Facts on Carefree Water Transition
Recently, there have been several letters to the editor which contain numerous inaccurate statements in reference to the Carefree Water Consolidation project. One example is a recent letter to the editor titled “Carefree water transition”. In this letter the author inaccurately states that the water consolidation project will only benefit a few hundred residents. The facts are that approximately 1/3 of Carefree’s population, more than 1,000 residents, are impacted by a current lack of representation over their water resources. This number does not include the existing and future businesses that provide revenue which fund Town provided services such as public safety. Certainly, ensuring representation over water resources during a generational drought and preserving the Town’s financial interest are critical quality of life issues facing our community.
The author of this letter to the editor goes on to compare a sewer treatment facility to a fresh water storage reservoir and summarizes his observations with the statement that “no one wants to live yards away from an industrial utility operation” as if they were one of the same. Obviously, a sewer plant with above ground apparatus containing grinding pumps and emitting noxious odors located 85 feet from the nearest residence (which was the case in the decommissioned Boulders sewer plant) is a lot different than a buried reservoir located 160 feet from the nearest residence containing clean drinking water that feeds the water faucets in your homes that you drink and bath within. In fact, there are numerous existing reservoirs adjacent to residential homes in Carefree, Cave Creek, Scottsdale and Phoenix. Unlike many of these, however, the water reservoir planned for Carefree will be buried and landscaped with natural vegetation to further screen the area and maintaining a sense of openness. What is being proposed is nothing like a sewer treatment facility nor an industrial use the author would like you to believe. Given the author's opinion that they would consider a buried fresh water reservoir to be industrial, certainly the nearby recently installed septic system in Boulders open space property and the lakes holding undrinkable grey water in the Boulders should also be considered industrial. It is interesting to note, however, that there are many homes in the Boulders very near these facilities.
Furthermore, the author of this letter to the editor also accuses the Town of not working in a collaborative spirit with Boulders residents. However, the public record clearly shows once again this statement is far from the truth. The Town began to meet with the Boulders residents in November, 2019. At that time, the Town made a presentation and held a question-answer meeting which lasted over three hours. In this well attended meeting of the Boulders community, the water consolidation project, the proposed need for an addition fresh water reservoir and the detailed site selection process and conceptual design of the water reservoir proposed in the Boulders were discussed in detail. This meeting was followed up by additional meetings/discussions with Boulders residents. As a result of these collective discussions the Town further refined the design of the buried fresh water reservoir and held an open house to review these updated plans with interested Boulder residents. Subsequent to these meetings, however, the current Boulders HOA Board decided to take an adversarial approach and terminated all such collaborative efforts while other Boulders residents threaten litigation to delay the project. Due to these threats and the extensive process (32 sites were evaluated) to locate the most appropriate site, the Town was forced to proceed on a solo basis in a process that provided the greatest benefit for the community at the least costs while ensuring the timely transition of water service and representation to 1/3 of the Carefree community.
The final point the author of this letter to the editor addresses is related to Town Communications. Over the past year, Carefree has been working on a new website, newsletter and system to broadcast Town meetings. In addition, the Town is expanding its digital presence in a world less dependent on conventional paper forms of communication and working closely with publications serving Carefree residents. Indeed, digital media provides opportunities to fluidly communicate regardless of your location that antiquated, static paper forms do not afford.
Bottom line, I have volunteered to serve my community because I simply wanted to help and address concerns of my fellow neighbors and residents. I have learned through this volunteering that it is a thankless job and not everyone will take the time to uncover the pertinent facts required to address complex problems, and that not everyone will agree with a resolution or an answer based upon facts and doing what is best for the Carefree community. However, I can emphatically state that I and each Council member do their best to learn the facts pertaining to each issue, the options available and ultimately make informed decisions that represent the broader interest of our beautiful community. Indeed, through this process there are those that will disagree with a decision, however, democracy is not characterized by 100% agreement but by preserving a respectful and knowledgeable civil dialogue and developing solutions which benefit the greatest number of residents while causing the minimal detriment to the fewest number of residents. Such is the case with the water storage reservoir planned to be located in one of the utility easements on the edge of the Boulders.
If you are interested in considering and learning about the facts supporting Carefree’s position on the water consolidation project, please copy and paste the link Carefree.org into your web browser and click on the “Water Project Update” icon in the upper left corner for a comprehensive presentation of the facts.
Les Peterson
Carefree Mayor
Recently, there have been several letters to the editor which contain numerous inaccurate statements in reference to the Carefree Water Consolidation project. One example is a recent letter to the editor titled “Carefree water transition”. In this letter the author inaccurately states that the water consolidation project will only benefit a few hundred residents. The facts are that approximately 1/3 of Carefree’s population, more than 1,000 residents, are impacted by a current lack of representation over their water resources. This number does not include the existing and future businesses that provide revenue which fund Town provided services such as public safety. Certainly, ensuring representation over water resources during a generational drought and preserving the Town’s financial interest are critical quality of life issues facing our community.
The author of this letter to the editor goes on to compare a sewer treatment facility to a fresh water storage reservoir and summarizes his observations with the statement that “no one wants to live yards away from an industrial utility operation” as if they were one of the same. Obviously, a sewer plant with above ground apparatus containing grinding pumps and emitting noxious odors located 85 feet from the nearest residence (which was the case in the decommissioned Boulders sewer plant) is a lot different than a buried reservoir located 160 feet from the nearest residence containing clean drinking water that feeds the water faucets in your homes that you drink and bath within. In fact, there are numerous existing reservoirs adjacent to residential homes in Carefree, Cave Creek, Scottsdale and Phoenix. Unlike many of these, however, the water reservoir planned for Carefree will be buried and landscaped with natural vegetation to further screen the area and maintaining a sense of openness. What is being proposed is nothing like a sewer treatment facility nor an industrial use the author would like you to believe. Given the author's opinion that they would consider a buried fresh water reservoir to be industrial, certainly the nearby recently installed septic system in Boulders open space property and the lakes holding undrinkable grey water in the Boulders should also be considered industrial. It is interesting to note, however, that there are many homes in the Boulders very near these facilities.
Furthermore, the author of this letter to the editor also accuses the Town of not working in a collaborative spirit with Boulders residents. However, the public record clearly shows once again this statement is far from the truth. The Town began to meet with the Boulders residents in November, 2019. At that time, the Town made a presentation and held a question-answer meeting which lasted over three hours. In this well attended meeting of the Boulders community, the water consolidation project, the proposed need for an addition fresh water reservoir and the detailed site selection process and conceptual design of the water reservoir proposed in the Boulders were discussed in detail. This meeting was followed up by additional meetings/discussions with Boulders residents. As a result of these collective discussions the Town further refined the design of the buried fresh water reservoir and held an open house to review these updated plans with interested Boulder residents. Subsequent to these meetings, however, the current Boulders HOA Board decided to take an adversarial approach and terminated all such collaborative efforts while other Boulders residents threaten litigation to delay the project. Due to these threats and the extensive process (32 sites were evaluated) to locate the most appropriate site, the Town was forced to proceed on a solo basis in a process that provided the greatest benefit for the community at the least costs while ensuring the timely transition of water service and representation to 1/3 of the Carefree community.
The final point the author of this letter to the editor addresses is related to Town Communications. Over the past year, Carefree has been working on a new website, newsletter and system to broadcast Town meetings. In addition, the Town is expanding its digital presence in a world less dependent on conventional paper forms of communication and working closely with publications serving Carefree residents. Indeed, digital media provides opportunities to fluidly communicate regardless of your location that antiquated, static paper forms do not afford.
Bottom line, I have volunteered to serve my community because I simply wanted to help and address concerns of my fellow neighbors and residents. I have learned through this volunteering that it is a thankless job and not everyone will take the time to uncover the pertinent facts required to address complex problems, and that not everyone will agree with a resolution or an answer based upon facts and doing what is best for the Carefree community. However, I can emphatically state that I and each Council member do their best to learn the facts pertaining to each issue, the options available and ultimately make informed decisions that represent the broader interest of our beautiful community. Indeed, through this process there are those that will disagree with a decision, however, democracy is not characterized by 100% agreement but by preserving a respectful and knowledgeable civil dialogue and developing solutions which benefit the greatest number of residents while causing the minimal detriment to the fewest number of residents. Such is the case with the water storage reservoir planned to be located in one of the utility easements on the edge of the Boulders.
If you are interested in considering and learning about the facts supporting Carefree’s position on the water consolidation project, please copy and paste the link Carefree.org into your web browser and click on the “Water Project Update” icon in the upper left corner for a comprehensive presentation of the facts.
Les Peterson
Carefree Mayor
Lyn,
Bravo 👏
Thank you for the fabulous words of truth and fact. I hope every resident of Carefree reads them, ponders, reads again, then discusses this with neighbors. People need to be told things at least three times to retain it, don't believe me? Ask a teacher or a pastor.
Proud member of the 85%
Kelsie Hughes-McSparran
This article provides the perfect words to what I have been feeling. In fact, this situation is a perfect case study of what misused privilege looks and feels like when people assign importance to superficial things over the real, potentially life sustaining needs of others. And it is especially shocking in this time when increased awareness of selfish privilege is center stage in the world.
Not only are the actions and rhetoric of these few privileged Boulder residents extremely disappointing to Carefree residents who have been looking forward to joining the rest of our town in accessing our Carefree water supply, but it casts an ugly shadow on the Boulder community at large and potentially even Carefree. I know that the vast majority of this town is full of good, kind, and giving people. This situation certainly does not reflect that.
I sincerely hope that people thinking of doing business or moving to the Boulders or Carefree do not let this stain their impression of our nice town. As a more recent resident myself, I know it would have given me pause if I had heard that the residents are willing to put such great effort in exerting their privilege and power in denying the needs of their fellow townspeople. I am certain that other community minded people who are looking at our town will care as well.
I urge these few Boulder people to stop and re-think the importance of blocking an underground water tank (which any smart and honest person can see will not really impact their community in any significant way) in comparison to denying their fellow residents access to a more reliable water supply. I guess the way that we Carefree citizens will have to prove the fairness, goodness, and kindness of Carefree is at the ballot box by soundly rejecting their unfortunate, transparently self-serving, and privileged initiatives.
Thanks for your consideration,
Chris Mrena
(Lyn's note: It's a shame that the nasty words and actions of a very small number of people can project such a negative light on both the Boulders and Carefree, both of which have mostly very nice and community minded residents.)
Lyn,
Perhaps I am confused but I thought that the water storage proposal in question would benefit all Carefree residents. If that is the case, then it seems evident that all Carefree residents should pay their “fair share”. Conversely, if the water storage tank will primarily benefit the Boulder residents , then obviously the cost should be borne by the Boulder residents on a proportionate basis.
Regarding the value of the condemned property which would house the location of the tank, in my mind the same principle would hold, i.e. a proportionate sum of the value should be returned to the Carefree water company to offset construction and operating costs.
Regarding the issue of Boulder residents feeling privileged, I guess we all have at certain times, had an over inflated sense of our importance, influence and the like. My own opinion is, as I have stated before, that this is more about the “not in my backyard “ attitude than privilege. It is also about a vocal minority purporting to speak for and perhaps hijacking the opinions of the larger majority of Boulder residents
John Nimsky
(Lyn's note: The Boulders is already on Carefree Water and is served by 2 big above ground water tanks on private property on Black Mountain that the property owners allowed to be placed on their property because it served that greater good. The underground tank that will be placed on Boulders open space along Tom Darlington is not visible from the vast majority of homes in the Boulders, it contains only scrubby vegetation now, and has a utility easement on it with a 10" water main running under it. It was always intended for this purpose.
The people it would benefit are those on Cave Creek Water who live on the south and west side of Black Mountain, and the businesses on the NW corner of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Road. Bringing those homes and businesses onto Carefree Water will not affect the price of water for those already on Carefree Water. The ones paying for it will be those who are now on Cave Creek Water and will be brought over to Carefree Water. The steep rise in the price of sewer service for decommissioning the stinky sewer plant that was in the middle of the Boulders is shared by everyone on the Liberty Utilities sewer system because that is a private company and the ACC requires that all on the system pay equally. Carefree Water is public and doesn't fall under that constraint, which is why those being moved over to Carefree Water can bear the brunt of the cost to do so.
The term "privilege" is being used because this small group in the Boulders that is making all the stink over this has claimed, in writing, that the Boulders is the premier development in Carefree and that they paid more for their lots/homes than anyone else, making them special and apart from others. And, yes John, it is only a small number of people in the Boulders who are pushing this message, but sadly it seems that they have managed to rile up a lot of their fellow residents with their misinformation and confabulations. Sadly, many are swayed by malicious rhetoric and drama, without knowing the facts. That's human nature.)
Lyn... WOW! It would appear (to me) CAREFREE is quickly becoming an oxymoron... The Privileged Elite don't live like us mere peons.... They (believe) they are "entitled". I'd be curious to ask; how many are new to the area and re-locators from Cal...?
Semper Fi to our veterans...
Bob Jenkins
(Lyn's note: You are not the only one asking that question. No one knows the answer because they are cloaking their identity behind a PAC that is registered in Delaware.)
Bravo 👏
Thank you for the fabulous words of truth and fact. I hope every resident of Carefree reads them, ponders, reads again, then discusses this with neighbors. People need to be told things at least three times to retain it, don't believe me? Ask a teacher or a pastor.
Proud member of the 85%
Kelsie Hughes-McSparran
This article provides the perfect words to what I have been feeling. In fact, this situation is a perfect case study of what misused privilege looks and feels like when people assign importance to superficial things over the real, potentially life sustaining needs of others. And it is especially shocking in this time when increased awareness of selfish privilege is center stage in the world.
Not only are the actions and rhetoric of these few privileged Boulder residents extremely disappointing to Carefree residents who have been looking forward to joining the rest of our town in accessing our Carefree water supply, but it casts an ugly shadow on the Boulder community at large and potentially even Carefree. I know that the vast majority of this town is full of good, kind, and giving people. This situation certainly does not reflect that.
I sincerely hope that people thinking of doing business or moving to the Boulders or Carefree do not let this stain their impression of our nice town. As a more recent resident myself, I know it would have given me pause if I had heard that the residents are willing to put such great effort in exerting their privilege and power in denying the needs of their fellow townspeople. I am certain that other community minded people who are looking at our town will care as well.
I urge these few Boulder people to stop and re-think the importance of blocking an underground water tank (which any smart and honest person can see will not really impact their community in any significant way) in comparison to denying their fellow residents access to a more reliable water supply. I guess the way that we Carefree citizens will have to prove the fairness, goodness, and kindness of Carefree is at the ballot box by soundly rejecting their unfortunate, transparently self-serving, and privileged initiatives.
Thanks for your consideration,
Chris Mrena
(Lyn's note: It's a shame that the nasty words and actions of a very small number of people can project such a negative light on both the Boulders and Carefree, both of which have mostly very nice and community minded residents.)
Lyn,
Perhaps I am confused but I thought that the water storage proposal in question would benefit all Carefree residents. If that is the case, then it seems evident that all Carefree residents should pay their “fair share”. Conversely, if the water storage tank will primarily benefit the Boulder residents , then obviously the cost should be borne by the Boulder residents on a proportionate basis.
Regarding the value of the condemned property which would house the location of the tank, in my mind the same principle would hold, i.e. a proportionate sum of the value should be returned to the Carefree water company to offset construction and operating costs.
Regarding the issue of Boulder residents feeling privileged, I guess we all have at certain times, had an over inflated sense of our importance, influence and the like. My own opinion is, as I have stated before, that this is more about the “not in my backyard “ attitude than privilege. It is also about a vocal minority purporting to speak for and perhaps hijacking the opinions of the larger majority of Boulder residents
John Nimsky
(Lyn's note: The Boulders is already on Carefree Water and is served by 2 big above ground water tanks on private property on Black Mountain that the property owners allowed to be placed on their property because it served that greater good. The underground tank that will be placed on Boulders open space along Tom Darlington is not visible from the vast majority of homes in the Boulders, it contains only scrubby vegetation now, and has a utility easement on it with a 10" water main running under it. It was always intended for this purpose.
The people it would benefit are those on Cave Creek Water who live on the south and west side of Black Mountain, and the businesses on the NW corner of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Road. Bringing those homes and businesses onto Carefree Water will not affect the price of water for those already on Carefree Water. The ones paying for it will be those who are now on Cave Creek Water and will be brought over to Carefree Water. The steep rise in the price of sewer service for decommissioning the stinky sewer plant that was in the middle of the Boulders is shared by everyone on the Liberty Utilities sewer system because that is a private company and the ACC requires that all on the system pay equally. Carefree Water is public and doesn't fall under that constraint, which is why those being moved over to Carefree Water can bear the brunt of the cost to do so.
The term "privilege" is being used because this small group in the Boulders that is making all the stink over this has claimed, in writing, that the Boulders is the premier development in Carefree and that they paid more for their lots/homes than anyone else, making them special and apart from others. And, yes John, it is only a small number of people in the Boulders who are pushing this message, but sadly it seems that they have managed to rile up a lot of their fellow residents with their misinformation and confabulations. Sadly, many are swayed by malicious rhetoric and drama, without knowing the facts. That's human nature.)
Lyn... WOW! It would appear (to me) CAREFREE is quickly becoming an oxymoron... The Privileged Elite don't live like us mere peons.... They (believe) they are "entitled". I'd be curious to ask; how many are new to the area and re-locators from Cal...?
Semper Fi to our veterans...
Bob Jenkins
(Lyn's note: You are not the only one asking that question. No one knows the answer because they are cloaking their identity behind a PAC that is registered in Delaware.)
Carefree Truth
Issue #943, August 20, 2021
Why do North Boulders Residents Suffer From “Boulders Privilege”?
Given their current actions, it is evident that a handful of North Boulders residents have a severe case of Boulders Privilege. While the northern half of the Boulders is located within Carefree, the minds and hearts of these residents do not recognize that the other 85% of Carefree residents living outside of the Boulders are as deserving of the same treatment as the Boulders residents want for themselves. Those other Carefree residents, they seem to reason, exist only to pay for benefits to Boulders residents. In contrast, these Boulders residents do not evidence any sense of community mindedness or any responsibility for reciprocity within the community.
Let’s look at the record:
Wastewater Treatment Plant: The most notable recent example of Boulders Privilege was the handling of the decommissioning and closure of the wastewater treatment plant which was located in the center of the Boulders. The primary beneficiaries were Boulders residents, but the over $8 million in costs to make these improvements were funded by Liberty/Black Mountain, who passed on these charges to each and every system user throughout Carefree, 85% of whom lived outside of the Boulders. No Boulders residents stepped forward to underwrite these costs. And they did little, if anything, to challenge the magnitude of the proposed rate increase before the Arizona Corporation Commission. The stench from the wastewater treatment plant was replaced by the stench of Boulders Privilege.
Water Storage Reservoir: Another example of how these Boulders residents, who consider themselves privileged, think is their attitude and actions to thwart the installation of a necessary UNDERGROUND water storage reservoir. After an extensive review of 32 potential sites, professional engineers identified one site - in land in which the Carefree Water Company has an existing water utility easement and located in the Boulders open space along Tom Darlington. Over 1,000 Carefree residents in South and West Carefree desperately need improvements to the water system currently serving them, and that water reservoir and the site for it are key to the successful and efficient operation of the expanded system.
How did these self-perceived privileged Boulders residents respond? Lawsuits, widespread deceiving misinformation, personal attacks, and threats of additional lawsuits to force delays. Site the reservoir anywhere in Carefree, they said, but not anywhere within our privileged Boulders subdivision. As the current North Boulders HOA President said, it is “unjust and inappropriate” to place the water storage reservoir anywhere in the Boulders.
Sensing that they were losing these battles, these same Boulders residents are in the process of placing two Initiatives on the Ballot for the Election in the Fall of 2022. Both are directly related to the removal of the water storage reservoir even though these Boulders people are trying to paint them differently through communication programs developed by paid political consultants and attorneys.
