(Lyn's note: Please feel free to send us any pictures you'd like included. If your photos are for sale, let us know and we will put them under that category. We have a special section for that purpose. If anyone would like to buy a print of any of Herbert's photos, all profits will be donated to one of the local non-profit organizations. Here are the links to this week's Pictures of the Week. Enjoy!)
http://carefreeazbusinesses.com/pictures-of-the-week-8116.html
http://carefreeazbusinesses.com/pictures-of-the-week-8116.html
Chuckwalla
Photo by Herbert Hitchon
This is the Week of the Lizards. Herbert got his while taking the trash can to the street, camera in hand, of course!
The 2016 Carefree Desert Garden calendars are now available at Carefree Town Hall, 8 Sundial Circle, Carefree, and they are gorgeous! If you like to take pictures, visit the Gardens. Our entry period for the Carefree Desert Gardens Photo Contest is January. Your picture could be in the 2017 calendar.
Town of Carefree Tourism Newsletter link:
http://us10.campaign-archive1.com/?u=4b736631f153ae846e0670316&id=ec1774bfe3
In The News-Town of Carefree link
http://www.carefree.org/DocumentCenter/View/1250
Desert Foothills Chronicle link:
http://www.desertfoothillschronicle.org/
CITYSunTimes link:
http://news.citysuntimes.com/
Lyn,
We are beginning the process of looking at our water utility rates. The document provided outlines the process agreed to by the Town Manager. I think we are on the right track to finally get our utility house in order. Lots of work to do but getting on the right track. Please send out the document in the Carefree Truth.
Our objective is to get factual information out to the public regarding a sensitive issue (water rates) in a fact based manner. People will have the chance to know what is happening, as it is happening in an open and transparent process. We want to minimize rumor and speculation and replace that with facts as they are being developed.
By the way the first Town Managers Rate Study Group Meeting is this Wednesday at 1:00 pm at the Cave Creek Town Hall.
Thank you,
Tony Geiger
CAVE CREEK TOWN MANAGER’S RATE STUDY GROUP
8/1/16
During the May 16th 2016 Town Council meeting, the Water Advisory Committee (WAC) made a presentation outlining their future direction and priorities. One area of study outlined that was authorized by the Town Council was to develop a process to conduct a study of our utility rates. It is recognized that water and sewer rates are a very sensitive topic. This document is intended to spell out why this study is important, the process that will be employed, the benefits of this process and what we hope to achieve.
WHY A RATE STUDY?
Over the past three years the WAC, working with Town Staff, has come up with several initiatives that will make our utility more reliable, save money over the long term and put the town in a better position to manage this critical resource during a time a serious drought. While a few of the initiatives have been pursued and completed, many of the initiatives with the greatest impact have not been pursued due to budget cuts effecting staff and resources. These include but are not limited to:
1) A comprehensive Preventive Maintenance (PM) program. If done correctly, this program can save us tens of thousands of dollars a year by not needing to perform emergency repairs and paying for new equipment versus the lower cost routine maintenance.
2) Benchmarking our utilities operation and maintenance (O&M) and overhead costs versus like utilities to see if we are spending too much or too little. Are we deferring maintenance due to inadequate budget dollars potentially leading to major problems down the road?
3) Looking at technology and equipment that could save the utility tens of thousands of dollars a year or more in power costs.
4) Pursuing projects that can help the Town be prepared for the impact of the drought on our water supply.
The exercise of going thru a rate study will help us better understand where we are financially and operationally as a utility and help us develop a range of rate and policy options the Council can use to direct the utility into the future.
