lyn's note: I referred this to Gary Neiss for an answer to John's concerns.)
All good questions/concerns from John as I had similar concerns trying to find the best options in the quickly evolving world of health insurance. Please let me share my thoughts.
The health insurance the Town joined is called Rural Arizona Group Health Trust (RAGHT). RAGHT consists of 18 public entities (including Carefree) or approximately 1,000 employees. Rates with most insurance pools have been very stable over the years which is why many of these entities originally formed this pool. Many of these independent public entities were seeing independent annual increases of 15% to 25% to their employee health insurance programs. Under the pool, annual rates increases have been less than 3% thus saving taxpayers and employees significant amount of money.
Health insurance pools are provided under Arizona Revised Statutes §11-952 and are commonly done for Medical, Dental, Vision and Short Term Disability. The purpose of these self-funded insurance programs such as RAGHT is to first and foremost reduce operating expenses and improve cash flows to it membership/entities, spread the risk amongst the membership, reduce fluctuations from insurance cycles by saving money in good years to alleviate financial impacts in bad years, increase employer benefit flexibility and control by contracting with select vendors not bundle vendors as well as having better access/understanding of claim data and appeals. Additionally, there is not a premium tax and the pool is not bound by State benefits mandates which increase costs.
Furthermore, pursuant to statutory requirements the annual audited financial statement and Report of Evaluation are filed at the end of each Fiscal Year (June 30th) with the Department of Insurance. All of the publicly filed annual statements have shown the stability of RAGHT, sound financial management practices and effectiveness of this Trust.
Overall, there are approximately 1,000 within RAUGHT. Carefree had 14 employees enrolled. When risk is spread over a smaller entity verses a larger entity it decreases with the increasing size of the entity because that risk is shared and thus creates a economy of scale.
In summary, through my research we have found that RAUGHT has been successfully delivering core health benefits at the lowest possible costs to it membership since its formation in 2002. In fact, in just the first year, it is estimated that the Town of Carefree will save between $30,000 and $40,000 over our previous approach of receiving independent bids from the private market.
As a member of the insurance pool we become a trustee and have a seat at the table in managing the annual budget, overseeing audits as well as hiring supporting professional services (contracted) such as actuary, plan administrators and legal counsel. The professional services are all part of the annual budget and included in rates being charged.
I hope that provides clarity. Please let me know if you have additional questions or concerns. Always glad to help and address questions.
Best regards,
Gary Neiss