Initiative #1: Eminent Domain. The real motive for this Initiative is cloaked behind the ruse that these Boulders residents opposed the installation of the water storage reservoir because they are conservation and land preservation minded, and that the reservoir would destroy their private natural desert. Their real motive, however, is that this Initiative would dramatically limit or permit the inherent powers of the Town to condemn property for the public good. Should the Town acquire the land through eminent domain and build the water reservoir in the utility easement in the Boulders open space, this Initiative would require the Town to demolish and remove the new reservoir, build it elsewhere and re-landscape the land where it was initially built in the Boulders. The total costs to do so is estimated at a minimum of $6.5 million +, which would be paid for by all the users of the Carefree Water Company system through higher monthly water rates, 85% of whom live outside of the Boulders.
Initiative #2: Term Limits. This is one of their final grasps at having the water reservoir not be built in the Boulders - or forcing it to be removed from the Boulders if it is built. While the seeming objective of this Initiative that they would like for you to believe is that it would provide new thinking on Council, the real objective would be to replace the entire existing Town Council by prohibiting them from serving through the imposition of rigid and retroactive term limits. Then replacing existing Council members with new people sympathetic to the Boulders residents desire for privilege and who would vote to remove the new water reservoir from its location in the Boulders open space would fulfill their real goal. Eliminating all the experienced Council members who have knowledge of government workings and have built effective working relationships with other municipalities and County/State agencies over the years with a slate of inexperienced and potentially biased or single-issue members is not good governance.
What’s next? This handful of Boulders people afflicted with Boulders Privilege have hired a condemnation attorney, likely on a contingency basis, who specializes in appealing condemnation cases which are initially lost on their merits. The typical approach of this attorney is to use a delaying tactic to try to negotiate a higher price for the condemned property. The Carefree Water Company has submitted a realistic appraisal from a seasoned Appraiser of the value of the property. This price is factored into the projected future rates. The Boulders attorney will undoubtedly want a higher figure. If he is successful, take a guess at who would pay the incremental amount? If you guessed the Carefree Water Company - who would then pass it on to you and all the other users in Carefree of the water system through higher monthly rates - you are correct. Recognize that if the Boulders is successful in this endeavor, 85% of the incremental costs would be passed on to Carefree residents who did not live in the North Boulders, while the Boulders residents and their contingency attorney would receive 100% of the incremental amount received to share between themselves.
There is no reason to believe, through their actions or statements, that these North Boulders residents care anything about other Carefree residents. To the contrary, they seem prepared to take any action, without regards to the consequences or costs to other Carefree residents or to the Town of Carefree, to not have the required water storage reservoir located in the Boulders open space. That is certainly not an endorsement of their community mindedness, but the consistent application of this same selfish approach to every situation, suggesting a severe case of Boulders Privilege.
Carefree Citizens for Protecting our Water Source
Issue #943, August 20, 2021
Why do North Boulders Residents Suffer From “Boulders Privilege”?
Given their current actions, it is evident that a handful of North Boulders residents have a severe case of Boulders Privilege. While the northern half of the Boulders is located within Carefree, the minds and hearts of these residents do not recognize that the other 85% of Carefree residents living outside of the Boulders are as deserving of the same treatment as the Boulders residents want for themselves. Those other Carefree residents, they seem to reason, exist only to pay for benefits to Boulders residents. In contrast, these Boulders residents do not evidence any sense of community mindedness or any responsibility for reciprocity within the community.
Let’s look at the record:
Wastewater Treatment Plant: The most notable recent example of Boulders Privilege was the handling of the decommissioning and closure of the wastewater treatment plant which was located in the center of the Boulders. The primary beneficiaries were Boulders residents, but the over $8 million in costs to make these improvements were funded by Liberty/Black Mountain, who passed on these charges to each and every system user throughout Carefree, 85% of whom lived outside of the Boulders. No Boulders residents stepped forward to underwrite these costs. And they did little, if anything, to challenge the magnitude of the proposed rate increase before the Arizona Corporation Commission. The stench from the wastewater treatment plant was replaced by the stench of Boulders Privilege.
Water Storage Reservoir: Another example of how these Boulders residents, who consider themselves privileged, think is their attitude and actions to thwart the installation of a necessary UNDERGROUND water storage reservoir. After an extensive review of 32 potential sites, professional engineers identified one site - in land in which the Carefree Water Company has an existing water utility easement and located in the Boulders open space along Tom Darlington. Over 1,000 Carefree residents in South and West Carefree desperately need improvements to the water system currently serving them, and that water reservoir and the site for it are key to the successful and efficient operation of the expanded system.
How did these self-perceived privileged Boulders residents respond? Lawsuits, widespread deceiving misinformation, personal attacks, and threats of additional lawsuits to force delays. Site the reservoir anywhere in Carefree, they said, but not anywhere within our privileged Boulders subdivision. As the current North Boulders HOA President said, it is “unjust and inappropriate” to place the water storage reservoir anywhere in the Boulders.
Sensing that they were losing these battles, these same Boulders residents are in the process of placing two Initiatives on the Ballot for the Election in the Fall of 2022. Both are directly related to the removal of the water storage reservoir even though these Boulders people are trying to paint them differently through communication programs developed by paid political consultants and attorneys.
Initiative #1: Eminent Domain. The real motive for this Initiative is cloaked behind the ruse that these Boulders residents opposed the installation of the water storage reservoir because they are conservation and land preservation minded, and that the reservoir would destroy their private natural desert. Their real motive, however, is that this Initiative would dramatically limit or permit the inherent powers of the Town to condemn property for the public good. Should the Town acquire the land through eminent domain and build the water reservoir in the utility easement in the Boulders open space, this Initiative would require the Town to demolish and remove the new reservoir, build it elsewhere and re-landscape the land where it was initially built in the Boulders. The total costs to do so is estimated at a minimum of $6.5 million +, which would be paid for by all the users of the Carefree Water Company system through higher monthly water rates, 85% of whom live outside of the Boulders.
Initiative #2: Term Limits. This is one of their final grasps at having the water reservoir not be built in the Boulders - or forcing it to be removed from the Boulders if it is built. While the seeming objective of this Initiative that they would like for you to believe is that it would provide new thinking on Council, the real objective would be to replace the entire existing Town Council by prohibiting them from serving through the imposition of rigid and retroactive term limits. Then replacing existing Council members with new people sympathetic to the Boulders residents desire for privilege and who would vote to remove the new water reservoir from its location in the Boulders open space would fulfill their real goal. Eliminating all the experienced Council members who have knowledge of government workings and have built effective working relationships with other municipalities and County/State agencies over the years with a slate of inexperienced and potentially biased or single-issue members is not good governance.
What’s next? This handful of Boulders people afflicted with Boulders Privilege have hired a condemnation attorney, likely on a contingency basis, who specializes in appealing condemnation cases which are initially lost on their merits. The typical approach of this attorney is to use a delaying tactic to try to negotiate a higher price for the condemned property. The Carefree Water Company has submitted a realistic appraisal from a seasoned Appraiser of the value of the property. This price is factored into the projected future rates. The Boulders attorney will undoubtedly want a higher figure. If he is successful, take a guess at who would pay the incremental amount? If you guessed the Carefree Water Company - who would then pass it on to you and all the other users in Carefree of the water system through higher monthly rates - you are correct. Recognize that if the Boulders is successful in this endeavor, 85% of the incremental costs would be passed on to Carefree residents who did not live in the North Boulders, while the Boulders residents and their contingency attorney would receive 100% of the incremental amount received to share between themselves.
There is no reason to believe, through their actions or statements, that these North Boulders residents care anything about other Carefree residents. To the contrary, they seem prepared to take any action, without regards to the consequences or costs to other Carefree residents or to the Town of Carefree, to not have the required water storage reservoir located in the Boulders open space. That is certainly not an endorsement of their community mindedness, but the consistent application of this same selfish approach to every situation, suggesting a severe case of Boulders Privilege.
Carefree Citizens for Protecting our Water Source
Dear Mayor Peterson,
As a resident of Carefree Foothills - you may recall - I have been an advocate for transitioning off Cave Creek Water to Carefree Water. I have spoken before the Town Council meetings, written letters, sat through the engineering presentation of the ultimate Carefree Water proposal and was thrilled to learn of a solution that best serves our community. I truly appreciate your leadership throughout the lengthy ongoing process.
Both your “Letter to the Editor" and "Carefree Water Storage Plan Explained” printed in the most recent edition of the Sonoran News explain with eloquence the process of Carefree’s water utility expansion. I know much of local government work seems boring to many of the residence, but the impact touches every member of our community. Numerous council meetings, extensive engineering studies have all lead us to the current proposed water tank location. The details you provide clearly explain the minimal impact on the Boulders water tank location and quite honestly will provide a sound buffer (albeit minimal) to Tom Darlington Drive.
Residents in and outside the Boulders have to understand the Town of Carefree encompasses all homes and as you explained “share the cost” of our community utilities. I waited four hours to speak before the Arizona Corporation Commission to object to Liberty Utilities rate increase. I understand Liberty’s need to recoup their costs to move the waste treatment from the Boulders to the City of Scottsdale. So - if I may - I am helping pay for this expense as a part of the Carefree community. I objected because of the amount of increase and in the end a compromise was reached. That is the process and how it works!
I hope your message about “sharing the cost" to the HOA Board at the Boulders is clear and just as importantly to the 85%+ residents of the Town of Carefree.
Thank you again for your guidance and community leadership!
Best regards,
Jim Dove
(Lyn's note: reprinted here with permission from Jim Dove)
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am fully in support of your comments that appeared on the back page of the August 4 issue of The Sonoran News and thank you for bringing more "balance" to the complaints coming from 1-2 residents of the Boulders.
Sincerely and in appreciation,
Jeff and Renee Kerner
As a resident of Carefree Foothills - you may recall - I have been an advocate for transitioning off Cave Creek Water to Carefree Water. I have spoken before the Town Council meetings, written letters, sat through the engineering presentation of the ultimate Carefree Water proposal and was thrilled to learn of a solution that best serves our community. I truly appreciate your leadership throughout the lengthy ongoing process.
Both your “Letter to the Editor" and "Carefree Water Storage Plan Explained” printed in the most recent edition of the Sonoran News explain with eloquence the process of Carefree’s water utility expansion. I know much of local government work seems boring to many of the residence, but the impact touches every member of our community. Numerous council meetings, extensive engineering studies have all lead us to the current proposed water tank location. The details you provide clearly explain the minimal impact on the Boulders water tank location and quite honestly will provide a sound buffer (albeit minimal) to Tom Darlington Drive.
Residents in and outside the Boulders have to understand the Town of Carefree encompasses all homes and as you explained “share the cost” of our community utilities. I waited four hours to speak before the Arizona Corporation Commission to object to Liberty Utilities rate increase. I understand Liberty’s need to recoup their costs to move the waste treatment from the Boulders to the City of Scottsdale. So - if I may - I am helping pay for this expense as a part of the Carefree community. I objected because of the amount of increase and in the end a compromise was reached. That is the process and how it works!
I hope your message about “sharing the cost" to the HOA Board at the Boulders is clear and just as importantly to the 85%+ residents of the Town of Carefree.
Thank you again for your guidance and community leadership!
Best regards,
Jim Dove
(Lyn's note: reprinted here with permission from Jim Dove)
Dear Sir or Madam:
I am fully in support of your comments that appeared on the back page of the August 4 issue of The Sonoran News and thank you for bringing more "balance" to the complaints coming from 1-2 residents of the Boulders.
Sincerely and in appreciation,
Jeff and Renee Kerner
8/4/21
Carefree Truth-Letters from Readers
We are all in this Together!
Majority of Previous Boulders HOA Directors Support Water Tank Location
This letter is submitted on behalf of 22 past HOA Board Members of the Boulders North Community.
As a group, we support the Town’s effort to provide a clean and reliable water supply for all our residents, and we recognize that making a comfortable and sustainable home in our Sonoran desert environment requires us all to work together. The Town’s proposed new water system will resolve the water quality, sediment and infrastructure maintenance issues currently impacting 527 homes and one retail development in west Carefree while providing the necessary water supply for undeveloped lots and an additional commercially zoned area.
We DO NOT support the current HOA Board’s efforts to fight the proposed 300,000 gallon buried water reservoir sited along Tom Darlington on our common land, which is part of this infrastructure improvement plan as proposed by the Town of Carefree and the Carefree Water Company. The Boulders Resort shares our view.
To solve our residents’ water problems, the Town exercised its right to acquire these customers under an Intergovernmental Agreement with Cave Creek, the current water provider, and hired the highly regarded water engineering firm Coe & Van Loo to lead the site selection and water system rebalancing / optimization process. After evaluating numerous sites, our HOA common land uniquely met all the critical criteria (elevation, non-residential access point, proximity to large water transmission line, topographic & geologic suitability). Past HOA Boards have reviewed the Town’s selection process and found it to be fair, competent and objective.
The town has agreed to bury the 300,000 gallon reinforced concrete reservoir and re-plant and irrigate the disturbed desert to minimize the visual and environmental impacts. This site allows water transport to occur only by gravity, which obviates any need for noisy, energy consuming, and costly pumps. The desert elevation in this area will be raised six to eight feet to allow service access by Carefree Water from an entrance off Tom Darlington Road. Impacted homeowners on the Boulders side will have no view of the reservoir, but will experience a modest rise in the desert floor that will reduce their visibility of Tom Darlington Road. Views of Black Mountain and the sunsets to the west will be only minimally affected (the Town of Carefree commissioned a photo rendering of the visual impact of the reservoir from the perspective of the closest Carefree resident. The rendering can be viewed at www.carefree.org in the Water Consolidation Fast Facts area under “Fast Facts #3: Underground Water Reservoir.”)
As a group, we DO endorse the current HOA board’s effort to receive fair compensation from Carefree as prescribed by the eminent domain legal process, but we DO NOT endorse existing and on-going efforts to prevent this project through voter initiatives or other delaying tactics that will have the effect of adding to the Town’s cost and delaying the necessary service improvements to our Carefree neighbors.
This letter is not written to explicitly call anyone out, but we will caution readers that some in our Boulders community have been publishing what we consider to be a tremendous amount of misinformation. Please do your own research (for example, watch the 2/9/21 Carefree Water Board Meeting presentation on this project). If you encounter a neighbor who criticizes town officials, technical professionals, and others in our community while insisting they have uncovered self-dealing and corruption, please consider the possibility that it is simpler to imagine that those they are criticizing are attempting to act in the best interests of all Carefree residents, while the accusers are fixated on narrow personal interests.
If anyone has questions or would simply like to support this open letter, please email carefreeunity@gmail.com
What about this “Eminent Domain” Ballot Initiative?
Would it be a Benefit to Carefree residents?
Boulders Water Storage Reservoir Opponents:
Conservationists or Opportunists?
A small group of Boulders residents are claiming that they are trying to save desert open space. That would be an effort worthy of the support of all Carefree residents, if that was their real objective.
But consider an alternative explanation of this seemingly recently discovered “conservation” interest from these Boulders residents. Perhaps it could be more accurately described as a ruse, and that they are trying to use “conservation” to camouflage their real objective. Could it be that preventing the water storage reservoir from being built in the property along Tom Darlington in the Boulders open space, property which already has a water utility easement running through it and water infrastructure already in place, is their real objective? There seems to be some support for this alternative explanation.
If conservation is actually a high priority to these people, why did they choose to live in one of the most highly developed subdivisions in Carefree? The Boulders is not a community of a few houses interspersed within a relatively untouched native desert landscape. Over 40% of its land surface has already been scraped bare and developed. In addition to 700+ homes in the north and south Boulders, virtually all of which had an excavation footprint the size of the proposed water storage reservoir, there are two 18 hole golf courses where beautiful natural desert once stood. It is also home to three large man-made ponds full of treated effluent with which to water the golf courses. Large community and commercial structures, including a club house, spa, golf shop and tennis courts, each with asphalt parking lots, occupy space once covered by desert vegetation. The Boulders HOA even installed a septic tank and leach field in Boulders open space a year ago. Unfortunately, they have yet to landscape these excavation scars.
As another example, many of us know the time honored adage, “the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior“. Given their espoused passion for conservation, it is reasonable to expect these people to have a strong record of support for local conservation causes. We could not find any. We could not find any evidence of their financial and/or time support for the Desert Foothills Land Trust and Spur Cross. Perhaps we are not fully familiar with the conservation efforts of these few Boulders people evidencing their deep commitment to desert conservation. If so, we would invite them to share with us their previous support for local conservation causes.
Could it be that this sudden “conservation” orientation of these few Boulders residents is another opportunistic, disingenuous communication ploy to serve their self-interest? I would like to think not, but . . .
Carefree Citizens for Protecting our Water Supply
(Lyn's note: The Boulders is an exclusive gated golf course community. This "open space" is within the Boulders and its use is restricted. This "open space" does not benefit the community at large. Furthermore, the open space in question runs along Tom Darlington Dr., and was obviously meant to be nothing more than a buffer from the traffic sights and sounds for those houses in the Boulders adjacent to that street, similar to other traffic buffers frequently seen around the area along arterial streets.)
Hi Lyn,
EXCELLENT letters from Mayor Peterson!
Catherine Zindell
(Lyn's note: This refers to the 2 letters of explanation from Les Peterson speaking as the Mayor and as the Chairman of the Carefree Water Company Board.)
(Lyn's note: Below are responses to the Carefree Citizens For Protecting our Water Supply guest editorial.)
Lyn,
The thoughtful, reasoned responses to Mr. Schwarzkopf's concerns are much appreciated. The fact that you posted his unedited letter in its entirety shows that you are unbiased in all of this.
The Board of the water company (to which I am a member) sat through hours of presentations of facts, and heard from many residents expressing their concerns over the water quality and desire to be heard on this matter. Unfortunately, it was also politicized to a degree.
As a father of three teens in this community, I constantly strive to set the example for my kids of "doing what is right." Giving every resident access to quality water (and ensuring that their hydrants are inspected regularly) should be a right of every resident, particularly in the midst of a 20 year drought and constant fear of fire.
Studies were done by experts on where the tank should be placed. The studies were published publicly and meetings on the matter were public. The water company and the town have been assured that the tank's visibility will be kept to an extreme minimum, and that this tank is needed in the process of affording ALL Carefree residents access to the same water quality that those in the east side (including the Boulders community) currently enjoy.
Doing the right thing sometimes isn't easy. Carefree residents did the right thing when they helped to bear the responsibility in moving sewage out of the Boulders. Now the Boulders residents are being asked to be part of the community by sharing this responsibility in allowing the town access to public land that is designated for utilities. Boulders residents get their water from storage tanks on someone else's property. Let's see the bigger picture and help each other. That's what being neighbors is all about.
Councilman Vince D'Aliesio
Excellent and truly fact based analysis to counter such egregious misrepresentations. Thank you Lyn, for exposing the real story so well! We have never had better leadership in our wonderful town than our present Mayor, Vice Mayor and Council.
Joe Fetzer ( Carefree citizen for 23 years)
(Lyn's note: We just supplied the platform. Others did the research for that rebuttal. I couldn't agree more that we have great leadership on our Council. We are very lucky to have the caliber of volunteers willing to serve the public here in Carefree. We are also lucky to have regular citizens who are willing to do extensive research and to share their results. This is a terrific little town!)
Lyn,
I am not a big fan of the current major but that being said, I appreciate and agree with his comments surrounding the Carefree Water Reservoir controversy. The opposition to the location is not surprising nor unexpected. Were the location a different site, I am confident that the residents of homes in proximity of such an alternative site would raise similar objections. We have all experienced situations where conceptual agreements on the need for more mental health facilities, shelters and the like ultimately come in direct conflict with the belief that these facilities were needed but not “in my neighborhood”. Speed monitors, microwave towers are great until they impact certain neighborhoods. “Common good” or the “needs of the many” theoretically should take precedence over the desires of the individual. However, as has been demonstrated time and again, many of us are not willing to set aside our individual desires for the larger good. And so it is in this case.
John Nimsky
(Lyn's note: If it worked in our back yard, literally, Herbert and I would not object to a mostly buried, with soil and landscaping on top of it, water storage tank. Ron Clarke, who was always concerned with appearances and whose well known Holy Grail was the undergrounding of electrical poles in Carefree for that reason, accepted 2 large above ground water storage tanks in the literal back yard of his beautiful custom home on Black Mountain because he realized that it was for the greater good of the community. This was truly a sacrifice for Ron, but one he was willing to make because he was that kind of a man. Those, by the way, are the water tanks that supply water to the Boulders. Cell towers are pretty endemic now. Most people want good cell phone and internet service, so do not oppose the infrastructure to enable those benefits. Many also want to see traffic near residential neighborhoods slowed. That having been said, at issue in this case is an inanimate object that will be largely out of sight, not remotely the equivalent of a mental health facility or a homeless shelter that could house potentially dangerous people.)