THE RATE STUDY PROCESS
The Town Manager’s Group will be comprised of three Town Staff members. They will be the Town Manager, Finance Manager and Utilities Manager. There will be four citizens on the committee. They are, Paul Eelkema, a retired education professional and member of the Cave Creek Board of Adjustment, Tony Geiger, WAC Chairman with over 30 years of experience working on construction projects with water and waste water utilities, Bob Morris, a retired Fortune 50 executive with vast experience in engineering and financial analysis and Dr. Kerry Smith, a professor of Economics and a Sustainability Scientist with expertise in Water Resource Management and Utility Regulation
The first order of business for the Group will be to develop the Request for Proposals (RFP) that will be advertised to hire a Rate Study Consultant. It is critical that significant work be done on the front end of the process. To ensure the best possible outcome, the Group will develop a rigorously detailed scope of work with specific deliverables required from the chosen Consultant. The WAC will submit a list of priorities to the Rate Study Group to add an extra layer of “eyes” on the process. This way we maximize our chances of getting a fair bid that meets our needs and eliminates the need for any potentially expensive extras after the contract is signed.
The Rate Study Group will meet at least two times prior to the issuance of the RFP. Meetings will be conducted during the day and will be open to the public. Once the RFP is complete, it will be reviewed by the WAC prior to issuance. The public will have opportunities to provide input along the way by attending Rate Study and WAC meetings as well as contacting Group members or Town Staff.
The Rate Study Group will remain in place throughout the entire process and will be present at all review meetings, presentations and interactions with the Rate Study Consultant. Additional Group meetings will be scheduled as required to inform the public of milestones reached and when new information is available.
The final product developed by the Rate Study Consultant will be reviewed by the WAC prior to presentation to the Council.
BENNEFITS OF THIS APPROACH
Transparency – All Rate Study Group and WAC meetings will be open to the public. All stake holders will be able to see and understand where we are financially and operationally with our utilities and what options and corresponding tradeoffs we have available to us.
Better Control over the Rate Study Consultant – This process will make it much more likely we get the specific assistance we need in evaluating our utility and rates versus standard consultant boilerplate. We have a unique utility with unique challenges. The approach outlined will help ensure we avoid some of the less than satisfactory outcomes we have had with prior consultants.
De-Politicizes the Process – Utility rates are a very sensitive topic. We have attempted to create a process that allows us to generate the facts or our utilities’ financial and operational situation. The Group will seek to develop information that the vast majority of stake holders can agree is accurate. This information will be used to compile a range of policy and rate options along with corresponding tradeoffs. The Council can then use this information to chart the future direction of our utilities.
WHAT WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE
The process is designed to enable the Town to end up with a detailed understanding of where we stand with our utilities from an operational and financial stand point. We will have benchmarked our utility to better understand how we stack up against other utilities in key metrics including but not limited to O&M expenses, overhead and deferred maintenance.
Once we have a better understanding of where we are we will then be able to build a range of detailed policy and rate options that the Council can use to address current challenges and plan for the future of our Town’s water supply and waste water operations.
Tony Geiger
Cave Creek Water Advisory Committee
(Lyn's note: There are over 600 Carefree residents serviced by Cave Creek Water.)
A Critical Time for Carefree
Carefree has made great progress in recent years in enhancing its downtown “core” area for the enjoyment of the town’s residents and visitors.
We’ve made numerous capital improvements to the Carefree Desert Gardens. We’ve engaged world-renowned artist Ray Villafane and other sculptors and artists to create the extremely popular Enchanted Pumpkin Garden and to continue working their magic through the upcoming season. We are constructing dramatic “Gateways” into the downtown area off both Tom Darlington and Cave Creek Roads. The addition of bicycle lanes along Tom Darlington, Cave Creek and Pima Roads will soon be completed. All of this has generated a sense of pride and excitement among Carefree’s residents.
But to be fully successful, the revitalization of Carefree must not stop with these initial efforts. We also need to create an environment in which the town’s businesses can thrive and prosper. Creating a flourishing business environment is our next major set of tasks and the upcoming years will be absolutely critical in accomplishing them. While we are doing this, the challenge – and the requirement – will be to preserve and protect the integrity of Carefree as a beautiful, residential-friendly town.
Flowing out of this balance of objectives, the key priorities for Carefree within the next few years include:
■ Continue to attract residents, visitors and businesses to the town who have an appreciation for the visual and culinary arts, health, wellness and a sustainable quality of life.
■ Strengthening the business environment throughout Carefree.