Carefree Truth Newsletter-Guest Editorial from Carefree Citizens For Protecting Our Water Source 7/30/21
Letter From Mr. Schwarzkopf,
I’m not vicious. I’m not threatening the town, or its water supply. I am neither a cannibal nor a serial killer. I just don’t believe that Carefree town officials are omniscient and infallible.
There are three main concerns that any thoughtful Carefree resident should have about the town’s “water transition” project:
1) Why does it make sense to completely replace the existing water delivery infrastructure in western Carefree, when less drastic measures could achieve the same objectives ?
Fact Check
All other measures were thoroughly investigated and evaluated by the Carefree Water Company, the Town of Carefree Staff and Council and a professional engineering firm, Coe & Van Loo (CVL), and the conclusion was that adding these accounts into the Carefree Water Company system was the best option by far. Mr. Schwarzkopf was not a part of any of those analyses and discussions, nor was this information ever shared with him or anyone associated with him, so he has no factual basis to state that “less drastic measures could achieve the same objectives.” That statement is sheer speculation on his part.
2) How can it make sense to spend more than 20 million dollars just to make the same Central Arizona Project water flow out of the same faucets, when so much else could be accomplished with this level of investment / indebtedness?
Fact Check
This is a statement made by a person without familiarity of the situation or knowledge of the facts. The IGA with Cave Creek has been in place since 2007, and it has been Carefree’s objective to integrate the remaining 30% of the Town’s residents into the Carefree Water Company system as soon as practical since 2007. Don doesn’t factor into his statements the many primary reasons supporting the integration of these remaining Carefree residences and businesses into the Carefree Water Company system. Things like the purity of the water after treatment, the condition and age of the line delivering the CAP water to Cave Creek, that Cave Creek is very near to exhausting its allocation of CAP water, which is nearly 100% of its source of water, that the Carefree Water Company has substantially more balanced sources of water, maintenance and repairs to the system are dramatically different, particularly including fire hydrants, and the list could go on and on. Beyond that, the $20 million figure includes other expenses beyond integrating just these accounts into the Carefree Water Company system, like upgrades to the existing system of approximately $3 million. And, for every dollar spent fighting the issue of the water storage reservoir with the Boulders HOA and dissidents, it will likely reduce the amount available to be spent on the existing system, including that servicing the Boulders. And further beyond that, and the primary reason is that the Town and Carefree Water Company have obligations to assure an adequate and quality water supply to all Carefree residents, not just 70% of them.
3) Why should the town expropriate privately preserved open space for the above- ground industrial portion of this project, when they admit that other options are viable ?
Fact Check
The controls are required to be above ground because that is a requirement of OSHA. The water storage reservoir will be underground except for a portion of one corner which will be 2’ to 3’ above ground. The reservoir will be covered over with native soil and landscaped, and the control panels will be landscaped to make them blend in with their surroundings This approach will provides the greatest good for the most Carefree residents while causing the least detriment to the fewest Carefree residents. This site was identified by CVL, after a thorough review of 32 potential sites, to be the only site which met all of the criteria and objectives established. There were many factors that went into this analysis, particularly with regards to how the location of the required water storage reservoir would cause the entire system to function and perform. Mr. Schwarzkopf and his group apparently went out on their own site selection expedition and they looked for open land anywhere in Carefree outside of the Boulders, without any consideration in their thinking of how the water system would perform. Their analysis was faulty, because its overriding objective was to support their desire a location for the water storage reservoir anywhere except in the utility easement along Tom Darlington without regard for how the water system would perform.
A series of eight reports to my fellow members of the Boulders HOA examining these questions are freely available here: www.bouldersnorthhoa.com/water- tank My reports are based upon detailed review of thousands of pages of the town’s own documents produced in ongoing litigation, which few others have seen or bothered to examine.
Fact Check
These “eight reports” of Mr. Schwarzkopf contain a mish-mash of mis-statements, and are of little benefit to any one seeking factual information regarding this matter. The Carefree Water Company, and the Town, and CVL, are also well aware of what was contained in the documents and deposition summaries. These documents and depositions are primarily records of the written exchanges between the management of these entities who were actively involved in trying to find solutions to benefit Carefree residents with the least disruption to the fewest residents and at the lowest cost. They are snippets of the overall evaluation and dialogue, much of which was verbal and were elements of an overall project which unfolded over two years, and not of the entire puzzle. For anyone to interpret or suggest that the statements and analyses contained in these documents in any way supports that the water system in Carefree did not need to be integrated, or that there is a viable site for the water storage reservoir other than the site identified by CVL in the utility easement in the open space property in the Boulders along Tom Darlington, would be making a gross mis-statement.
Carefree is a tiny town of just 4000 people, with a small administration and town council demonstrably moving in lockstep under a single decision-maker. The engineers involved in this project have performed only a facilitating role, hobbled by the decisions and constraints that town officials have placed upon them. It would be foolhardy for us to assume that good decisions are being made about every aspect of such a complex and costly project.
Fact Check
Assuming Mr. Schwarzkopf is referencing the Mayor as the “single decision maker,” he is incorrect to assume that all others in the Town and/or Carefree Water Company management blindly do his bidding without thinking of the consequences to Carefree residents. The Town Council, the Carefree Water Company Management and CVL are groups of very intelligent, analytical, fact based and independent people, concerned about the well-being of all Carefree residents - not just those living in the Boulders subdivision who appear to consider themselves to be “privileged”. Based upon the input of hundreds of Carefree residents in a series of broadly publicized and attended open Town Meetings during 2018 and 2019, the Mayor was adamant that 100% of Carefree residents should receive comparable high quality water service. Specific recommendations to the Carefree Water Company Directors and the Town Council of how to achieve this objective came from CVL working in concert with the Carefree Water Company. It wasn’t and could not be any single vote or influencer, as it took a majority vote to move ahead. Let’s circle back to Mr. Schwarzkopf’s primary concern, however, - he wants the Water Company to site the required water storage reservoir anywhere but in the Boulders (the typical NIMBY syndrome). But CVL identified the site in the utility easement along Tom Darlington (within the Boulders open space) as the only one of the 32 sites evaluated fulfilling all of the established criteria. If CVL had conducted their analysis and been able to identify an alternative site other than in the Tom Darlington utility easement that delivered the system performance as did the site in the Tom Darlington utility easement, they would have told the Water Company of this finding. But, CVL did not. No other site in Carefree for the water storage reservoir provides even close to the same system performance as does the site identified in the Boulders open space. It isn’t just an identification of empty properties, as Mr. Schwarzkopf has referenced multiple times in his various letters on this topic and seems to think is the solution of siting the water storage reservoir, it is how a location contributes to system performance and costs that also matter.
In March, Boulders HOA members voted overwhelmingly to replace a board of directors who were unwilling to ask serious questions about the project. The town responded by immediately filing suit for condemnation of our association’s common land.
Fact Check
This is a series of mis-statements. Nothing in the Boulders HOA vote was overwhelming. The previous Boulders HOA Board asked serious questions, but came to a different conclusion following legal advice than Mr. Schwarzkopf and his group were willing to accept. During the recent election, there were 4 vacancies of the 9 member Boulders HOA Board (3 Directors who termed out and one who resigned the week of the vote ). At the first meeting of the new Board at which the new officers were elected, the new president resigned within 3 days. Then, a week later, 4 additional Directors and the entire Architectural Review Committee resigned, anticipating that it be would be unproductive working environment in the future. The new (remaining) Boulders HOA Board has only filled one of the additional vacancies, by appointment, as most Boulders residents are refusing to become involved in this controversy. As for the statement that “the town responded by immediately filing suit for condemnation,” the town was forced to do so by Mr. Schwarzkopf and his group after they filed suit and made statements that if/when they lost in court, and another of them would file the next suit, and repeat this tactic until seeking to delay the construction of the water storage reservoir at the selected location until it’s location had to be changed to complete the integration of the water system.
About fifty years ago, before the town of Carefree existed, developers of the Boulders set aside land to preserve as much as possible of this especially beautiful portion of the Sonoran desert. This land is a benefit enjoyed by everyone traveling on Tom Darlington Drive, and the Carefree General Plan recognizes it as valuable passive open space that “contributes to the social, economic and environmental well-being of the Town . . . benefits local businesses and helps strengthen the local economic base . . . (and) protects the natural flora fauna of the Upper Sonoran Desert, thereby preserving one of the foremost characteristics of the Town.”
This preserved open desert space is also the defining characteristic of The Boulders. Purchasers of homes in The Boulders paid a premium when this land was set aside, and buyers today continue to pay a significant premium over other homes in Carefree because of it. Permanent preservation is specified in the recorded land titles, and for decades local real estate agents have routinely assured buyers that nothing would ever be built there.
Fact Check
What support or factual proof does Mr. Schwarzkopf have or present for review that Boulders residents paid a premium for their property, as opposed to, say, a view lot on Black Mountain? Likewise, what support is there that “buyers today continue to pay a significant premium over other homes in Carefree”? One could argue that some of the highest priced homes in Carefree are on view properties on Black Mountain or on the large estate size properties in north Carefree. What evidence does Mr. Schwarzkopf have that preservation of Boulders HOA open space property is referenced within property titles for individual homes, since the open space in the north Boulders is owned by the Boulders HOA as clearly stated in their CC&R documents? To offer as support for his assertions that “for decades local real estate agents have routinely assured buyers that nothing would ever be built there” is so unfounded in legal precedent as to not warrant a response.
Now the town wants to take a particularly picturesque portion of this land, right in the middle of our public frontage along Tom Darlington Drive, for the price of a good set of patio furniture.
Fact Check
A “buildable” lot in the north Boulders is probably worth approximately $300,000. The subject site for the water storage reservoir has some serious limitations upon it which impact its value. It is zoned as open space and it has a utility easement running through it. It is not a “build able” lot for a home or commercial structure. No individual could purchase the land and hope to build a home upon it. It would have to be left as open space, except for usage by a utility. So, an individual purchasing the land could do nothing with it, but a utility could build underground structures upon it. Property with those kinds of restrictions typically has a value of less than 10% of what the land would be worth if were “buildable” for residential purposes. The Town of Carefree land appraisal and offer to purchase the land are posted on the Boulders HOA website mentioned above. It was done by ZADDACK VALUATION ADVISORS, INC. The Boulders HOA commissioned an appraisal, paid for it, but never accepted it or had their appraisal completed. The town completed and presented its appraisal, the Boulders HOA has not brought forth any appraisal.
Anyone under the illusion that removal of the wastewater treatment plant was a gift to The Boulders should read this news release of May 13, 2013: https://www.carefree.org/DocumentCenter/View/286/Black-Mountain-Sewer-Plant- Closing-Press-Release-May-13-2013-PDF. For decades, without thanks or compensation, The Boulders endured the burden of processing sewage from all around the town at a facility originally built to serve fewer than 50 homes, but subsequently exploited by the town to serve more than 2,000.
Fact Check
This series of statements is unsupportable with facts. The Waste Water Treatment Plant in the Boulders was built in 1969 (long before virtually all of the homes in the Boulders were built) by the owners of the Boulders Resort to provide gray water for their golf course and to serve the few residences (6 - 12) which existed in the Boulders subdivision. Over time, to serve additional residences in the Boulders, to generate additional gray water and to generate additional revenues, this plant started serviced additional residences nearby including those from outside of the Boulders. In 2000, the system was sold to Algonquin Water Resources (currently Liberty/Black Mountain Sewer) and this system currently serves the 80% - 90% of Carefree homes and virtually all commercial accounts as a private sewer company. No one, including the Town of Carefree, forced anything on the Boulders Resort. The owners of the Boulders Resort built the plant and they voluntarily sold it to a private company.
The reverse of our Boulders situation is found in Carefree Sentinel Rock and other parts of western Carefree. Purchasers of homes in these neighborhoods undoubtedly did so with the knowledge that their water would be provided through Cave Creek. They likely paid less for their homes because of that. Yet now they clamor to be saved from their own decision, at the cost of more than $20 million in public funds and the taking of land paid for and preserved by Boulders residents.
Fact Check
Again, this series of statements is unsupportable with facts. All, except for a dozen or so houses in the Boulders were built after the waste water treatment plant was built in 1969. These people (Boulders residents) did know, or should have known, that the plant was there. In contrast, the water system for western and southern Carefree was owned and run very well by a private water company until 2007, at which time it was condemned by the Town of Cave Creek who then started operating it. The problems with this Town owned Cave Creek Water Company have become far more acute under ownership and operation by the Town of Cave Creek than they ever were with the private water company. Most of the homes in the western and southern portions of Carefree, which were on the private water company condemned by Cave Creek, were built in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s - before Cave Creek owned the water company. Therefore, this statement by Mr. Schwarzkopf is in direct contradiction to the facts. Boulders residents should have known about the waste water treatment plant because it was there before their homes were built, but the water company for western and southern Carefree was condemned by the Town of Cave Creek after the homes of Carefree residents in those areas were built.
In reality, no trade-off is required between the public amenity of clean and abundant water and the other public amenity of preserved Sonoran desert. As explained in my eighth report, saving our desert would likely also save millions of dollars. The project’s engineers are undoubtedly capable of devising alternative solutions that do not involve the condemnation and taking of privately preserved open space.
Fact Check
This is total nonsense. No knowledgeable person in the Southwest. let alone Arizona, ever mentions the term “abundant” in relation to water. Further, and as addressed previously, CVL has looked extensively at alternative sites for the water storage reservoir and no site other than the open space along Tom Darlington, in an area without any nearby homes and with an easement running through it for underground utilities, comes even close to delivering upon system performance as does this location. Mr.Schwarzkopf offers no factual basis to assume otherwise. If he claims that he does, he should show us the engineering reports upon which he bases his opinion so that we may all benefit from his information.
The hyperbole and misdirection now being employed to help imperious town officials evade accountability is an insult to every thoughtful resident of Carefree. The appropriate response to a government’s evasion of accountability in our democracy is ballot initiatives. DS’s response in this note, based upon his lack of knowledge, fabrication of “ facts” and his weak attempt to paint a picture of rational reasons why the water storage reservoir should not be in the Boulders open space is an affront to every Carefree resident. Relative to DS’s comments on a ballot initiative, does he not recognize that the last two Carefree elections were primarily about integrating water service for western and southern Carefree into the Carefree Water Company?
Fact Check
What makes Mr. Schwarzkopf think that an initiative at this point, when the Carefree Water Company is well into the project and has expended/committed to millions of dollars in costs, would be supported by non-Boulders Carefree residents, who comprise over 85% of the Carefree residents? Why would the other Carefree residents cancel strengthening their water service while at the same time increasing their costs (through higher rates to pay for the dollars already committed into this effort) with no benefit to them but additional costs to them? What Mr.Schwarzkopf and his group seem to be seeking is a selfish benefit to Boulders residents at the expense of all Carefree residents. all Carefree residents are already paying on their monthly sewer bills for the removal of the wastewater treatment plant which was located in the Boulders and primarily benefitted Boulders residents. Why would they now want to pay incrementally to remove a water storage reservoir from its most appropriate place in the Boulders open space at great cost to themselves?
Don Schwarzkopf
Carefree Truth-Letters from Readers
7/28/21
A recap of the Carefree Water Reservoir Situation
I would like to address some of the comments being circulated opposing the proposed site for the underground fresh water storage reservoir in an existing utility easement along Tom Darlington Road in the Boulders community.
First, 1000 plus Carefree residents living on the south and west sides of Carefree have a real problem with their existing water service with no representation to address their issues. Something had to be changed. The Carefree Water Company and outside engineering professionals evaluated all reasonable solutions, and determined that integrating those accounts into the Carefree Water Company system was the best long-term solution.
Utility infrastructure has to go somewhere in the community it serves. For this integration to proceed, it required one additional water storage reservoir to service the expanded Carefree Water system. On a comparative basis, this additional required reservoir is relatively small relative to the buried one million gallon reservoir already in Carefree. Reservoirs function to provide additional water to accounts during heavy usage times, and for fire service throughout the entire system. Reservoirs typically are placed in sites at a higher elevation than the areas they service to take advantage of gravity. For example, water service for the Boulders subdivision is currently supplied through a reservoir located at a higher elevation in another subdivision to the north of the Boulders.
Siting a reservoir is always a complex process. Functional system operating requirements are paramount, closely followed by the desire to locate any new reservoir as far away as possible from nearby residences. Costs, both construction and on-going operating costs, are also very important as these will be factored into the rate base and charged to all users of the system. The guiding principle Carefree follows is to provide the greatest benefits to the most residents while causing the least impositions to the fewest residents, and at the lowest cost.
Professional engineers evaluated 32 site locations in Carefree against key criteria, and singled out the site in the Boulders utility easement as the only one meeting all of the established criteria. Reports from people not involved in this evaluation claiming that there were other potentially “better” sites than the identified site in the Boulders property - and that some of these other sites were free, are unfounded and untrue. Further supporting the usage of this site was that the Carefree Water Company had an existing utility easement and existing water infrastructure at this specific location.
Working cooperatively with the previous Boulders HOA Directors, the Carefree Water Company agreed to locate the reservoir as far away from existing residences as possible, to bury the reservoir underground and landscape over and around it. In essence, maintain the open desert appearance from any nearby residence.
The Carefree Water Company and the Town are now faced with the criticism from some of the residents of the Boulders that the Town is not representing them if the Water Company did not abandon the reasoned plans of the professional engineers and place the reservoir in another location. We should all realize that no decision in a democracy is 100 – 0. Where were these Boulders residents when the hundreds of residents from south and west Carefree came forward in person and/or in letters during the last four years? Further, the primary issue in the last two Carefree elections was about the integration of all of Carefree’s residents into the Carefree Water Company system, and the candidates in support of this action won overwhelmingly, and the others lost. This is what a community’s elected leaders promised to do and what is being delivered – it is responsive government.
We have requested the professional engineers a number of times now to revisit and re-examine their recommended site for the reservoir. We asked them if there was any other site which could meet the established criteria. Their answer kept coming back the same. No. To move the site elsewhere would decrease the effectiveness and functionality of the entire Carefree Water system and increase costs. And, any increased costs would necessarily need to be funded by all Carefree users of this system, including the 85%+ that don’t live in the Boulders.
Whether it is my role on Council or the Water Company, my fiduciary duty and that of all of the other elected and appointed officials, is to the broader good of the Carefree community. The proposed plans to build a buried fresh water reservoir in an existing utility easement adjacent to Tom Darlington is the best site from a functional perspective, most financially feasible which mitigates future impacts to water rates and would cause the least disruption to the neighborhood.
Les Peterson
Carefree Mayor
The Required New Water Storage Reservoir will be:
Underground,
Covered with native topsoil
Re-vegetated with natural vegetation
Far from any existing residence
Let’s clear up the orchestrated mis-information circulating about the final appearance of the water storage reservoir under discussion. The objective of the Carefree Water Company is to make the appearance of the relatively small fresh water reservoir site blend in with the surrounding vegetation.
The reservoir will be underground, except for one corner which will be 2’ – 3’ above natural grade. The control panel will also be above ground, as required by OSHA. All above ground openings will be oriented towards Tom Darlington and buffered by native trees.
All of the reservoir, including the above ground corner, will be covered over with 2’ feet minimum of native topsoil taken from the excavation to recess the reservoir.
Native vegetation, supplemented with other native shrubs and trees, will be placed above and around the reservoir, and around any above ground openings. This vegetation will be serviced by drip irrigation until the vegetation is firmly established. The Carefree Water Company will manage and maintain the landscaping in perpetuity.
The reservoir will be 160 feet from the closest residence, which is substantially farther away than the closest residence at any of the other 31 sites evaluated. Access will only be from Tom Darlington Road. Access will not be required through a residential neighborhood.
The location of this buried fresh water reservoir has been determined by a licensed professional engineering firm who modeled the water system and identified this site to be the least disruptive to the community and nearby neighbors, the best location to ensure proper water pressures throughout the system and to be the most economical. The alternative sites do not meet this criteria which means that they would be more costly to develop and operate, likely be above ground because of existing rock formations and in someone else’s back yard. The proposed solution is the best solution for the Carefree community.