■ Encouraging the selective addition of smaller, high-quality residences close to downtown for residents who want to downsize their large homes, but remain in Carefree.
■ Achieving these priorities within tight budget constraints while maintaining Carefree’s strong reserves.
Realizing these goals will enable us to continue providing Carefree residents with the services from the town they desire within the existing Carefree tax structure.
Town of Carefree
8 Sundial Circle
P.O. Box 740
Carefree, AZ 85377
Office: 480.488.3686
Cell: 602.469.9155
VisitCarefree.com
Photo by Herbert Hitchon
This is the Week of the Lizards. Herbert got his while taking the trash can to the street, camera in hand, of course!
The 2016 Carefree Desert Garden calendars are now available at Carefree Town Hall, 8 Sundial Circle, Carefree, and they are gorgeous! If you like to take pictures, visit the Gardens. Our entry period for the Carefree Desert Gardens Photo Contest is January. Your picture could be in the 2017 calendar.
Town of Carefree Tourism Newsletter link:
http://us10.campaign-archive1.com/?u=4b736631f153ae846e0670316&id=ec1774bfe3
In The News-Town of Carefree link
http://www.carefree.org/DocumentCenter/View/1250
Desert Foothills Chronicle link:
http://www.desertfoothillschronicle.org/
CITYSunTimes link:
http://news.citysuntimes.com/
Lyn,
We are beginning the process of looking at our water utility rates. The document provided outlines the process agreed to by the Town Manager. I think we are on the right track to finally get our utility house in order. Lots of work to do but getting on the right track. Please send out the document in the Carefree Truth.
Our objective is to get factual information out to the public regarding a sensitive issue (water rates) in a fact based manner. People will have the chance to know what is happening, as it is happening in an open and transparent process. We want to minimize rumor and speculation and replace that with facts as they are being developed.
By the way the first Town Managers Rate Study Group Meeting is this Wednesday at 1:00 pm at the Cave Creek Town Hall.
Thank you,
Tony Geiger
CAVE CREEK TOWN MANAGER’S RATE STUDY GROUP
8/1/16
During the May 16th 2016 Town Council meeting, the Water Advisory Committee (WAC) made a presentation outlining their future direction and priorities. One area of study outlined that was authorized by the Town Council was to develop a process to conduct a study of our utility rates. It is recognized that water and sewer rates are a very sensitive topic. This document is intended to spell out why this study is important, the process that will be employed, the benefits of this process and what we hope to achieve.
WHY A RATE STUDY?
Over the past three years the WAC, working with Town Staff, has come up with several initiatives that will make our utility more reliable, save money over the long term and put the town in a better position to manage this critical resource during a time a serious drought. While a few of the initiatives have been pursued and completed, many of the initiatives with the greatest impact have not been pursued due to budget cuts effecting staff and resources. These include but are not limited to:
1) A comprehensive Preventive Maintenance (PM) program. If done correctly, this program can save us tens of thousands of dollars a year by not needing to perform emergency repairs and paying for new equipment versus the lower cost routine maintenance.
2) Benchmarking our utilities operation and maintenance (O&M) and overhead costs versus like utilities to see if we are spending too much or too little. Are we deferring maintenance due to inadequate budget dollars potentially leading to major problems down the road?
3) Looking at technology and equipment that could save the utility tens of thousands of dollars a year or more in power costs.
4) Pursuing projects that can help the Town be prepared for the impact of the drought on our water supply.
The exercise of going thru a rate study will help us better understand where we are financially and operationally as a utility and help us develop a range of rate and policy options the Council can use to direct the utility into the future.