Graphics prepared by the professional engineering firm which designed the reservoir, Coe and Van Loo, showing both the final appearance and the distance from the closest residence, follow.
Les Peterson
Board Chairman, Carefree Water Company
Carefree Truth-Letters from Readers
7/21/21
HOOVER DAM IS EMPTY - The Hoover Dam's water falls to its lowest level EVER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cothsUhEBIc
(Lyn's note: I was invited to respond to the letter published in Letters 2 weeks ago from the gentleman in the Boulders who has been sending out "reports" claiming there are no problems with the Cave Creek Water Co., which is solely dependent on CAP, and that there is no need to move those in the Carefree Service Area over to the Carefree Water Company. The link above takes you to an article about how Lake Mead is at its lowest point since being first filled in the 1930s, with no end in sight to its level dropping, and that cuts to CAP are coming.
Lyn Hitchon
The June 24 edition of the Sonoran News included a letter signed ‘David Leibowitz’. This letter objected to the Town of Carefree using eminent domain to secure land to install an underground water tank to serve 30% of the Town’s population and provide improved fire fighting capacity.
Did you know the Political Action Committee (PAC), Carefree Citizens for Representative Government, seeking to stop this tank paid Mr. Leibowitz, who is not a resident of Carefree, $6,250 to write this letter? This hired gun’s letter had the false appearance of a local resident expressing an opinion.
Did you know that this PAC, as of June 30 had collected $12,500 from a State of Delaware corporation / LLC with no discernible connection to a real person, let alone a citizen of Carefree?
All of this information is available in the quarterly financial report filed by the PAC earlier this month, as required by law, and is public information.
Mr. Leibowitz bemoans a lack of transparency by the Town. Mr. Leibowitz and this PAC are transparent frauds wrapping themselves in the flag of conservation while his clients live along water guzzling, Boulder golf courses where countless acres of pristine desert once stood.
Surprised? We should expect nothing less from frauds hiding behind a hired gun paid for by masked donors lobbying for a selfish, self-centered outcome.
Jessica Williams
Is there a new “stink” arising from the Boulders and The Foothills Focus?
Recent front page articles in the June 23rd and July 16th editions of the Foothills Focus have been highly critical of the Carefree Town and the Carefree Water Company management’s handling of the recent rate hike from Liberty/Black Mountain Sewer and the fresh water storage reservoir planned in the utility easement along Tom Darlington in Boulders open space. While critical of the Town and Water Company, these articles have been very supportive of the actions of a group of residents from the Boulders who oppose the water storage reservoir being located in the Boulders.
A recent filing for a Political Action Committee (PAC), named “Carefree Citizens for Responsible Government” was received by the Town. From the people identified as associated with this PAC, it suggests that they are the same people from the Boulders who oppose the planned water storage reservoir location.
The documents filed by the PAC revealed telling information. These documents indicated that David Leibowitz, who operates the communications group Leibowitz Solo, is a Foothills Focus Columnist.
Leibowitz Solo is listed in the PAC filing as the recipient of $6,250 for his “consulting” services to them.
This working relationship gives rise to a number of pertinent questions:
- Was there a conflict of interest between Mr. Leibowitz’s work as a Foothills Focus Columnist and the payment for his consulting services by the PAC?
- Did Mr. Leibowitz “slant” the articles published in favor of the objectives of the PAC?
- Was front page placement of the articles favoring the PAC objectives related to Mr. Leibowitz’s relationship and influence with The Foothills Focus?
- Was The Foothills Focus knowledgeable of or involved in any of these actions?
- Was the PAC management knowledgeable of and did they approve of these attempts to influence Carefree residents in this manner?
The PAC filing also shows the PAC, as of June 30, had collected $12,500. Through the subterfuge of a Delaware corporation / LLC listed in the filing, it is not possible to determine the source of what can only be described as dark money.
Reasonable people will observe the obvious. The members of this PAC, while demanding that the Town be fully transparent, obviously hold themselves to a far lower standard.
Christian Davis
Carefree Truth-Letters from Readers
7/7/21
“Boulders resident Don Schwarzkopf is sending out missives opposing the joining of the Carefree Service Area (residences and businesses in Carefree currently served by the Cave Creek Water Company) with the Carefree Water Company. He and his cohorts have hired "influencer" David Lebowitz, president of the company Lebowitz Solo, who moved to Phoenix from the east coast. According to BallotPedia. "Influencers in American politics are power players who help get candidates elected, put through policy proposals, cause ideological changes, and affect public perceptions."
The citizens of Carefree are being charged significantly more for our sewer rates, starting June 1st, because the Town of Carefree supported the residents in the Boulders who were suffering from extensive sewer odors that had made some residences there literally unlivable. The sewer plant was shut down by Liberty Utilities, private owner of the sewer company that services us, at considerable expense, which is the main reason for our sewer rate increase.
All the property owners in Carefree, both residential and business, are paying for this so the residents in the Boulders could breathe fresh air. This group now fighting our water transfer are squealing that the water tank "hurts their property values" (which the sewer odors most certainly did), without providing them with any benefit. Well, our sewer rate increase to get rid of their sewer odors certainly did not provide the rest of Carefree with any benefit, but it was the right thing to do, something which does not seem to concern this group in the Boulders.
The Carefree Water Company draws from both multiple functioning wells that go into the huge aquifer beneath Carefree and Scottsdale and from CAP, so is not totally dependent on CAP water. CAP is already talking about instituting rationing due to the extended drought. We need to get off of Cave Creek Water for a multitude of reasons, and this group in the Boulders is not only delaying that, but is trying to derail it entirely.”
Our communities need to work together to ensure all residents receive water services we all deserve. It would be nice for the small opposition group in the Boulder’s to support this water effort, as Carefree supported them to ensure they had clean air.
Thank you.
Cara and John Herkamp
I’m not vicious. I’m not threatening the town, or its water supply. I am neither a cannibal nor a serial killer. I just don’t believe that Carefree town officials are omniscient and infallible.
There are three main concerns that any thoughtful Carefree resident should have about the town’s “water transition” project:
1) Why does it make sense to completely replace the existing water delivery infrastructure in western Carefree, when less drastic measures could achieve the same objectives ?
2) How can it make sense to spend more than 20 million dollars just to make the same Central Arizona Project water flow out of the same faucets, when so much else could be accomplished with this level of investment / indebtedness ?
3) Why should the town expropriate privately preserved open space for the above- ground industrial portion of this project, when they admit that other options are viable ?
A series of eight reports to my fellow members of the Boulders HOA examining these questions are freely available here: https://www.bouldersnorthhoa.com/water- tank/. My reports are based upon detailed review of thousands of pages of the town’s own documents produced in ongoing litigation, which few others have seen or bothered to examine.
Carefree is a tiny town of just 4000 people, with a small administration and town council demonstrably moving in lockstep under a single decision-maker. The engineers involved in this project have performed only a facilitating role, hobbled by the decisions and constraints that town officials have placed upon them. It would be foolhardy for us to assume that good decisions are being made about every aspect of such a complex and costly project.
In March, Boulders HOA members voted overwhelmingly to replace a board of directors who were unwilling to ask serious questions about the project. The town responded by immediately filing suit for condemnation of our association’s common land.
About fifty years ago, before the town of Carefree existed, developers of the Boulders set aside land to preserve as much as possible of this especially beautiful portion of the Sonoran desert. This land is a benefit enjoyed by everyone traveling on Tom Darlington Drive, and the Carefree General Plan recognizes it as valuable passive open space that “contributes to the social, economic and environmental well-being of the Town . . . benefits local businesses and helps strengthen the local economic base . . . (and) protects the natural flora fauna of the Upper Sonoran Desert, thereby preserving one of the foremost characteristics of the Town.”
This preserved open desert space is also the defining characteristic of The Boulders. Purchasers of homes in The Boulders paid a premium when this land was set aside, and buyers today continue to pay a significant premium over other homes in Carefree because of it. Permanent preservation is specified in the recorded land titles, and for decades local real estate agents have routinely assured buyers that nothing would ever be built there.
Now the town wants to take a particularly picturesque portion of this land, right in the middle of our public frontage along Tom Darlington Drive, for the price of a good set of patio furniture.
Anyone under the illusion that removal of the wastewater treatment plant was a gift to The Boulders should read this news release of May 13, 2013: https://www.carefree.org/DocumentCenter/View/286/Black-Mountain-Sewer-Plant- Closing-Press-Release-May-13-2013-PDF. For decades, without thanks or compensation, The Boulders endured the burden of processing sewage from all around the town at a facility originally built to serve fewer than 50 homes, but subsequently exploited by the town to serve more than 2,000.
The reverse of our Boulders situation is found in Carefree Sentinel Rock and other parts of western Carefree. Purchasers of homes in these neighborhoods undoubtedly did so with the knowledge that their water would be provided through Cave Creek. They likely paid less for their homes because of that. Yet now they clamor to be saved from their own decision, at the cost of more than $20 million in public funds and the taking of land paid for and preserved by Boulders residents.
In reality, no trade-off is required between the public amenity of clean and abundant water and the other public amenity of preserved Sonoran desert. As explained in my eighth report, saving our desert would likely also save millions of dollars. The project’s engineers are undoubtedly capable of devising alternative solutions that do not involve the condemnation and taking of privately preserved open space.
The hyperbole and misdirection now being employed to help imperious town officials evade accountability is an insult to every thoughtful resident of Carefree. The appropriate response to a government’s evasion of accountability in our democracy is ballot initiatives.
Don Schwarzkopf
Carefree Truth-Newsletter
7/6/21
The remainder of the letters addressed the issue of the Carefree Service Area being brought into the Carefree Water Company, and reading them took up the rest of the almost hour long Call to the Public. All but the final letter were in favor of the water transfer. (Lyn's note: All but that final letter, and one from a manager at the Boulders Resort which spoke in favor of the transfer, were included in the last 2 weeks of Carefree Truth's Letters from Readers, and as far as I know, all were also included in the Sonoran News in either the print or the online versions. The 2 letters not printed in Carefree Truth Letters from Readers had not been sent to me.)
The final letter was from a gentleman who mentioned to Councilman Tony Geiger that some of the information about the water transfer is on the Town's website, but major meetings and Power Point presentations are not there yet. He had been assured months ago that all the information would be posted there. He does not consent to this lack of transparency and obvious disregard for the town's residents and their right to know.
https://vimeo.com/572874309
Carefree Truth-Letters from Readers
6/30/21
Carefree Citizens for Protecting our Water Supply
The Town of Carefree has come under vicious attacks by a small group of people living in the north part of the Boulders whose actions may threaten our water supply if they are successful. The state of Arizona is facing severe reductions in water usage as Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the major reservoirs of the Colorado River on which we & the entire state of Arizona depend, are at their lowest levels in history. The water from the Colorado River reaches us through the Central Arizona Project (CAP) canals you have seen, which will cease to operate if this current “drought of record” continues much longer.
Fortunately, in the event this happens, Carefree has developed a very sustainable water supply available to our residents which is not the case in most communities. This is the result of effective water conservation plans put in place by Carefree and the excellent planning and management of the Carefree Water Company since acquiring it in 1999 in order to control and protect our water supply. Key to this plan was building adequate water reserves for our citizens and businesses. Our reserves are supported by water storage tanks in several strategic locations throughout our Town which are an essential part of our water infrastructure system.
The group of people threatening our Town and water supply are operating anonymously under the name “Save our Desert”, a common ploy used by people like this to create the opposite impression of what they are actually doing. They are not saving the desert, only trying to deny other Carefree citizens the benefits of water storage the Town has made available to them. Point of fact, this group is not complaining about the two large above-ground tanks installed in another Carefree neighborhood, containing 550,000 gallons of water that protects and supplies the water going to their homes. They are only objecting to one small, underground tank, located on open space that is necessary for the availability of water to other Carefree citizens.
This group has hired an outside political operative or “story teller”, as he is characterized on his website, to spin their message as seen in the article written by David Leibowitz in the June 16th edition of the Sonoran News. Those Carefree citizens committed to “Saving & Protecting our Water Supply” would kindly ask this anonymous group and their “hired guns” to please stop what you are doing, start caring for those living around you, and become responsible citizens of Carefree.
Sent to the Sonoran News:
Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to the letters and articles you’ve published regarding the water situation in Carefree. Having been very active and involved in our community during the 20+ years since we built our home in Carefree, it is most disappointing to see the behavior of this group in the north Boulders demeaning our Town, and those serving in leadership as being reported in your paper. Assuring all our citizens a safe and secure water supply was always part of the original plan when the Town purchased the water company in 1999. The plan was all inclusive from the beginning, but needed to be accomplished in stages with everyone’s cooperation in order to be able to pay as we go and not accumulate any debt for the Town. We are now in the final stages of implementation, and the Town has greatly appreciated the patience of the 500+ home owners who have waited so long to become part of the system, to which they are also entitled, and we certainly don’t need the problems now being created by this group as we complete the plan.
From the actions we’re seeing, this group certainly does not represent the character and quality of the people I have known in the community who have given so much over many years to make Carefree the special place it has become. This has always been a very giving community and I, like many others, have supported and served on the boards of many of our great non-profit organizations here. I am currently president of two homeowners’ associations, one in Carefree and the other in the Boulders. I have also served on the Carefree Town Council, Planning & Zoning Commission, and played an active role in the development of our water infrastructure system which has created a near 100-year water reserve supply to protect all of our citizens against the severe water shortages our state is already experiencing. Our reserves not only assure the water available to our homes, but also the water we have available to protect our community against the increasing number of fires taking place. We have done all of this without creating debt, without property taxes, and have the highest per capita financial reserves in the state.
This is clearly an enviable record of accomplishments now being threatened by this group in the north Boulders operating anonymously under the assumed name of “Save Our Desert”. They are not saving the desert, only trying to deny other Carefree citizens the same availability of water which they have been given. I would kindly ask this group to either please stop what you are doing, for the benefit of all our residents, or come out of the closet and tell us who you are as the Carefree citizens who actually contribute and do care about our entire community, I’m quite sure, would like to know so they may have a direct dialogue with you.
Sincerely,
Lloyd Meyer
Beyond the points stated by many Carefree resident in support of switching the residents currently serviced by Town of Cave Creek Water to Carefree Water Company, I wanted to address a few extremely important points of my own about the statements I have seen from Don Schwarzkopf, a Boulders resident who has been leading the charge against this transfer in service.
I don't know Mr. Schwarzkof nor do I know his technical background, if any. However, when he states that he has "participated in discussions with a highly qualified water system engineer" and then begins to spout forth points presumably coming from the mouth of that engineer against the transfer of the water service mentioned above, he neither identifies the engineer that has called out these points nor lists this engineer's qualifications. Instead, he goes on and on, railing against the project to transfer the water service in such a misleading way that we have no idea where the statements from the "qualified engineer" end and Mr. Schwarzkopf's personal prejudices begin. In effect, he insults the intelligence of the Carefree resident that reads his points by hoping the reader will be fooled and will assume that all of them were put forth by the "qualified engineer".
Further, Mr. Schwarzkopf shows that he has no understanding of professional engineering at all when he casts reckless aspersions on a well-respected engineering firm (Coe & Van Loo) that the Town of Carefree has engaged to evaluate the transfer of the water service by implying that the conclusions reached by Coe& Van Loo were unfounded and stating that that hired consultants "tell elected officials what they want to hear".
As a registered professional engineer myself for over 30 years in three states (now retired) having worked for E.I.dupont de Nemours and Company directly out of graduate school and then running my own firm designing processing, water handling and cooling systems for several of the largest engineering firms in the world; systems still operating at power and chemical plants today, it is laughable if not outrageous to think for a second that any professional engineering firm would stake its reputation and jeopardize its professional license and industry accreditation on anything other than hard facts and solid documentation.
In all my years as a professional engineer in both staff as well as management positions, if unfounded claims such as Mr. Schwarzkopf is making were expressed at corporate meetings, that employee would no longer be asked to participate in any such meetings, assuming he were not demoted or fired immediately.
I urge the Carefree Town Council to immediately proceed with the water transfer.
Our future water supply and hundreds of Carefree home values depend upon your action.
Respectfully,
Jeff Kerner
Carefree Sentinel Rock
Carefree, AZ
Re: Carefree Water Project
My name is Darrell Doepke and I live in a section of Carefree that would benefit from the proposed water storage tank installation next to Tom Darlington Road. We are eager for this to happen.
I have read much of Mr. Schwarzkopf’s reports, and have read his latest report dated May 6, 2021 twice. His reports are very detailed, compelling and well thought out, and I respect his opinions on this matter. If I’m interpreting his comments correctly, it seems the overriding concern is that such a project would negatively impact the value of homes within The Boulders community by detracting from the aesthetic beauty of the land. I think any homeowner anywhere would have concerns about changes that would affect the value of their home, myself included.
I would like to offer another perspective.
As a REALTOR® who lives and works up here in the far north valley, I’m well aware that The Boulders is a prestigious name that is held in high regard. I also know that there are many factors that determine the value of a home: its age, design, condition, level of updating, view, lot size etc. I would suggest that these factors are much stronger determinants of value than a small parcel of land on a community’s edge.
Mr. Schwarzkopf states that this plot of land under discussion is some of The Boulders “most valuable and picturesque common land” upon which this water storage tank would “materially change the character of the Boulders in its entirety.” After driving by the property and seeing it for myself, that seems to be an exaggeration. Here are some photos I took:
Letter From Mr. Schwarzkopf,
I’m not vicious. I’m not threatening the town, or its water supply. I am neither a cannibal nor a serial killer. I just don’t believe that Carefree town officials are omniscient and infallible.
There are three main concerns that any thoughtful Carefree resident should have about the town’s “water transition” project:
1) Why does it make sense to completely replace the existing water delivery infrastructure in western Carefree, when less drastic measures could achieve the same objectives ?
Fact Check
All other measures were thoroughly investigated and evaluated by the Carefree Water Company, the Town of Carefree Staff and Council and a professional engineering firm, Coe & Van Loo (CVL), and the conclusion was that adding these accounts into the Carefree Water Company system was the best option by far. Mr. Schwarzkopf was not a part of any of those analyses and discussions, nor was this information ever shared with him or anyone associated with him, so he has no factual basis to state that “less drastic measures could achieve the same objectives.” That statement is sheer speculation on his part.
2) How can it make sense to spend more than 20 million dollars just to make the same Central Arizona Project water flow out of the same faucets, when so much else could be accomplished with this level of investment / indebtedness?
Fact Check
This is a statement made by a person without familiarity of the situation or knowledge of the facts. The IGA with Cave Creek has been in place since 2007, and it has been Carefree’s objective to integrate the remaining 30% of the Town’s residents into the Carefree Water Company system as soon as practical since 2007. Don doesn’t factor into his statements the many primary reasons supporting the integration of these remaining Carefree residences and businesses into the Carefree Water Company system. Things like the purity of the water after treatment, the condition and age of the line delivering the CAP water to Cave Creek, that Cave Creek is very near to exhausting its allocation of CAP water, which is nearly 100% of its source of water, that the Carefree Water Company has substantially more balanced sources of water, maintenance and repairs to the system are dramatically different, particularly including fire hydrants, and the list could go on and on. Beyond that, the $20 million figure includes other expenses beyond integrating just these accounts into the Carefree Water Company system, like upgrades to the existing system of approximately $3 million. And, for every dollar spent fighting the issue of the water storage reservoir with the Boulders HOA and dissidents, it will likely reduce the amount available to be spent on the existing system, including that servicing the Boulders. And further beyond that, and the primary reason is that the Town and Carefree Water Company have obligations to assure an adequate and quality water supply to all Carefree residents, not just 70% of them.
3) Why should the town expropriate privately preserved open space for the above- ground industrial portion of this project, when they admit that other options are viable ?