THE RATE STUDY PROCESS
The Town Manager’s Group will be comprised of three Town Staff members. They will be the Town Manager, Finance Manager and Utilities Manager. There will be four citizens on the committee. They are, Paul Eelkema, a retired education professional and member of the Cave Creek Board of Adjustment, Tony Geiger, WAC Chairman with over 30 years of experience working on construction projects with water and waste water utilities, Bob Morris, a retired Fortune 50 executive with vast experience in engineering and financial analysis and Dr. Kerry Smith, a professor of Economics and a Sustainability Scientist with expertise in Water Resource Management and Utility Regulation
The first order of business for the Group will be to develop the Request for Proposals (RFP) that will be advertised to hire a Rate Study Consultant. It is critical that significant work be done on the front end of the process. To ensure the best possible outcome, the Group will develop a rigorously detailed scope of work with specific deliverables required from the chosen Consultant. The WAC will submit a list of priorities to the Rate Study Group to add an extra layer of “eyes” on the process. This way we maximize our chances of getting a fair bid that meets our needs and eliminates the need for any potentially expensive extras after the contract is signed.
The Rate Study Group will meet at least two times prior to the issuance of the RFP. Meetings will be conducted during the day and will be open to the public. Once the RFP is complete, it will be reviewed by the WAC prior to issuance. The public will have opportunities to provide input along the way by attending Rate Study and WAC meetings as well as contacting Group members or Town Staff.
The Rate Study Group will remain in place throughout the entire process and will be present at all review meetings, presentations and interactions with the Rate Study Consultant. Additional Group meetings will be scheduled as required to inform the public of milestones reached and when new information is available.
The final product developed by the Rate Study Consultant will be reviewed by the WAC prior to presentation to the Council.
BENNEFITS OF THIS APPROACH
Transparency – All Rate Study Group and WAC meetings will be open to the public. All stake holders will be able to see and understand where we are financially and operationally with our utilities and what options and corresponding tradeoffs we have available to us.
Better Control over the Rate Study Consultant – This process will make it much more likely we get the specific assistance we need in evaluating our utility and rates versus standard consultant boilerplate. We have a unique utility with unique challenges. The approach outlined will help ensure we avoid some of the less than satisfactory outcomes we have had with prior consultants.
De-Politicizes the Process – Utility rates are a very sensitive topic. We have attempted to create a process that allows us to generate the facts or our utilities’ financial and operational situation. The Group will seek to develop information that the vast majority of stake holders can agree is accurate. This information will be used to compile a range of policy and rate options along with corresponding tradeoffs. The Council can then use this information to chart the future direction of our utilities.
WHAT WE HOPE TO ACHIEVE
The process is designed to enable the Town to end up with a detailed understanding of where we stand with our utilities from an operational and financial stand point. We will have benchmarked our utility to better understand how we stack up against other utilities in key metrics including but not limited to O&M expenses, overhead and deferred maintenance.
Once we have a better understanding of where we are we will then be able to build a range of detailed policy and rate options that the Council can use to address current challenges and plan for the future of our Town’s water supply and waste water operations.
Tony Geiger
Cave Creek Water Advisory Committee
(Lyn's note: There are over 600 Carefree residents serviced by Cave Creek Water.)
A Critical Time for Carefree
Carefree has made great progress in recent years in enhancing its downtown “core” area for the enjoyment of the town’s residents and visitors.
We’ve made numerous capital improvements to the Carefree Desert Gardens. We’ve engaged world-renowned artist Ray Villafane and other sculptors and artists to create the extremely popular Enchanted Pumpkin Garden and to continue working their magic through the upcoming season. We are constructing dramatic “Gateways” into the downtown area off both Tom Darlington and Cave Creek Roads. The addition of bicycle lanes along Tom Darlington, Cave Creek and Pima Roads will soon be completed. All of this has generated a sense of pride and excitement among Carefree’s residents.
But to be fully successful, the revitalization of Carefree must not stop with these initial efforts. We also need to create an environment in which the town’s businesses can thrive and prosper. Creating a flourishing business environment is our next major set of tasks and the upcoming years will be absolutely critical in accomplishing them. While we are doing this, the challenge – and the requirement – will be to preserve and protect the integrity of Carefree as a beautiful, residential-friendly town.
Flowing out of this balance of objectives, the key priorities for Carefree within the next few years include:
■ Continue to attract residents, visitors and businesses to the town who have an appreciation for the visual and culinary arts, health, wellness and a sustainable quality of life.
■ Strengthening the business environment throughout Carefree.
■ Encouraging the selective addition of smaller, high-quality residences close to downtown for residents who want to downsize their large homes, but remain in Carefree.
■ Achieving these priorities within tight budget constraints while maintaining Carefree’s strong reserves.
Realizing these goals will enable us to continue providing Carefree residents with the services from the town they desire within the existing Carefree tax structure.
Town of Carefree
8 Sundial Circle
P.O. Box 740
Carefree, AZ 85377
Office: 480.488.3686
Cell: 602.469.9155
VisitCarefree.com
(Lyn's note: The Carefree Truth sponsored forum, "Meet the Candidates for Carefree Town Council", will take place at the Carefree Resort tonight from 6-8 PM. We hope to see you there.)
Thank you for sending out the candidate summary earlier today and everything you are doing to put together the forum, Lyn.
Best regards,
John Crane
Thank you Lyn…this is great and I am sure people will find it very helpful.
Cheryl Kroyer
Lyn, nice reading Pat Patterson's experience with Mike Tibbets. I'm not surprised. I read it with found memories of Mike and what a great member of the Carefree team he has always been.
KGDS!! Ed Morgan
How's the golf game Mike?
Ed Morgan
We just love Alberto. He still does business the old fashion way. You
don't see that anymore.
Fannie Linaberger
(Lyn's note: Yesterday, I got a call from Alberto (Alberto Ristorante). When he arrived at the restaurant to get it ready to open after his summer vacation, he discovered his refrigeration had failed while he was gone. Everything had to be thrown away. He was due to open today (Wednesday, Aug. 3), but will be delayed for a day and will be opening on Thursday, Aug. 4, instead. He asked me to let everyone know.)
Hi Lyn
For the benefit of Georgette, selection of books for the book club is made by the members of the club themselves. The books for the year commencing this month are set and the list is available on the library website, www.dfla.org
David Court
Executive Director
Desert Foothills Library
Love the paintings! You need to take the title of Ambassador. You my dear are the embodiment of good will ambassador for the Town of Carefree!! Giada will gladly give you her tiara!
Laurie Palace
(Lyn's note: The paintings in the Easy Street Galleria's Featured Artist of the Month of August ad. Giada is Laurie's spoiled wolf.)
We had an incident with a couple flying a drone in our neighborhood last week. The homeowner asked the couple to please move the drone elsewhere because the noise was scaring her dogs. Their response was to turn their backs on her and leave the drone hovering where it was. When she turned to look at the drone, it was hovering at her windows, filming the inside of her house. Needless to say, she was quite upset. She contacted me with news of this disturbing incident.
It is against both Federal and State law for municipalities to pass laws that limit drone fly-overs because many businesses are exploring the use of drones to make deliveries. In the case of drones flying over homeowners' yards, it is not considered an invasion of privacy because it is "outside", and so not private. However, she said it is a different story if they are hovering, or worse yet, looking in windows with a camera. She also said that if it is flying low over your property without your authorization, you are within your rights to take it down by legal means (no discharge firearms in town limits).
I stopped into Carefree Town Hall and talked to Gary Neiss, our Town Administrator, about the situation and asked if the Town had anything on the books to address it. He agree with Ellen that municipalities' hands are tied by both Federal and State laws that allow drones to fly over yards, but said if they are hovering over a yard, or worse yet, peering in windows, he believed that would fall under the Trespassing Ordinance. While the Town Ordinance does not specifically address drones, he felt the situation I described was like someone standing on your property and/or looking in your window.
As I was leaving Town Hall, our new Carefree MCSO Deputy, Rob Halliday, was driving past. I followed him and flagged him down when we hit a place he could safely pull over. I went through the whole scenario again, and he said that definitely fell under MCSO's Voyeurism law. He told me that if this happens to anyone, call 911 and they will have someone out immediately. They take that very seriously. He also said if they can catch them in the act and talk to them, most are discouraged from repeating the behavior. So please do call 911 if this happens in the future.