Fact Check
The controls are required to be above ground because that is a requirement of OSHA. The water storage reservoir will be underground except for a portion of one corner which will be 2’ to 3’ above ground. The reservoir will be covered over with native soil and landscaped, and the control panels will be landscaped to make them blend in with their surroundings This approach will provides the greatest good for the most Carefree residents while causing the least detriment to the fewest Carefree residents. This site was identified by CVL, after a thorough review of 32 potential sites, to be the only site which met all of the criteria and objectives established. There were many factors that went into this analysis, particularly with regards to how the location of the required water storage reservoir would cause the entire system to function and perform. Mr. Schwarzkopf and his group apparently went out on their own site selection expedition and they looked for open land anywhere in Carefree outside of the Boulders, without any consideration in their thinking of how the water system would perform. Their analysis was faulty, because its overriding objective was to support their desire a location for the water storage reservoir anywhere except in the utility easement along Tom Darlington without regard for how the water system would perform.
A series of eight reports to my fellow members of the Boulders HOA examining these questions are freely available here: www.bouldersnorthhoa.com/water- tank My reports are based upon detailed review of thousands of pages of the town’s own documents produced in ongoing litigation, which few others have seen or bothered to examine.
Fact Check
These “eight reports” of Mr. Schwarzkopf contain a mish-mash of mis-statements, and are of little benefit to any one seeking factual information regarding this matter. The Carefree Water Company, and the Town, and CVL, are also well aware of what was contained in the documents and deposition summaries. These documents and depositions are primarily records of the written exchanges between the management of these entities who were actively involved in trying to find solutions to benefit Carefree residents with the least disruption to the fewest residents and at the lowest cost. They are snippets of the overall evaluation and dialogue, much of which was verbal and were elements of an overall project which unfolded over two years, and not of the entire puzzle. For anyone to interpret or suggest that the statements and analyses contained in these documents in any way supports that the water system in Carefree did not need to be integrated, or that there is a viable site for the water storage reservoir other than the site identified by CVL in the utility easement in the open space property in the Boulders along Tom Darlington, would be making a gross mis-statement.
Carefree is a tiny town of just 4000 people, with a small administration and town council demonstrably moving in lockstep under a single decision-maker. The engineers involved in this project have performed only a facilitating role, hobbled by the decisions and constraints that town officials have placed upon them. It would be foolhardy for us to assume that good decisions are being made about every aspect of such a complex and costly project.
Fact Check
Assuming Mr. Schwarzkopf is referencing the Mayor as the “single decision maker,” he is incorrect to assume that all others in the Town and/or Carefree Water Company management blindly do his bidding without thinking of the consequences to Carefree residents. The Town Council, the Carefree Water Company Management and CVL are groups of very intelligent, analytical, fact based and independent people, concerned about the well-being of all Carefree residents - not just those living in the Boulders subdivision who appear to consider themselves to be “privileged”. Based upon the input of hundreds of Carefree residents in a series of broadly publicized and attended open Town Meetings during 2018 and 2019, the Mayor was adamant that 100% of Carefree residents should receive comparable high quality water service. Specific recommendations to the Carefree Water Company Directors and the Town Council of how to achieve this objective came from CVL working in concert with the Carefree Water Company. It wasn’t and could not be any single vote or influencer, as it took a majority vote to move ahead. Let’s circle back to Mr. Schwarzkopf’s primary concern, however, - he wants the Water Company to site the required water storage reservoir anywhere but in the Boulders (the typical NIMBY syndrome). But CVL identified the site in the utility easement along Tom Darlington (within the Boulders open space) as the only one of the 32 sites evaluated fulfilling all of the established criteria. If CVL had conducted their analysis and been able to identify an alternative site other than in the Tom Darlington utility easement that delivered the system performance as did the site in the Tom Darlington utility easement, they would have told the Water Company of this finding. But, CVL did not. No other site in Carefree for the water storage reservoir provides even close to the same system performance as does the site identified in the Boulders open space. It isn’t just an identification of empty properties, as Mr. Schwarzkopf has referenced multiple times in his various letters on this topic and seems to think is the solution of siting the water storage reservoir, it is how a location contributes to system performance and costs that also matter.
In March, Boulders HOA members voted overwhelmingly to replace a board of directors who were unwilling to ask serious questions about the project. The town responded by immediately filing suit for condemnation of our association’s common land.
Fact Check
This is a series of mis-statements. Nothing in the Boulders HOA vote was overwhelming. The previous Boulders HOA Board asked serious questions, but came to a different conclusion following legal advice than Mr. Schwarzkopf and his group were willing to accept. During the recent election, there were 4 vacancies of the 9 member Boulders HOA Board (3 Directors who termed out and one who resigned the week of the vote ). At the first meeting of the new Board at which the new officers were elected, the new president resigned within 3 days. Then, a week later, 4 additional Directors and the entire Architectural Review Committee resigned, anticipating that it be would be unproductive working environment in the future. The new (remaining) Boulders HOA Board has only filled one of the additional vacancies, by appointment, as most Boulders residents are refusing to become involved in this controversy. As for the statement that “the town responded by immediately filing suit for condemnation,” the town was forced to do so by Mr. Schwarzkopf and his group after they filed suit and made statements that if/when they lost in court, and another of them would file the next suit, and repeat this tactic until seeking to delay the construction of the water storage reservoir at the selected location until it’s location had to be changed to complete the integration of the water system.
About fifty years ago, before the town of Carefree existed, developers of the Boulders set aside land to preserve as much as possible of this especially beautiful portion of the Sonoran desert. This land is a benefit enjoyed by everyone traveling on Tom Darlington Drive, and the Carefree General Plan recognizes it as valuable passive open space that “contributes to the social, economic and environmental well-being of the Town . . . benefits local businesses and helps strengthen the local economic base . . . (and) protects the natural flora fauna of the Upper Sonoran Desert, thereby preserving one of the foremost characteristics of the Town.”
This preserved open desert space is also the defining characteristic of The Boulders. Purchasers of homes in The Boulders paid a premium when this land was set aside, and buyers today continue to pay a significant premium over other homes in Carefree because of it. Permanent preservation is specified in the recorded land titles, and for decades local real estate agents have routinely assured buyers that nothing would ever be built there.
Fact Check
What support or factual proof does Mr. Schwarzkopf have or present for review that Boulders residents paid a premium for their property, as opposed to, say, a view lot on Black Mountain? Likewise, what support is there that “buyers today continue to pay a significant premium over other homes in Carefree”? One could argue that some of the highest priced homes in Carefree are on view properties on Black Mountain or on the large estate size properties in north Carefree. What evidence does Mr. Schwarzkopf have that preservation of Boulders HOA open space property is referenced within property titles for individual homes, since the open space in the north Boulders is owned by the Boulders HOA as clearly stated in their CC&R documents? To offer as support for his assertions that “for decades local real estate agents have routinely assured buyers that nothing would ever be built there” is so unfounded in legal precedent as to not warrant a response.
Now the town wants to take a particularly picturesque portion of this land, right in the middle of our public frontage along Tom Darlington Drive, for the price of a good set of patio furniture.
Fact Check
A “buildable” lot in the north Boulders is probably worth approximately $300,000. The subject site for the water storage reservoir has some serious limitations upon it which impact its value. It is zoned as open space and it has a utility easement running through it. It is not a “build able” lot for a home or commercial structure. No individual could purchase the land and hope to build a home upon it. It would have to be left as open space, except for usage by a utility. So, an individual purchasing the land could do nothing with it, but a utility could build underground structures upon it. Property with those kinds of restrictions typically has a value of less than 10% of what the land would be worth if were “buildable” for residential purposes. The Town of Carefree land appraisal and offer to purchase the land are posted on the Boulders HOA website mentioned above. It was done by ZADDACK VALUATION ADVISORS, INC. The Boulders HOA commissioned an appraisal, paid for it, but never accepted it or had their appraisal completed. The town completed and presented its appraisal, the Boulders HOA has not brought forth any appraisal.
Anyone under the illusion that removal of the wastewater treatment plant was a gift to The Boulders should read this news release of May 13, 2013: https://www.carefree.org/DocumentCenter/View/286/Black-Mountain-Sewer-Plant- Closing-Press-Release-May-13-2013-PDF. For decades, without thanks or compensation, The Boulders endured the burden of processing sewage from all around the town at a facility originally built to serve fewer than 50 homes, but subsequently exploited by the town to serve more than 2,000.
Fact Check
This series of statements is unsupportable with facts. The Waste Water Treatment Plant in the Boulders was built in 1969 (long before virtually all of the homes in the Boulders were built) by the owners of the Boulders Resort to provide gray water for their golf course and to serve the few residences (6 - 12) which existed in the Boulders subdivision. Over time, to serve additional residences in the Boulders, to generate additional gray water and to generate additional revenues, this plant started serviced additional residences nearby including those from outside of the Boulders. In 2000, the system was sold to Algonquin Water Resources (currently Liberty/Black Mountain Sewer) and this system currently serves the 80% - 90% of Carefree homes and virtually all commercial accounts as a private sewer company. No one, including the Town of Carefree, forced anything on the Boulders Resort. The owners of the Boulders Resort built the plant and they voluntarily sold it to a private company.
The reverse of our Boulders situation is found in Carefree Sentinel Rock and other parts of western Carefree. Purchasers of homes in these neighborhoods undoubtedly did so with the knowledge that their water would be provided through Cave Creek. They likely paid less for their homes because of that. Yet now they clamor to be saved from their own decision, at the cost of more than $20 million in public funds and the taking of land paid for and preserved by Boulders residents.
Fact Check
Again, this series of statements is unsupportable with facts. All, except for a dozen or so houses in the Boulders were built after the waste water treatment plant was built in 1969. These people (Boulders residents) did know, or should have known, that the plant was there. In contrast, the water system for western and southern Carefree was owned and run very well by a private water company until 2007, at which time it was condemned by the Town of Cave Creek who then started operating it. The problems with this Town owned Cave Creek Water Company have become far more acute under ownership and operation by the Town of Cave Creek than they ever were with the private water company. Most of the homes in the western and southern portions of Carefree, which were on the private water company condemned by Cave Creek, were built in the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s - before Cave Creek owned the water company. Therefore, this statement by Mr. Schwarzkopf is in direct contradiction to the facts. Boulders residents should have known about the waste water treatment plant because it was there before their homes were built, but the water company for western and southern Carefree was condemned by the Town of Cave Creek after the homes of Carefree residents in those areas were built.
In reality, no trade-off is required between the public amenity of clean and abundant water and the other public amenity of preserved Sonoran desert. As explained in my eighth report, saving our desert would likely also save millions of dollars. The project’s engineers are undoubtedly capable of devising alternative solutions that do not involve the condemnation and taking of privately preserved open space.
Fact Check
This is total nonsense. No knowledgeable person in the Southwest. let alone Arizona, ever mentions the term “abundant” in relation to water. Further, and as addressed previously, CVL has looked extensively at alternative sites for the water storage reservoir and no site other than the open space along Tom Darlington, in an area without any nearby homes and with an easement running through it for underground utilities, comes even close to delivering upon system performance as does this location. Mr.Schwarzkopf offers no factual basis to assume otherwise. If he claims that he does, he should show us the engineering reports upon which he bases his opinion so that we may all benefit from his information.
The hyperbole and misdirection now being employed to help imperious town officials evade accountability is an insult to every thoughtful resident of Carefree. The appropriate response to a government’s evasion of accountability in our democracy is ballot initiatives. DS’s response in this note, based upon his lack of knowledge, fabrication of “ facts” and his weak attempt to paint a picture of rational reasons why the water storage reservoir should not be in the Boulders open space is an affront to every Carefree resident. Relative to DS’s comments on a ballot initiative, does he not recognize that the last two Carefree elections were primarily about integrating water service for western and southern Carefree into the Carefree Water Company?
Fact Check
What makes Mr. Schwarzkopf think that an initiative at this point, when the Carefree Water Company is well into the project and has expended/committed to millions of dollars in costs, would be supported by non-Boulders Carefree residents, who comprise over 85% of the Carefree residents? Why would the other Carefree residents cancel strengthening their water service while at the same time increasing their costs (through higher rates to pay for the dollars already committed into this effort) with no benefit to them but additional costs to them? What Mr.Schwarzkopf and his group seem to be seeking is a selfish benefit to Boulders residents at the expense of all Carefree residents. all Carefree residents are already paying on their monthly sewer bills for the removal of the wastewater treatment plant which was located in the Boulders and primarily benefitted Boulders residents. Why would they now want to pay incrementally to remove a water storage reservoir from its most appropriate place in the Boulders open space at great cost to themselves?
Don Schwarzkopf
Carefree Truth-Letters from Readers
7/28/21
A recap of the Carefree Water Reservoir Situation
I would like to address some of the comments being circulated opposing the proposed site for the underground fresh water storage reservoir in an existing utility easement along Tom Darlington Road in the Boulders community.
First, 1000 plus Carefree residents living on the south and west sides of Carefree have a real problem with their existing water service with no representation to address their issues. Something had to be changed. The Carefree Water Company and outside engineering professionals evaluated all reasonable solutions, and determined that integrating those accounts into the Carefree Water Company system was the best long-term solution.
Utility infrastructure has to go somewhere in the community it serves. For this integration to proceed, it required one additional water storage reservoir to service the expanded Carefree Water system. On a comparative basis, this additional required reservoir is relatively small relative to the buried one million gallon reservoir already in Carefree. Reservoirs function to provide additional water to accounts during heavy usage times, and for fire service throughout the entire system. Reservoirs typically are placed in sites at a higher elevation than the areas they service to take advantage of gravity. For example, water service for the Boulders subdivision is currently supplied through a reservoir located at a higher elevation in another subdivision to the north of the Boulders.
Siting a reservoir is always a complex process. Functional system operating requirements are paramount, closely followed by the desire to locate any new reservoir as far away as possible from nearby residences. Costs, both construction and on-going operating costs, are also very important as these will be factored into the rate base and charged to all users of the system. The guiding principle Carefree follows is to provide the greatest benefits to the most residents while causing the least impositions to the fewest residents, and at the lowest cost.
Professional engineers evaluated 32 site locations in Carefree against key criteria, and singled out the site in the Boulders utility easement as the only one meeting all of the established criteria. Reports from people not involved in this evaluation claiming that there were other potentially “better” sites than the identified site in the Boulders property - and that some of these other sites were free, are unfounded and untrue. Further supporting the usage of this site was that the Carefree Water Company had an existing utility easement and existing water infrastructure at this specific location.
Working cooperatively with the previous Boulders HOA Directors, the Carefree Water Company agreed to locate the reservoir as far away from existing residences as possible, to bury the reservoir underground and landscape over and around it. In essence, maintain the open desert appearance from any nearby residence.
The Carefree Water Company and the Town are now faced with the criticism from some of the residents of the Boulders that the Town is not representing them if the Water Company did not abandon the reasoned plans of the professional engineers and place the reservoir in another location. We should all realize that no decision in a democracy is 100 – 0. Where were these Boulders residents when the hundreds of residents from south and west Carefree came forward in person and/or in letters during the last four years? Further, the primary issue in the last two Carefree elections was about the integration of all of Carefree’s residents into the Carefree Water Company system, and the candidates in support of this action won overwhelmingly, and the others lost. This is what a community’s elected leaders promised to do and what is being delivered – it is responsive government.
We have requested the professional engineers a number of times now to revisit and re-examine their recommended site for the reservoir. We asked them if there was any other site which could meet the established criteria. Their answer kept coming back the same. No. To move the site elsewhere would decrease the effectiveness and functionality of the entire Carefree Water system and increase costs. And, any increased costs would necessarily need to be funded by all Carefree users of this system, including the 85%+ that don’t live in the Boulders.
Whether it is my role on Council or the Water Company, my fiduciary duty and that of all of the other elected and appointed officials, is to the broader good of the Carefree community. The proposed plans to build a buried fresh water reservoir in an existing utility easement adjacent to Tom Darlington is the best site from a functional perspective, most financially feasible which mitigates future impacts to water rates and would cause the least disruption to the neighborhood.
Les Peterson
Carefree Mayor
The Required New Water Storage Reservoir will be:
Underground,
Covered with native topsoil
Re-vegetated with natural vegetation
Far from any existing residence
Let’s clear up the orchestrated mis-information circulating about the final appearance of the water storage reservoir under discussion. The objective of the Carefree Water Company is to make the appearance of the relatively small fresh water reservoir site blend in with the surrounding vegetation.
The reservoir will be underground, except for one corner which will be 2’ – 3’ above natural grade. The control panel will also be above ground, as required by OSHA. All above ground openings will be oriented towards Tom Darlington and buffered by native trees.
All of the reservoir, including the above ground corner, will be covered over with 2’ feet minimum of native topsoil taken from the excavation to recess the reservoir.
Native vegetation, supplemented with other native shrubs and trees, will be placed above and around the reservoir, and around any above ground openings. This vegetation will be serviced by drip irrigation until the vegetation is firmly established. The Carefree Water Company will manage and maintain the landscaping in perpetuity.
The reservoir will be 160 feet from the closest residence, which is substantially farther away than the closest residence at any of the other 31 sites evaluated. Access will only be from Tom Darlington Road. Access will not be required through a residential neighborhood.
The location of this buried fresh water reservoir has been determined by a licensed professional engineering firm who modeled the water system and identified this site to be the least disruptive to the community and nearby neighbors, the best location to ensure proper water pressures throughout the system and to be the most economical. The alternative sites do not meet this criteria which means that they would be more costly to develop and operate, likely be above ground because of existing rock formations and in someone else’s back yard. The proposed solution is the best solution for the Carefree community.
Graphics prepared by the professional engineering firm which designed the reservoir, Coe and Van Loo, showing both the final appearance and the distance from the closest residence, follow.
Les Peterson
Board Chairman, Carefree Water Company
Carefree Truth-Letters from Readers
7/21/21
HOOVER DAM IS EMPTY - The Hoover Dam's water falls to its lowest level EVER
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cothsUhEBIc
(Lyn's note: I was invited to respond to the letter published in Letters 2 weeks ago from the gentleman in the Boulders who has been sending out "reports" claiming there are no problems with the Cave Creek Water Co., which is solely dependent on CAP, and that there is no need to move those in the Carefree Service Area over to the Carefree Water Company. The link above takes you to an article about how Lake Mead is at its lowest point since being first filled in the 1930s, with no end in sight to its level dropping, and that cuts to CAP are coming.
Lyn Hitchon
The June 24 edition of the Sonoran News included a letter signed ‘David Leibowitz’. This letter objected to the Town of Carefree using eminent domain to secure land to install an underground water tank to serve 30% of the Town’s population and provide improved fire fighting capacity.
Did you know the Political Action Committee (PAC), Carefree Citizens for Representative Government, seeking to stop this tank paid Mr. Leibowitz, who is not a resident of Carefree, $6,250 to write this letter? This hired gun’s letter had the false appearance of a local resident expressing an opinion.
Did you know that this PAC, as of June 30 had collected $12,500 from a State of Delaware corporation / LLC with no discernible connection to a real person, let alone a citizen of Carefree?
All of this information is available in the quarterly financial report filed by the PAC earlier this month, as required by law, and is public information.
Mr. Leibowitz bemoans a lack of transparency by the Town. Mr. Leibowitz and this PAC are transparent frauds wrapping themselves in the flag of conservation while his clients live along water guzzling, Boulder golf courses where countless acres of pristine desert once stood.
Surprised? We should expect nothing less from frauds hiding behind a hired gun paid for by masked donors lobbying for a selfish, self-centered outcome.
Jessica Williams
Is there a new “stink” arising from the Boulders and The Foothills Focus?
Recent front page articles in the June 23rd and July 16th editions of the Foothills Focus have been highly critical of the Carefree Town and the Carefree Water Company management’s handling of the recent rate hike from Liberty/Black Mountain Sewer and the fresh water storage reservoir planned in the utility easement along Tom Darlington in Boulders open space. While critical of the Town and Water Company, these articles have been very supportive of the actions of a group of residents from the Boulders who oppose the water storage reservoir being located in the Boulders.
A recent filing for a Political Action Committee (PAC), named “Carefree Citizens for Responsible Government” was received by the Town. From the people identified as associated with this PAC, it suggests that they are the same people from the Boulders who oppose the planned water storage reservoir location.
The documents filed by the PAC revealed telling information. These documents indicated that David Leibowitz, who operates the communications group Leibowitz Solo, is a Foothills Focus Columnist.
Leibowitz Solo is listed in the PAC filing as the recipient of $6,250 for his “consulting” services to them.
This working relationship gives rise to a number of pertinent questions:
- Was there a conflict of interest between Mr. Leibowitz’s work as a Foothills Focus Columnist and the payment for his consulting services by the PAC?