Lyn Hitchon
Already have gotten lots of responses, so thank you! People are amazing that responded. Can't thank you all enough.
Susan Mathias
(Lyn's note: Susan's lost dog Carol, who was recently adopted, got spooked and pulled the leash out of her hand. We loaned her a trap yesterday, and are hopeful Carol will be captured soon. She has been seen around Susan's house. We'll keep you posted.)
Thank you for sending out the candidate summary earlier today and everything you are doing to put together the forum, Lyn.
Best regards,
John Crane
Thank you Lyn…this is great and I am sure people will find it very helpful.
Cheryl Kroyer
Lyn, nice reading Pat Patterson's experience with Mike Tibbets. I'm not surprised. I read it with found memories of Mike and what a great member of the Carefree team he has always been.
KGDS!! Ed Morgan
How's the golf game Mike?
Ed Morgan
We just love Alberto. He still does business the old fashion way. You
don't see that anymore.
Fannie Linaberger
(Lyn's note: Yesterday, I got a call from Alberto (Alberto Ristorante). When he arrived at the restaurant to get it ready to open after his summer vacation, he discovered his refrigeration had failed while he was gone. Everything had to be thrown away. He was due to open today (Wednesday, Aug. 3), but will be delayed for a day and will be opening on Thursday, Aug. 4, instead. He asked me to let everyone know.)
Hi Lyn
For the benefit of Georgette, selection of books for the book club is made by the members of the club themselves. The books for the year commencing this month are set and the list is available on the library website, www.dfla.org
David Court
Executive Director
Desert Foothills Library
Love the paintings! You need to take the title of Ambassador. You my dear are the embodiment of good will ambassador for the Town of Carefree!! Giada will gladly give you her tiara!
Laurie Palace
(Lyn's note: The paintings in the Easy Street Galleria's Featured Artist of the Month of August ad. Giada is Laurie's spoiled wolf.)
We had an incident with a couple flying a drone in our neighborhood last week. The homeowner asked the couple to please move the drone elsewhere because the noise was scaring her dogs. Their response was to turn their backs on her and leave the drone hovering where it was. When she turned to look at the drone, it was hovering at her windows, filming the inside of her house. Needless to say, she was quite upset. She contacted me with news of this disturbing incident.
It is against both Federal and State law for municipalities to pass laws that limit drone fly-overs because many businesses are exploring the use of drones to make deliveries. In the case of drones flying over homeowners' yards, it is not considered an invasion of privacy because it is "outside", and so not private. However, she said it is a different story if they are hovering, or worse yet, looking in windows with a camera. She also said that if it is flying low over your property without your authorization, you are within your rights to take it down by legal means (no discharge firearms in town limits).
I stopped into Carefree Town Hall and talked to Gary Neiss, our Town Administrator, about the situation and asked if the Town had anything on the books to address it. He agree with Ellen that municipalities' hands are tied by both Federal and State laws that allow drones to fly over yards, but said if they are hovering over a yard, or worse yet, peering in windows, he believed that would fall under the Trespassing Ordinance. While the Town Ordinance does not specifically address drones, he felt the situation I described was like someone standing on your property and/or looking in your window.
As I was leaving Town Hall, our new Carefree MCSO Deputy, Rob Halliday, was driving past. I followed him and flagged him down when we hit a place he could safely pull over. I went through the whole scenario again, and he said that definitely fell under MCSO's Voyeurism law. He told me that if this happens to anyone, call 911 and they will have someone out immediately. They take that very seriously. He also said if they can catch them in the act and talk to them, most are discouraged from repeating the behavior. So please do call 911 if this happens in the future.
Lyn Hitchon
Already have gotten lots of responses, so thank you! People are amazing that responded. Can't thank you all enough.
Susan Mathias
(Lyn's note: Susan's lost dog Carol, who was recently adopted, got spooked and pulled the leash out of her hand. We loaned her a trap yesterday, and are hopeful Carol will be captured soon. She has been seen around Susan's house. We'll keep you posted.)