- Did Mr. Leibowitz “slant” the articles published in favor of the objectives of the PAC?
- Was front page placement of the articles favoring the PAC objectives related to Mr. Leibowitz’s relationship and influence with The Foothills Focus?
- Was The Foothills Focus knowledgeable of or involved in any of these actions?
- Was the PAC management knowledgeable of and did they approve of these attempts to influence Carefree residents in this manner?
The PAC filing also shows the PAC, as of June 30, had collected $12,500. Through the subterfuge of a Delaware corporation / LLC listed in the filing, it is not possible to determine the source of what can only be described as dark money.
Reasonable people will observe the obvious. The members of this PAC, while demanding that the Town be fully transparent, obviously hold themselves to a far lower standard.
Christian Davis
Carefree Truth-Letters from Readers
7/7/21
“Boulders resident Don Schwarzkopf is sending out missives opposing the joining of the Carefree Service Area (residences and businesses in Carefree currently served by the Cave Creek Water Company) with the Carefree Water Company. He and his cohorts have hired "influencer" David Lebowitz, president of the company Lebowitz Solo, who moved to Phoenix from the east coast. According to BallotPedia. "Influencers in American politics are power players who help get candidates elected, put through policy proposals, cause ideological changes, and affect public perceptions."
The citizens of Carefree are being charged significantly more for our sewer rates, starting June 1st, because the Town of Carefree supported the residents in the Boulders who were suffering from extensive sewer odors that had made some residences there literally unlivable. The sewer plant was shut down by Liberty Utilities, private owner of the sewer company that services us, at considerable expense, which is the main reason for our sewer rate increase.
All the property owners in Carefree, both residential and business, are paying for this so the residents in the Boulders could breathe fresh air. This group now fighting our water transfer are squealing that the water tank "hurts their property values" (which the sewer odors most certainly did), without providing them with any benefit. Well, our sewer rate increase to get rid of their sewer odors certainly did not provide the rest of Carefree with any benefit, but it was the right thing to do, something which does not seem to concern this group in the Boulders.
The Carefree Water Company draws from both multiple functioning wells that go into the huge aquifer beneath Carefree and Scottsdale and from CAP, so is not totally dependent on CAP water. CAP is already talking about instituting rationing due to the extended drought. We need to get off of Cave Creek Water for a multitude of reasons, and this group in the Boulders is not only delaying that, but is trying to derail it entirely.”
Our communities need to work together to ensure all residents receive water services we all deserve. It would be nice for the small opposition group in the Boulder’s to support this water effort, as Carefree supported them to ensure they had clean air.
Thank you.
Cara and John Herkamp
I’m not vicious. I’m not threatening the town, or its water supply. I am neither a cannibal nor a serial killer. I just don’t believe that Carefree town officials are omniscient and infallible.
There are three main concerns that any thoughtful Carefree resident should have about the town’s “water transition” project:
1) Why does it make sense to completely replace the existing water delivery infrastructure in western Carefree, when less drastic measures could achieve the same objectives ?
2) How can it make sense to spend more than 20 million dollars just to make the same Central Arizona Project water flow out of the same faucets, when so much else could be accomplished with this level of investment / indebtedness ?
3) Why should the town expropriate privately preserved open space for the above- ground industrial portion of this project, when they admit that other options are viable ?
A series of eight reports to my fellow members of the Boulders HOA examining these questions are freely available here: https://www.bouldersnorthhoa.com/water- tank/. My reports are based upon detailed review of thousands of pages of the town’s own documents produced in ongoing litigation, which few others have seen or bothered to examine.
Carefree is a tiny town of just 4000 people, with a small administration and town council demonstrably moving in lockstep under a single decision-maker. The engineers involved in this project have performed only a facilitating role, hobbled by the decisions and constraints that town officials have placed upon them. It would be foolhardy for us to assume that good decisions are being made about every aspect of such a complex and costly project.
In March, Boulders HOA members voted overwhelmingly to replace a board of directors who were unwilling to ask serious questions about the project. The town responded by immediately filing suit for condemnation of our association’s common land.
About fifty years ago, before the town of Carefree existed, developers of the Boulders set aside land to preserve as much as possible of this especially beautiful portion of the Sonoran desert. This land is a benefit enjoyed by everyone traveling on Tom Darlington Drive, and the Carefree General Plan recognizes it as valuable passive open space that “contributes to the social, economic and environmental well-being of the Town . . . benefits local businesses and helps strengthen the local economic base . . . (and) protects the natural flora fauna of the Upper Sonoran Desert, thereby preserving one of the foremost characteristics of the Town.”
This preserved open desert space is also the defining characteristic of The Boulders. Purchasers of homes in The Boulders paid a premium when this land was set aside, and buyers today continue to pay a significant premium over other homes in Carefree because of it. Permanent preservation is specified in the recorded land titles, and for decades local real estate agents have routinely assured buyers that nothing would ever be built there.
Now the town wants to take a particularly picturesque portion of this land, right in the middle of our public frontage along Tom Darlington Drive, for the price of a good set of patio furniture.
Anyone under the illusion that removal of the wastewater treatment plant was a gift to The Boulders should read this news release of May 13, 2013: https://www.carefree.org/DocumentCenter/View/286/Black-Mountain-Sewer-Plant- Closing-Press-Release-May-13-2013-PDF. For decades, without thanks or compensation, The Boulders endured the burden of processing sewage from all around the town at a facility originally built to serve fewer than 50 homes, but subsequently exploited by the town to serve more than 2,000.
The reverse of our Boulders situation is found in Carefree Sentinel Rock and other parts of western Carefree. Purchasers of homes in these neighborhoods undoubtedly did so with the knowledge that their water would be provided through Cave Creek. They likely paid less for their homes because of that. Yet now they clamor to be saved from their own decision, at the cost of more than $20 million in public funds and the taking of land paid for and preserved by Boulders residents.
In reality, no trade-off is required between the public amenity of clean and abundant water and the other public amenity of preserved Sonoran desert. As explained in my eighth report, saving our desert would likely also save millions of dollars. The project’s engineers are undoubtedly capable of devising alternative solutions that do not involve the condemnation and taking of privately preserved open space.
The hyperbole and misdirection now being employed to help imperious town officials evade accountability is an insult to every thoughtful resident of Carefree. The appropriate response to a government’s evasion of accountability in our democracy is ballot initiatives.
Don Schwarzkopf
Carefree Truth-Newsletter
7/6/21
The remainder of the letters addressed the issue of the Carefree Service Area being brought into the Carefree Water Company, and reading them took up the rest of the almost hour long Call to the Public. All but the final letter were in favor of the water transfer. (Lyn's note: All but that final letter, and one from a manager at the Boulders Resort which spoke in favor of the transfer, were included in the last 2 weeks of Carefree Truth's Letters from Readers, and as far as I know, all were also included in the Sonoran News in either the print or the online versions. The 2 letters not printed in Carefree Truth Letters from Readers had not been sent to me.)
The final letter was from a gentleman who mentioned to Councilman Tony Geiger that some of the information about the water transfer is on the Town's website, but major meetings and Power Point presentations are not there yet. He had been assured months ago that all the information would be posted there. He does not consent to this lack of transparency and obvious disregard for the town's residents and their right to know.
https://vimeo.com/572874309
Carefree Truth-Letters from Readers
6/30/21
Carefree Citizens for Protecting our Water Supply
The Town of Carefree has come under vicious attacks by a small group of people living in the north part of the Boulders whose actions may threaten our water supply if they are successful. The state of Arizona is facing severe reductions in water usage as Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the major reservoirs of the Colorado River on which we & the entire state of Arizona depend, are at their lowest levels in history. The water from the Colorado River reaches us through the Central Arizona Project (CAP) canals you have seen, which will cease to operate if this current “drought of record” continues much longer.
Fortunately, in the event this happens, Carefree has developed a very sustainable water supply available to our residents which is not the case in most communities. This is the result of effective water conservation plans put in place by Carefree and the excellent planning and management of the Carefree Water Company since acquiring it in 1999 in order to control and protect our water supply. Key to this plan was building adequate water reserves for our citizens and businesses. Our reserves are supported by water storage tanks in several strategic locations throughout our Town which are an essential part of our water infrastructure system.
The group of people threatening our Town and water supply are operating anonymously under the name “Save our Desert”, a common ploy used by people like this to create the opposite impression of what they are actually doing. They are not saving the desert, only trying to deny other Carefree citizens the benefits of water storage the Town has made available to them. Point of fact, this group is not complaining about the two large above-ground tanks installed in another Carefree neighborhood, containing 550,000 gallons of water that protects and supplies the water going to their homes. They are only objecting to one small, underground tank, located on open space that is necessary for the availability of water to other Carefree citizens.
This group has hired an outside political operative or “story teller”, as he is characterized on his website, to spin their message as seen in the article written by David Leibowitz in the June 16th edition of the Sonoran News. Those Carefree citizens committed to “Saving & Protecting our Water Supply” would kindly ask this anonymous group and their “hired guns” to please stop what you are doing, start caring for those living around you, and become responsible citizens of Carefree.
Sent to the Sonoran News:
Dear Editor,
I am writing in response to the letters and articles you’ve published regarding the water situation in Carefree. Having been very active and involved in our community during the 20+ years since we built our home in Carefree, it is most disappointing to see the behavior of this group in the north Boulders demeaning our Town, and those serving in leadership as being reported in your paper. Assuring all our citizens a safe and secure water supply was always part of the original plan when the Town purchased the water company in 1999. The plan was all inclusive from the beginning, but needed to be accomplished in stages with everyone’s cooperation in order to be able to pay as we go and not accumulate any debt for the Town. We are now in the final stages of implementation, and the Town has greatly appreciated the patience of the 500+ home owners who have waited so long to become part of the system, to which they are also entitled, and we certainly don’t need the problems now being created by this group as we complete the plan.
From the actions we’re seeing, this group certainly does not represent the character and quality of the people I have known in the community who have given so much over many years to make Carefree the special place it has become. This has always been a very giving community and I, like many others, have supported and served on the boards of many of our great non-profit organizations here. I am currently president of two homeowners’ associations, one in Carefree and the other in the Boulders. I have also served on the Carefree Town Council, Planning & Zoning Commission, and played an active role in the development of our water infrastructure system which has created a near 100-year water reserve supply to protect all of our citizens against the severe water shortages our state is already experiencing. Our reserves not only assure the water available to our homes, but also the water we have available to protect our community against the increasing number of fires taking place. We have done all of this without creating debt, without property taxes, and have the highest per capita financial reserves in the state.
This is clearly an enviable record of accomplishments now being threatened by this group in the north Boulders operating anonymously under the assumed name of “Save Our Desert”. They are not saving the desert, only trying to deny other Carefree citizens the same availability of water which they have been given. I would kindly ask this group to either please stop what you are doing, for the benefit of all our residents, or come out of the closet and tell us who you are as the Carefree citizens who actually contribute and do care about our entire community, I’m quite sure, would like to know so they may have a direct dialogue with you.
Sincerely,
Lloyd Meyer
Beyond the points stated by many Carefree resident in support of switching the residents currently serviced by Town of Cave Creek Water to Carefree Water Company, I wanted to address a few extremely important points of my own about the statements I have seen from Don Schwarzkopf, a Boulders resident who has been leading the charge against this transfer in service.
I don't know Mr. Schwarzkof nor do I know his technical background, if any. However, when he states that he has "participated in discussions with a highly qualified water system engineer" and then begins to spout forth points presumably coming from the mouth of that engineer against the transfer of the water service mentioned above, he neither identifies the engineer that has called out these points nor lists this engineer's qualifications. Instead, he goes on and on, railing against the project to transfer the water service in such a misleading way that we have no idea where the statements from the "qualified engineer" end and Mr. Schwarzkopf's personal prejudices begin. In effect, he insults the intelligence of the Carefree resident that reads his points by hoping the reader will be fooled and will assume that all of them were put forth by the "qualified engineer".
Further, Mr. Schwarzkopf shows that he has no understanding of professional engineering at all when he casts reckless aspersions on a well-respected engineering firm (Coe & Van Loo) that the Town of Carefree has engaged to evaluate the transfer of the water service by implying that the conclusions reached by Coe& Van Loo were unfounded and stating that that hired consultants "tell elected officials what they want to hear".
As a registered professional engineer myself for over 30 years in three states (now retired) having worked for E.I.dupont de Nemours and Company directly out of graduate school and then running my own firm designing processing, water handling and cooling systems for several of the largest engineering firms in the world; systems still operating at power and chemical plants today, it is laughable if not outrageous to think for a second that any professional engineering firm would stake its reputation and jeopardize its professional license and industry accreditation on anything other than hard facts and solid documentation.
In all my years as a professional engineer in both staff as well as management positions, if unfounded claims such as Mr. Schwarzkopf is making were expressed at corporate meetings, that employee would no longer be asked to participate in any such meetings, assuming he were not demoted or fired immediately.
I urge the Carefree Town Council to immediately proceed with the water transfer.
Our future water supply and hundreds of Carefree home values depend upon your action.
Respectfully,
Jeff Kerner
Carefree Sentinel Rock
Carefree, AZ
Re: Carefree Water Project
My name is Darrell Doepke and I live in a section of Carefree that would benefit from the proposed water storage tank installation next to Tom Darlington Road. We are eager for this to happen.
I have read much of Mr. Schwarzkopf’s reports, and have read his latest report dated May 6, 2021 twice. His reports are very detailed, compelling and well thought out, and I respect his opinions on this matter. If I’m interpreting his comments correctly, it seems the overriding concern is that such a project would negatively impact the value of homes within The Boulders community by detracting from the aesthetic beauty of the land. I think any homeowner anywhere would have concerns about changes that would affect the value of their home, myself included.
I would like to offer another perspective.
As a REALTOR® who lives and works up here in the far north valley, I’m well aware that The Boulders is a prestigious name that is held in high regard. I also know that there are many factors that determine the value of a home: its age, design, condition, level of updating, view, lot size etc. I would suggest that these factors are much stronger determinants of value than a small parcel of land on a community’s edge.
Mr. Schwarzkopf states that this plot of land under discussion is some of The Boulders “most valuable and picturesque common land” upon which this water storage tank would “materially change the character of the Boulders in its entirety.” After driving by the property and seeing it for myself, that seems to be an exaggeration. Here are some photos I took:
Dear Lyn,
As president of the Boulders Homeowners Association, I would like to ask whether the Carefree Truth, committed as it is to an “informed citizenry,” will publish a response (from either the BHOA itself or certain individual directors) to some of the recent letters from readers that have been published? I know you would agree that in order to be truly informed, individuals must be presented with both sides of a question and only then allowed to decide for themselves.
I look forward to your response.
Kind regards,
Bernie J. Pistillo
BHOA President
(Lyn's note: We always publish letters that are submitted.)
Thanks Lyn.
I realize that you may well want to make your own response/comment to any letter. But will a letter that is submitted be published unedited?
Much appreciated.
Bernie J Pistillo
(Lyn's note: I would never take it upon myself to edit, then publish, any letter. That would be morally reprehensible.)
Thank you for the confirmation, Lyn. I did not think so, but I was asked to check.
I hope you have a nice weekend.
Bernie
As president of the Boulders Homeowners Association, I would like to ask whether the Carefree Truth, committed as it is to an “informed citizenry,” will publish a response (from either the BHOA itself or certain individual directors) to some of the recent letters from readers that have been published? I know you would agree that in order to be truly informed, individuals must be presented with both sides of a question and only then allowed to decide for themselves.
I look forward to your response.
Kind regards,
Bernie J. Pistillo
BHOA President
(Lyn's note: We always publish letters that are submitted.)
Thanks Lyn.
I realize that you may well want to make your own response/comment to any letter. But will a letter that is submitted be published unedited?
Much appreciated.
Bernie J Pistillo
(Lyn's note: I would never take it upon myself to edit, then publish, any letter. That would be morally reprehensible.)
Thank you for the confirmation, Lyn. I did not think so, but I was asked to check.
I hope you have a nice weekend.
Bernie
Carefree Truth-Letters from Readers
6/23/21
COINS:
Rate Increase Announced for Carefree Residents using the Liberty/Black Mountain Sewer System Liberty Utilities (Black Mountain Sewer) Corporation recently published their Arizona
6/23/21
COINS:
Rate Increase Announced for Carefree Residents using the Liberty/Black Mountain Sewer System Liberty Utilities (Black Mountain Sewer) Corporation recently published their Arizona
Corporation Commission (ACC) approved “New Rates & Surcharge Implementations”, effective June 1, 2021. About 1,250 of their 2,250 ratepayers reside in Carefree. The new monthly residential rates will be $87.99/month, plus a surcharge of $3.71/month for four years, for a total monthly billing of $91.70. Commercial rates will also increase proportionately.
Liberty/Black Mountain estimates that about 85% -90% of this $12.50/month rate increase for residential customers will result from the decommissioning and 2019 closure of the sewer treatment plant which was located in the Boulders subdivision.
Boulders residents had long complained that the odors and noises emanating from this plant negatively impacted the quality of life in the Boulders. Approximately 360 Boulder’s residents sought and received the Town’s support to request that the plant be decommissioned and closed. The Town responded by taking the leadership posture and incurred significant legal expenses in the effort to gain the closure of this plant. The Town believed and continues to believe, that protecting the health, safety and welfare of every one of our residents is of primary importance.
Liberty Utilities/Black Mountain has repeatedly stated that this plant could have continued to operate many years into the future in full compliance with all currently established regulations. However, the problems would have continued. While the closure costs were significant, the ACC agreed with the Town’s recommendation to close it to eliminate the problems it was causing.
The Town recently participated in the extensive rate increase request proceedings before the ACC, which included in-depth cost reviews, testimonies from expert witnesses and public input. While Carefree always supports the lowest utility rate increases for the Town’s residents and businesses, the Town believes that, given the substantial investment by Liberty/Black Mountain to close the plant, that the new rates which were approved by the ACC represent a fair and equitable resolution for all involved parties.
To our good neighbors at the Boulders:
I find it rich that a group of Boulder residents that the entire Carefree community supported in the decommissioning of a sewer treatment faculty which TRULY affected their quality of life and enjoyment of their property, (we are ALL paying for that in higher sewer utility charges) are denying that same courtesy to fellow Carefree residents on an even more vital issue, a sound, quality water delivery system, by spreading false and misleading information about the condition of the Cave Creek Water System, the costs (investment)of expanding the customer base of the Carefree Water Company, and whining about the placement of a well camouflaged water tank on a utility easement in their community.
The Cave Creek Water System is STILL a mess of hillbilly repairs and bandaids on a single old, decrepit water line, with lift and pump station upgrades that are not scheduled to be completed for years. New connection to Phoenix is a ways off and will be expensive for CCWC on the backside. The leased filtration units were an expensive and incomplete knee jerk quick fix, as well. And let's not forget the mess that is Desert Hills and the millstone of the debt payments CCWC must contend with.
On the other side, Carefree Water Company has done its due diligence and financial analysis of acquiring the 540 or so Carefree households currently on Cave Creek water. The millions of dollars that will be invested in infrastructure improvements is NOT just money floating around that could be spent elsewhere. This investment will bring the perpetual benefit of adding an additional 540 fellow Carefree households, each bringing along a valuable water allocation, onto the CWC. There are variable and fixed cost to delivering water. 540 new households means that those fixed costs will be spread over more customers in the future. And don’t forget, the infrastructure build out will put Carefree in the driver’s seat for developing the northeast corner of Cave Creek Road and Carefree Highway. Taxes generated by the development of this area will benefit ALL Carefree residents. We ALL live in the beautiful Town of Carefree. Let's come together as a united community in providing the same water service to ALL households in Carefree.
Lisa Zarins Rinde
Liberty/Black Mountain estimates that about 85% -90% of this $12.50/month rate increase for residential customers will result from the decommissioning and 2019 closure of the sewer treatment plant which was located in the Boulders subdivision.
Boulders residents had long complained that the odors and noises emanating from this plant negatively impacted the quality of life in the Boulders. Approximately 360 Boulder’s residents sought and received the Town’s support to request that the plant be decommissioned and closed. The Town responded by taking the leadership posture and incurred significant legal expenses in the effort to gain the closure of this plant. The Town believed and continues to believe, that protecting the health, safety and welfare of every one of our residents is of primary importance.
Liberty Utilities/Black Mountain has repeatedly stated that this plant could have continued to operate many years into the future in full compliance with all currently established regulations. However, the problems would have continued. While the closure costs were significant, the ACC agreed with the Town’s recommendation to close it to eliminate the problems it was causing.
The Town recently participated in the extensive rate increase request proceedings before the ACC, which included in-depth cost reviews, testimonies from expert witnesses and public input. While Carefree always supports the lowest utility rate increases for the Town’s residents and businesses, the Town believes that, given the substantial investment by Liberty/Black Mountain to close the plant, that the new rates which were approved by the ACC represent a fair and equitable resolution for all involved parties.
To our good neighbors at the Boulders:
I find it rich that a group of Boulder residents that the entire Carefree community supported in the decommissioning of a sewer treatment faculty which TRULY affected their quality of life and enjoyment of their property, (we are ALL paying for that in higher sewer utility charges) are denying that same courtesy to fellow Carefree residents on an even more vital issue, a sound, quality water delivery system, by spreading false and misleading information about the condition of the Cave Creek Water System, the costs (investment)of expanding the customer base of the Carefree Water Company, and whining about the placement of a well camouflaged water tank on a utility easement in their community.
The Cave Creek Water System is STILL a mess of hillbilly repairs and bandaids on a single old, decrepit water line, with lift and pump station upgrades that are not scheduled to be completed for years. New connection to Phoenix is a ways off and will be expensive for CCWC on the backside. The leased filtration units were an expensive and incomplete knee jerk quick fix, as well. And let's not forget the mess that is Desert Hills and the millstone of the debt payments CCWC must contend with.
On the other side, Carefree Water Company has done its due diligence and financial analysis of acquiring the 540 or so Carefree households currently on Cave Creek water. The millions of dollars that will be invested in infrastructure improvements is NOT just money floating around that could be spent elsewhere. This investment will bring the perpetual benefit of adding an additional 540 fellow Carefree households, each bringing along a valuable water allocation, onto the CWC. There are variable and fixed cost to delivering water. 540 new households means that those fixed costs will be spread over more customers in the future. And don’t forget, the infrastructure build out will put Carefree in the driver’s seat for developing the northeast corner of Cave Creek Road and Carefree Highway. Taxes generated by the development of this area will benefit ALL Carefree residents. We ALL live in the beautiful Town of Carefree. Let's come together as a united community in providing the same water service to ALL households in Carefree.
Lisa Zarins Rinde
Carefree on Cave Creek Water
My name is Mike Johnson and I represent the Carefree Ironwood Estates HOA Board of Directors; consisting of 25 of the 526 homes currently on the Cave Creek Water System. This is our opinion of the issues surrounding the Carefree Water transition project.
So now, we are to understand that FUD people (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) have arrived to spread a message of doom across the Town to frighten people (probably with their wallets and threats of strain on the water supply), talks of petitions, recalls and derailing project financing; to try and prevent the transition of a very large segment of the Town’s population from enjoying the water available to them in the Town in which they live.
With Covid-19 and every other form of bad news out there, we are told that certain Carefree residents have hired so called outside “influencers” to help their cause to stop the Carefree Water project that will transition its Cave Creek customers onto the Carefree Water System.
Let us digress. It’s well known, that the Cave Creek Water System, whose sole water source is CAP, has suffered from a lack of maintenance which includes a single 30 year old pipe that brings water 12 miles uphill next to Cave Creek Road from the Deer Valley CAP station; utilizing 3 very old and tired CCW pumping stations. Fortunately, Carefree is not buying those assets.
We are told, we the people who live here, by people and interlopers who don’t live here, that the Cave Creek water and supply is adequate. Nonsense, the water is extremely hard, dirty at times, the water pressure fluctuates low and the fire hydrants were not serviced for years. In fact, one of them had become buried in the ground until we complained. Finally, we don’t vote in Cave Creek and have zero control as to how they run their system.
We believe if the drought continues, we will be subjected to water rationing, possibly a 30% cutback; while the other 75% of Carefree’s residents may not as there are multiple sources of supply. Is this fair to 25% of the Town’s population? What about our property values?
We believe the Town has done an excellent job of preparing the engineering for the project. The parcel in the Boulders identified for the necessary additional water storage tank, already has a utility easement on it and a large main water pipe running through it. It was obviously always meant for utility use in the future. In addition, there is a large septic tank buried on the parcel. We believe the town has bent over backwards to ensure the new tank is well placed. The tank will be mostly buried and the part that will be above ground, will be covered over and landscaped. A planned berm there should actually provide traffic noise mitigation from the vehicles traveling Tom Darlington.
We understand that Boulder resident Nay-Sayers are postulating that the water storage tank negatively impacts their development with no benefit to them. The residents of the Boulders were the sole beneficiaries when the sewer plant located in their community was decommissioned thus resolving their sewer odor issues while not impacting their property values or lifestyles. The rest of the Town received no benefit and all Carefree customers were impacted with increased monthly sewer charges.
Have they consider the possible harm that may come by forcing 25% of the Town to continue to remain on the Cave Creek Water System?
Putting the all the Nay-Sayers into perspective, Carefree has an estimated population of 4,025 people, this group can’t even be 1% of the population. The 526 plus homes/businesses that have been marooned on Cave Creek’s water system, is estimated at 1,000 to 1,500 human beings. This represents at least 25% of the Town’s population noted above.
We strongly encourage and strongly support the Carefree Town Council in its fight to complete the project. It’s the fair, just, equitable and right thing to do!
Let me get this straight: I'm paying higher sewer bills each month to cover the cost of removing a treatment plant that Boulders residents found objectionable, and now Boulders residents are fighting an unobtrusive water storage tank that will enable our section of Carefree to join the town's far-superior water system? Talk about community spirit!
Scott Peterson
My name is Mike Johnson and I represent the Carefree Ironwood Estates HOA Board of Directors; consisting of 25 of the 526 homes currently on the Cave Creek Water System. This is our opinion of the issues surrounding the Carefree Water transition project.
So now, we are to understand that FUD people (Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt) have arrived to spread a message of doom across the Town to frighten people (probably with their wallets and threats of strain on the water supply), talks of petitions, recalls and derailing project financing; to try and prevent the transition of a very large segment of the Town’s population from enjoying the water available to them in the Town in which they live.
With Covid-19 and every other form of bad news out there, we are told that certain Carefree residents have hired so called outside “influencers” to help their cause to stop the Carefree Water project that will transition its Cave Creek customers onto the Carefree Water System.
Let us digress. It’s well known, that the Cave Creek Water System, whose sole water source is CAP, has suffered from a lack of maintenance which includes a single 30 year old pipe that brings water 12 miles uphill next to Cave Creek Road from the Deer Valley CAP station; utilizing 3 very old and tired CCW pumping stations. Fortunately, Carefree is not buying those assets.
We are told, we the people who live here, by people and interlopers who don’t live here, that the Cave Creek water and supply is adequate. Nonsense, the water is extremely hard, dirty at times, the water pressure fluctuates low and the fire hydrants were not serviced for years. In fact, one of them had become buried in the ground until we complained. Finally, we don’t vote in Cave Creek and have zero control as to how they run their system.
We believe if the drought continues, we will be subjected to water rationing, possibly a 30% cutback; while the other 75% of Carefree’s residents may not as there are multiple sources of supply. Is this fair to 25% of the Town’s population? What about our property values?
We believe the Town has done an excellent job of preparing the engineering for the project. The parcel in the Boulders identified for the necessary additional water storage tank, already has a utility easement on it and a large main water pipe running through it. It was obviously always meant for utility use in the future. In addition, there is a large septic tank buried on the parcel. We believe the town has bent over backwards to ensure the new tank is well placed. The tank will be mostly buried and the part that will be above ground, will be covered over and landscaped. A planned berm there should actually provide traffic noise mitigation from the vehicles traveling Tom Darlington.
We understand that Boulder resident Nay-Sayers are postulating that the water storage tank negatively impacts their development with no benefit to them. The residents of the Boulders were the sole beneficiaries when the sewer plant located in their community was decommissioned thus resolving their sewer odor issues while not impacting their property values or lifestyles. The rest of the Town received no benefit and all Carefree customers were impacted with increased monthly sewer charges.
Have they consider the possible harm that may come by forcing 25% of the Town to continue to remain on the Cave Creek Water System?
Putting the all the Nay-Sayers into perspective, Carefree has an estimated population of 4,025 people, this group can’t even be 1% of the population. The 526 plus homes/businesses that have been marooned on Cave Creek’s water system, is estimated at 1,000 to 1,500 human beings. This represents at least 25% of the Town’s population noted above.
We strongly encourage and strongly support the Carefree Town Council in its fight to complete the project. It’s the fair, just, equitable and right thing to do!
Let me get this straight: I'm paying higher sewer bills each month to cover the cost of removing a treatment plant that Boulders residents found objectionable, and now Boulders residents are fighting an unobtrusive water storage tank that will enable our section of Carefree to join the town's far-superior water system? Talk about community spirit!
Scott Peterson
To whom it concerns:
I am writing to you in order to express my concern that the Cave Creek Water Co. (CCW) system is long-term unreliable due to it's dependence on CAP as its sole source, especially during the current drought and consequent potential for rationing in the future.
According to public sources, there has been an historical lack of maintenance on the CCW system, including the single 30-year-old lead pipe that brings water 12 miles uphill along Cave Creek Road from the Deer Valley CAP station via three aging CCW pumping stations. Carefree Water is not buying that portion of the Cave Creek Water Co. That remains with Cave Creek. The parcel in ‘the Boulders’ development has a utility easement on it and a large water main pipe running through it, indicating it was always meant for a utility use in the future.
A small but extremely vocal group of residents in ‘the Boulders’ is complaining that the water storage tank will negatively impact their development with no benefit to them. According to public sources, the tank will be mostly buried and the part above ground will be covered over and landscaped, and will in fact, provide additional traffic noise mitigation from the vehicles traversing Tom Darlington Drive. It should also be noted that residents in ‘the Boulders’ received the sole benefit of a sewer plant being decommissioned and relocated from their development, thereby resolving sewer odors that did negatively impact their property values and lifestyle. The sewer plant relocation is being paid for by all Carefree taxpayers who themselves received no personal benefit from the relocation, but consequently are paying increased monthly sewer charges to cover the cost.
I am writing to implore you to continue to pursue transitioning those of us in Carefree that are on the CCW system to the Carefree Water system which is the right thing to do. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Natalie Baxter
Resident
Carefree Sentinel Rock Estates
Some 500 homes in Carefree are in serious need of the water protections provided by Carefree. The Carefree town government has made concerted efforts, including substantial research and legal efforts to move that group of users from the Cave Creek water system into the Carefree system. There is more than ample evidence that the Cave Creek system is inadequate to meet those homes' needs.
A logical and ideal part of the move involves a new water storage tank to be placed mostly underground (with a berm and appropriate landscaping) along Tom Darlington Road at The Boulders. Despite those facts, a group within the Boulders is now complaining that the water storage tank negatively impacts their development with no benefit to them. (The berm will actually provide traffic noise mitigation from the vehicles traversing Tom Darlington Dr.) These same residents in the Boulders reaped the sole benefit when the sewer plant located there was decommissioned, thereby resolving their sewer odors issue that did negatively impact their property values and lifestyle. The rest of us are now paying higher sewer rates and got no benefit from it. Yet we stood up and did right by our Boulders neighbors. It's high time they returned the favor.
Mr. and Mrs. Ron Riemer
Carefree Sentinel Rock Estates
Oh My! We were so happy the Carefree, Cave Creek water project was progressing. We have been strong supporters all along. Now, we must raise our voices again to stand up on this issue. We have been informed that other Carefree residents don’t feel they benefit therefore don’t want a water increase and want to stop the project. So why then, have they benefited from other town improvements that we have paid for and not received a benefit. I feel if they stop this, we are definitely being treated as second class Carefree citizens. I’m aware of the accommodations made for the Boulder residents regarding the sewer system and supported that change and was willing to pay additional sewage fees to remedy that, but now am feeling somewhat betrayed.
I have attended meetings, supported the water project and town Council members who were in support of the project, and voted accordingly. The Council is fully aware of the need for this project to serve all Carefree residents, so I feel that citing all the water-related reasons this should proceed, is not necessary. I’m concerned but hopeful that any attempted political influence will not prevail over the right thing to do. Please, get this done and make the needs of all Carefree residents make a difference.
Barbara Neagle
As a Carefree resident, living on a Carefree portion of Black Mountain, I am deeply disturbed that other Carefree residents (mostly residing in The Boulders) want to deny us the right to use the same water system that they access. The Cave Creek system has historically not been well maintained and is totally dependent on a single 30 year old 12 mile pipe. I’m sure that if the shoe was on the other foot, those same people would be up in arms if we were trying to prevent THEM from accessing the Carefree water system. As a Carefree resident, I think we should be treated the same as other Carefree residents!
Dennis Lewin
Re: Mr Schwarzkopf’s Report Number Seven
I would like to comment upon Mr. Schwarzkopf’s report number seven. This response is consistent with the “commitment to transparency and accountability” which the current BHOA Directors frequently state is shared by each member of the Board.
I asked Mr. Schwarzkopf at the Board meeting last Friday to explain who his experts are and he did not want to address it in that forum. I have sent a note requesting a list of experts and an explanation of facts.
A primary question is what facts do you have to support your opinion?
In report number seven, you stated: “The portion of our common land sought by the town is not some inconspicuous corner of desert wasteland. It is front and center in the public presentation of The Boulders, along Carefree’s de facto main street adjacent to the town’s primary welcome sign.”
You continued on: “In the “Carefree Water Fast Facts #3” distributed last week (4/26), the town claims that the site will be “landscaped with native desert vegetation”. This has been asserted many times before, but never with any specificity. As described in detail in my fifth report, according to an expert landscape designer and horticulturalist, sizable trees and plants of the type that currently exist on the site cannot possibly survive in the 2 – 3 feet of soil the town indicated that it would place on top of the tank, nor on the steeply sloping sides. Construction would also impact and endanger surrounding vegetation, including the ancient saguaros behind the bunker on golf course.”
Below the actual communication from the Town is reproduced:
I am writing to you in order to express my concern that the Cave Creek Water Co. (CCW) system is long-term unreliable due to it's dependence on CAP as its sole source, especially during the current drought and consequent potential for rationing in the future.
According to public sources, there has been an historical lack of maintenance on the CCW system, including the single 30-year-old lead pipe that brings water 12 miles uphill along Cave Creek Road from the Deer Valley CAP station via three aging CCW pumping stations. Carefree Water is not buying that portion of the Cave Creek Water Co. That remains with Cave Creek. The parcel in ‘the Boulders’ development has a utility easement on it and a large water main pipe running through it, indicating it was always meant for a utility use in the future.
A small but extremely vocal group of residents in ‘the Boulders’ is complaining that the water storage tank will negatively impact their development with no benefit to them. According to public sources, the tank will be mostly buried and the part above ground will be covered over and landscaped, and will in fact, provide additional traffic noise mitigation from the vehicles traversing Tom Darlington Drive. It should also be noted that residents in ‘the Boulders’ received the sole benefit of a sewer plant being decommissioned and relocated from their development, thereby resolving sewer odors that did negatively impact their property values and lifestyle. The sewer plant relocation is being paid for by all Carefree taxpayers who themselves received no personal benefit from the relocation, but consequently are paying increased monthly sewer charges to cover the cost.
I am writing to implore you to continue to pursue transitioning those of us in Carefree that are on the CCW system to the Carefree Water system which is the right thing to do. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Natalie Baxter
Resident
Carefree Sentinel Rock Estates
Some 500 homes in Carefree are in serious need of the water protections provided by Carefree. The Carefree town government has made concerted efforts, including substantial research and legal efforts to move that group of users from the Cave Creek water system into the Carefree system. There is more than ample evidence that the Cave Creek system is inadequate to meet those homes' needs.
A logical and ideal part of the move involves a new water storage tank to be placed mostly underground (with a berm and appropriate landscaping) along Tom Darlington Road at The Boulders. Despite those facts, a group within the Boulders is now complaining that the water storage tank negatively impacts their development with no benefit to them. (The berm will actually provide traffic noise mitigation from the vehicles traversing Tom Darlington Dr.) These same residents in the Boulders reaped the sole benefit when the sewer plant located there was decommissioned, thereby resolving their sewer odors issue that did negatively impact their property values and lifestyle. The rest of us are now paying higher sewer rates and got no benefit from it. Yet we stood up and did right by our Boulders neighbors. It's high time they returned the favor.
Mr. and Mrs. Ron Riemer
Carefree Sentinel Rock Estates
Oh My! We were so happy the Carefree, Cave Creek water project was progressing. We have been strong supporters all along. Now, we must raise our voices again to stand up on this issue. We have been informed that other Carefree residents don’t feel they benefit therefore don’t want a water increase and want to stop the project. So why then, have they benefited from other town improvements that we have paid for and not received a benefit. I feel if they stop this, we are definitely being treated as second class Carefree citizens. I’m aware of the accommodations made for the Boulder residents regarding the sewer system and supported that change and was willing to pay additional sewage fees to remedy that, but now am feeling somewhat betrayed.
I have attended meetings, supported the water project and town Council members who were in support of the project, and voted accordingly. The Council is fully aware of the need for this project to serve all Carefree residents, so I feel that citing all the water-related reasons this should proceed, is not necessary. I’m concerned but hopeful that any attempted political influence will not prevail over the right thing to do. Please, get this done and make the needs of all Carefree residents make a difference.
Barbara Neagle
As a Carefree resident, living on a Carefree portion of Black Mountain, I am deeply disturbed that other Carefree residents (mostly residing in The Boulders) want to deny us the right to use the same water system that they access. The Cave Creek system has historically not been well maintained and is totally dependent on a single 30 year old 12 mile pipe. I’m sure that if the shoe was on the other foot, those same people would be up in arms if we were trying to prevent THEM from accessing the Carefree water system. As a Carefree resident, I think we should be treated the same as other Carefree residents!
Dennis Lewin
Re: Mr Schwarzkopf’s Report Number Seven
I would like to comment upon Mr. Schwarzkopf’s report number seven. This response is consistent with the “commitment to transparency and accountability” which the current BHOA Directors frequently state is shared by each member of the Board.
I asked Mr. Schwarzkopf at the Board meeting last Friday to explain who his experts are and he did not want to address it in that forum. I have sent a note requesting a list of experts and an explanation of facts.
A primary question is what facts do you have to support your opinion?
In report number seven, you stated: “The portion of our common land sought by the town is not some inconspicuous corner of desert wasteland. It is front and center in the public presentation of The Boulders, along Carefree’s de facto main street adjacent to the town’s primary welcome sign.”
You continued on: “In the “Carefree Water Fast Facts #3” distributed last week (4/26), the town claims that the site will be “landscaped with native desert vegetation”. This has been asserted many times before, but never with any specificity. As described in detail in my fifth report, according to an expert landscape designer and horticulturalist, sizable trees and plants of the type that currently exist on the site cannot possibly survive in the 2 – 3 feet of soil the town indicated that it would place on top of the tank, nor on the steeply sloping sides. Construction would also impact and endanger surrounding vegetation, including the ancient saguaros behind the bunker on golf course.”
Below the actual communication from the Town is reproduced:
As shown above, through 2015 this beautiful area comprising the Boulders has experienced significant development. It now has a resort, a shopping/restaurant complex, two 18 hole golf courses, 8 tennis courts, at least 6 community/resort pools, a Spa, 3 reclaimed water retention lakes, approximately 700+ homes, parking lots and paved streets to accommodate all of these, and a septic tank and a leach field without landscaping on land owned by the BHOA at our West entrance. Until recently, development also included the Carefree Waste Water Treatment Facility. Together, these developments occupy roughly 40% of the surface area within the Boulders. As you can see, there have been many changes over the years.
You also raised the question of is the site for the water storage reservoir necessary.
In your report you stated: “An expert water system engineer engaged by our association summarized the town’s methodology as “a lame attempt to back into a particular site, based on handcuffs they put on themselves”.
Again there is no name or the qualifications this individual has, or how they came up with this point of view. Did they do an engineering study? You state that they were “engaged by our association”, but I find no record of any engineer ever having been paid for work in this area by the Board. I was on the Board and to the very best of my knowledge no engineering study was ever conducted.
You also asked the question of “is the project worthwhile “?
Mr Schwarzkopf answers this himself that there is no data to support that the project is not worthwhile, and that this evaluation is just his opinion. According to Mr. Schwarzkopf “Fast Facts #4 offers new reasons that in my opinion are vague, highly subjective and essentially trivial.”
This is just a top line look at report number seven by Mr Schwarzkopf. I will not go into more detail of this report, the earlier reports or report number eight because, like this report, much of that which is reported as facts or offered as his astute observations have no basis in facts but are only his opinions.
If you have questions about why the Carefree Water Company believes that the open space property on the perimeter of the Boulders is the best location for the water storage reservoir, or what problems it will address for the Carefree residents living on the Western and Southern edges of Carefree, or how it will be an integral part of the fire service system for all of Carefree, or what it will look like when the construction is completed, or any other question, please contact the Town and talk it through with them for yourself. Get answers, form your own opinion. Don’t just take the opinions of one individual pre-disposed to be against the water storage reservoir distributed in cleverly worded “reports” seeking to communicate that this opinions have a factual basis.
Thank You,
Mary Peterson
Carefree Truth Newsletter
4/29/21
TOWN OF CAREFREE, ARIZONA RESOLUTION #2021-06
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF CAREFREE, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA, AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR OF THE TOWN OF CAREFREE TO INSTRUCT THE ATTORNEY FOR THE TOWN OF CAREFREE TO TAKE ALL ACTIONS NECESSARY OR CONVENIENT TO ACQUIRE AND SEEK IMMEDIATE POSSESSION OF REAL PROPERTY IN FEE TITLE OR ANY LESSER INTEREST THEREIN NECESSARY FOR THE LOCATION, CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION, AND MAINTENANCE OF A WATER STORAGE RESERVOIR AND RELATED FACILITIES BY DONATION, PURCHASE, EXCHANGE, OR THE EXERCISE OF EMINENT DOMAIN,PLUS USUAL AND CUSTOMARY CLOSING COSTS AS MAY BE NECESSARY TO FURTHER THE PURPOSE OF THIS ACQUISITION; AND FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE DISBURSEMENT OF ALL NECESSARY FUNDS FOR THESE PURPOSES.
WHEREAS, providing adequate water service to the public is a proper public purpose; andWHEREAS, the construction, operation, and maintenance of a water storage reservoir and related facilities will further that public purpose; and WHEREAS, the Town of Carefree, Arizona Utilities Community Facilities District ("UCFD") and the Town of Carefree desire to act to achieve that public purpose by mutual cooperation fer the benefit of the citizens of the UCFD and the Town; and
WHEREAS, the property to be acquired, legally described in Exhibit "A" and mapped in Exhibit "B" incorporated by reference, is necessary for the construction, operation, and maintenance of a water storage reservoir and related facilities as determined by the UCFD; and
WHEREAS, the UCFD and engineers have considered various alternative sites and plans, and have concluded that the location of the storage tank on the property to be acquired is consistent with the greatest public good and least private injury; and
WHEREAS, the Town of Carefree has independently assessed the necessity to locate the water storage reservoir on the property to be acquired, and concurs with the findings of the UCFD and engineers, as set forth above, as to the necessity of the property for the proposed use, and that the location of the storage tank on the property to be acquired is consistent with the greatest public good and least private injury; and
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS RESOLVED by the Mayor and Common Council of the Town of Carefree, Maricopa County, Arizona that the Mayor is hereby authorized to instruct the attorney for the Town of Carefree to take all actions necessary or convenient to acquire the real property legally described in Exhibit "A" and mapped in Exhibit "B" in fee title or any lesser interest therein, and to take immediate possession thereof, for the location, construction, operation, and maintenance of a water storage reservoir and related facilities by donation, purchase, exchange, or the exercise of eminent domain; execute professional services contracts in order to facilitate the acquisition of the property and property interests: and further authorizing the disbursement of funds for these purposes.
Mayor and Common Council of the Town of Carefree,
Arizona, this _6th_ day of April, 2021.
Ayes __7__ Noes __0__ Abstentions __0__ Absent ___0___.
You also raised the question of is the site for the water storage reservoir necessary.
In your report you stated: “An expert water system engineer engaged by our association summarized the town’s methodology as “a lame attempt to back into a particular site, based on handcuffs they put on themselves”.
Again there is no name or the qualifications this individual has, or how they came up with this point of view. Did they do an engineering study? You state that they were “engaged by our association”, but I find no record of any engineer ever having been paid for work in this area by the Board. I was on the Board and to the very best of my knowledge no engineering study was ever conducted.
You also asked the question of “is the project worthwhile “?
Mr Schwarzkopf answers this himself that there is no data to support that the project is not worthwhile, and that this evaluation is just his opinion. According to Mr. Schwarzkopf “Fast Facts #4 offers new reasons that in my opinion are vague, highly subjective and essentially trivial.”
This is just a top line look at report number seven by Mr Schwarzkopf. I will not go into more detail of this report, the earlier reports or report number eight because, like this report, much of that which is reported as facts or offered as his astute observations have no basis in facts but are only his opinions.
If you have questions about why the Carefree Water Company believes that the open space property on the perimeter of the Boulders is the best location for the water storage reservoir, or what problems it will address for the Carefree residents living on the Western and Southern edges of Carefree, or how it will be an integral part of the fire service system for all of Carefree, or what it will look like when the construction is completed, or any other question, please contact the Town and talk it through with them for yourself. Get answers, form your own opinion. Don’t just take the opinions of one individual pre-disposed to be against the water storage reservoir distributed in cleverly worded “reports” seeking to communicate that this opinions have a factual basis.
Thank You,
Mary Peterson
Carefree Truth Newsletter
4/29/21
TOWN OF CAREFREE, ARIZONA RESOLUTION #2021-06
A RESOLUTION OF THE MAYOR AND COMMON COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF CAREFREE, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA, AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR OF THE TOWN OF CAREFREE TO INSTRUCT THE ATTORNEY FOR THE TOWN OF CAREFREE TO TAKE ALL ACTIONS NECESSARY OR CONVENIENT TO ACQUIRE AND SEEK IMMEDIATE POSSESSION OF REAL PROPERTY IN FEE TITLE OR ANY LESSER INTEREST THEREIN NECESSARY FOR THE LOCATION, CONSTRUCTION, OPERATION, AND MAINTENANCE OF A WATER STORAGE RESERVOIR AND RELATED FACILITIES BY DONATION, PURCHASE, EXCHANGE, OR THE EXERCISE OF EMINENT DOMAIN,PLUS USUAL AND CUSTOMARY CLOSING COSTS AS MAY BE NECESSARY TO FURTHER THE PURPOSE OF THIS ACQUISITION; AND FURTHER AUTHORIZING THE DISBURSEMENT OF ALL NECESSARY FUNDS FOR THESE PURPOSES.
WHEREAS, providing adequate water service to the public is a proper public purpose; andWHEREAS, the construction, operation, and maintenance of a water storage reservoir and related facilities will further that public purpose; and WHEREAS, the Town of Carefree, Arizona Utilities Community Facilities District ("UCFD") and the Town of Carefree desire to act to achieve that public purpose by mutual cooperation fer the benefit of the citizens of the UCFD and the Town; and
WHEREAS, the property to be acquired, legally described in Exhibit "A" and mapped in Exhibit "B" incorporated by reference, is necessary for the construction, operation, and maintenance of a water storage reservoir and related facilities as determined by the UCFD; and
WHEREAS, the UCFD and engineers have considered various alternative sites and plans, and have concluded that the location of the storage tank on the property to be acquired is consistent with the greatest public good and least private injury; and
WHEREAS, the Town of Carefree has independently assessed the necessity to locate the water storage reservoir on the property to be acquired, and concurs with the findings of the UCFD and engineers, as set forth above, as to the necessity of the property for the proposed use, and that the location of the storage tank on the property to be acquired is consistent with the greatest public good and least private injury; and
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS RESOLVED by the Mayor and Common Council of the Town of Carefree, Maricopa County, Arizona that the Mayor is hereby authorized to instruct the attorney for the Town of Carefree to take all actions necessary or convenient to acquire the real property legally described in Exhibit "A" and mapped in Exhibit "B" in fee title or any lesser interest therein, and to take immediate possession thereof, for the location, construction, operation, and maintenance of a water storage reservoir and related facilities by donation, purchase, exchange, or the exercise of eminent domain; execute professional services contracts in order to facilitate the acquisition of the property and property interests: and further authorizing the disbursement of funds for these purposes.
Mayor and Common Council of the Town of Carefree,
Arizona, this _6th_ day of April, 2021.
Ayes __7__ Noes __0__ Abstentions __0__ Absent ___0___.
Carefree Truth Newsletters
Water informational meeting: 2/9/21
Carefree Truth #890: Water informational meeting, pt. 1 of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefreee-truth-890.html
Carefree Truth #891: Water informational meeting, pt. 2 of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-891.html
Carefree Truth #892: Water informational meeting, pt. 3 of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-892.html
Carefree Truth #893: Water informational meeting, pt. 4 of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-893.html
Carefree Truth #894: Water informational meeting, pt. 5 of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-894.html
Carefree Truth #895: Water informational meeting, pt. 6 of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-895.html
Carefree Truth #896: Water informational meeting, pt. 7A of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-896.html
Carefree Truth #897: Water informational meeting, pt. 7B of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-897.html
Carefree Truth #898: Water informational meeting, pt. 7C of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-898.html
Carefree Truth #899: Water informational meeting, pt. 7D of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-899.html
Carefree Truth #900: Water informational meeting, pt. 8 of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-900.html
Water informational meeting: 2/9/21
Carefree Truth #890: Water informational meeting, pt. 1 of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefreee-truth-890.html
Carefree Truth #891: Water informational meeting, pt. 2 of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-891.html
Carefree Truth #892: Water informational meeting, pt. 3 of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-892.html
Carefree Truth #893: Water informational meeting, pt. 4 of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-893.html
Carefree Truth #894: Water informational meeting, pt. 5 of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-894.html
Carefree Truth #895: Water informational meeting, pt. 6 of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-895.html
Carefree Truth #896: Water informational meeting, pt. 7A of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-896.html
Carefree Truth #897: Water informational meeting, pt. 7B of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-897.html
Carefree Truth #898: Water informational meeting, pt. 7C of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-898.html
Carefree Truth #899: Water informational meeting, pt. 7D of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-899.html
Carefree Truth #900: Water informational meeting, pt. 8 of 8: 2/9/21
http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-900.html
Carefree Truth Newsletter-Guest Editorial from Mayor Les Peterson
1/22/21
Lyn,
A small group of residents of the Boulders has been spreading misinformation to other Boulders residents regarding the potential placement of a medium sized (300,000 gallon) water storage reservoir in the Boulders open space along Tom Darlington Drive. This water storage reservoir is absolutely necessary to meet established fire flow standards throughout all of Carefree once the remaining Carefree residents currently receiving their water service through Cave Creek are integrated into the Carefree Water Company system.
To make this water storage reservoir as unobjectionable as possible, Carefree had been working with the Boulders Homeowners Association to place the water storage reservoir underground and cover it with soil and native desert vegetation. This was not satisfactory to a small group of Boulders residents, who wanted it anywhere except in any portion of the Boulders, and they have been communicating misstatements loudly, and often seeking to gain support.
Because the Town of Carefree and the legal entity which owns the Carefree Water Company, the Carefree Unified Consolidated Facilities District, have been heavily involved in litigation with both Cave Creek seeking to solidify the acquisition of the water assets used to service Carefree residents living in proximity to Black Mountain, and a suit initiated by a Boulders resident seeking to have the Court direct Carefree to place the water storage unit anywhere in Carefree except in the Boulders, our attorneys have strongly advised us to say nothing with regards to this subject lest it be misinterpreted and used against the interests of Carefree residents.
Both litigations are nearing their respective decision points, and Carefree is now free to start communicating with all Carefree residents. In the following is our recent (1/12/21) communication to Boulders residents seeking to address this subject and dispel some of the numerous false statements and misconceptions which have developed during this period when Carefree was not free to communicate openly.
In the following is the Response which was recently sent to Boulders residents to address their questions and misconceptions.
Les Peterson
Mary Roberts
President, Boulders Homeowners Association
Nate Hyde
Vice President, Boulders Homeowners Association
Dear Mary and Nate,
There have been considerable miscommunications to Boulders residents over the past 6 – 12 months regarding the current acquisition of the Cave Creek water assets servicing over 530 Carefree residences and the integration of these assets into the Carefree Water Company system, and the impact upon Boulders residents.
The attachments to this note are to address some of the more misconceptions and questions that I have heard or been asked, and to provide factual responses..
We hope that this summary is helpful. We would look forward to discussing it further with you and the BHOA Board if you thought that might be productive.
Mayor Les Peterson
Town of Carefree, Arizona
480 488-3686 (Carefree Town Hall)
Frequently Encountered Misconceptions and Questions from Boulders Residents
Note: For simplicity, we will refer to the Town of Carefree, the Carefree Water Company and/or the Carefree Unified Community Facilities District (UCFD) as Carefree.
- The water service problems of the Carefree residents currently serviced by the Cave Creek Water system are not so severe that they should cause Carefree to take on costly actions to address their problems
Response: These problems are very severe, and would likely continue for an extended time period if these accounts were not integrated into the Carefree Water Company system. See the photos of the drinking water currently being delivered and the written warning required by ADEQ to all recipients of water through the Cave Creek Water Company system (in Exhibit 1) and photos of near in-operable fire hydrants in this same area (in Exhibit 2). Without intervention, there was considerable evidence that these untenable situations would likely continue.
1/22/21
Lyn,
A small group of residents of the Boulders has been spreading misinformation to other Boulders residents regarding the potential placement of a medium sized (300,000 gallon) water storage reservoir in the Boulders open space along Tom Darlington Drive. This water storage reservoir is absolutely necessary to meet established fire flow standards throughout all of Carefree once the remaining Carefree residents currently receiving their water service through Cave Creek are integrated into the Carefree Water Company system.
To make this water storage reservoir as unobjectionable as possible, Carefree had been working with the Boulders Homeowners Association to place the water storage reservoir underground and cover it with soil and native desert vegetation. This was not satisfactory to a small group of Boulders residents, who wanted it anywhere except in any portion of the Boulders, and they have been communicating misstatements loudly, and often seeking to gain support.
Because the Town of Carefree and the legal entity which owns the Carefree Water Company, the Carefree Unified Consolidated Facilities District, have been heavily involved in litigation with both Cave Creek seeking to solidify the acquisition of the water assets used to service Carefree residents living in proximity to Black Mountain, and a suit initiated by a Boulders resident seeking to have the Court direct Carefree to place the water storage unit anywhere in Carefree except in the Boulders, our attorneys have strongly advised us to say nothing with regards to this subject lest it be misinterpreted and used against the interests of Carefree residents.
Both litigations are nearing their respective decision points, and Carefree is now free to start communicating with all Carefree residents. In the following is our recent (1/12/21) communication to Boulders residents seeking to address this subject and dispel some of the numerous false statements and misconceptions which have developed during this period when Carefree was not free to communicate openly.
In the following is the Response which was recently sent to Boulders residents to address their questions and misconceptions.
Les Peterson
Mary Roberts
President, Boulders Homeowners Association
Nate Hyde
Vice President, Boulders Homeowners Association
Dear Mary and Nate,
There have been considerable miscommunications to Boulders residents over the past 6 – 12 months regarding the current acquisition of the Cave Creek water assets servicing over 530 Carefree residences and the integration of these assets into the Carefree Water Company system, and the impact upon Boulders residents.
The attachments to this note are to address some of the more misconceptions and questions that I have heard or been asked, and to provide factual responses..
We hope that this summary is helpful. We would look forward to discussing it further with you and the BHOA Board if you thought that might be productive.
Mayor Les Peterson
Town of Carefree, Arizona
480 488-3686 (Carefree Town Hall)
Frequently Encountered Misconceptions and Questions from Boulders Residents
Note: For simplicity, we will refer to the Town of Carefree, the Carefree Water Company and/or the Carefree Unified Community Facilities District (UCFD) as Carefree.
- The water service problems of the Carefree residents currently serviced by the Cave Creek Water system are not so severe that they should cause Carefree to take on costly actions to address their problems
Response: These problems are very severe, and would likely continue for an extended time period if these accounts were not integrated into the Carefree Water Company system. See the photos of the drinking water currently being delivered and the written warning required by ADEQ to all recipients of water through the Cave Creek Water Company system (in Exhibit 1) and photos of near in-operable fire hydrants in this same area (in Exhibit 2). Without intervention, there was considerable evidence that these untenable situations would likely continue.
- Why is an additional Water Storage Reservoir (WSR) needed? Why doesn’t Carefree just connect water lines to the new accounts and let everything else remain as is?
Response: The Carefree Water Company can’t just hook up a few additional water lines and have the water system work properly. The water system needs to be properly balanced to account for changes in elevations, changes in water flow requirements by day and time of day, sudden dramatic increases such as fire flow requirements and the addition of the new accounts.
All of these requirements require “orchestration” and coordination. It isn’t just a simple matter of connecting water lines. Another WSR in Carefree was specified by the professional engineers designing the re-configured system, Coe and Van Loo (CVL), as necessary to balance the water flow in the multiple water zones impacted by the change and to meet minimum fire flow requirements throughout the system.
Why propose to locate the WSR in Boulders open space property, when Boulders residents won’t be directly served with water from it?
- Doesn’t Carefree have other viable alternative sites outside of the Boulders for the required WSR?
Response: CVL identified 32 potential sites in Carefree which were evaluated against selection criteria identified to facilitate the proper functioning and balancing of the Carefree water system. Cost and feasibility of construction were also included in this evaluation. The selection criteria included: 1) Site elevation, 2) Vacant land, 3) Proximity to an existing 10” water line, 4) Topographical and geological challenges and 5) Non-residential access and waterline construction.
CVL determined that only one potential site, the site in the Boulders Open Space, on the border of the Boulders and immediately adjacent to Tom Darlington Drive filled all of the established criteria. There was a 10” water main line already in place in that location, and this location was at the proper elevation to enable gravity feed of the areas served. No costly booster pump station (typically costing $700,000 - $800,000 each, including installing a water main to the booster pump, access roads, potentially more rock to dig, etc., plus annual upkeep and maintenance), would be required.
In contrast, both of the alternative locations being prominently mentioned by those who don’t want the WSR in the Boulders, the NW corner of Tom Darlington and Carefree Highway, and the NE Corner of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Road, are among the lowest elevations within Carefree and would require a booster pump station to function properly.
- The Boulders is a pristine area. Why doesn’t the Town protect the Boulders community and open space, and put the WSR in some other neighborhood? Why not put the WSR in a location where the water stored in it will be used?
Response: Many sections of the Boulders are “pristine,” but so are most of the alternative locations evaluated in Carefree. In fact, the Carefree portion of the Boulders has some of the most densely developed property in all of Carefree. It frequently has high density housing adjacent to open space property, with some of these open space properties being quite large. Many of the other locations evaluated would have required placement of the WSR in far closer proximity to an existing residence than the 160 feet that would be the case using the proposed location in the Boulders.
In reference, however, to the comments we received that Carefree should keep the Boulders a “pristine desert,” please recognize that over 40% of the Boulders acreage has already been excavated and developed for over 700 houses (including driveways and patio areas for each), paved roadways throughout the property, two golf courses and Resort and Club properties (including asphalt parking lots, tennis courts, etc.). In addition, there is a septic tank and leach fields in the open space next to the community manager’s office in the Boulders on the west side of the intersection of Stagecoach Pass and Boulder Pass.
The large open space property in the Boulders currently under discussion for the location of the new WSR is immediately adjacent to Tom Darlington Drive, facilitating non-residential access, 160 feet from the nearest home on Staghorn Drive, with a 10 inch water main already running through it, and the property has an existing easement for underground utility facilities (specifically including water) already specified in the Plat for the land and in the BHOA CC&Rs.
While all of Carefree warrants careful protection of the environment, quality water service to all Carefree residents is also at the top of the list of “must do” initiatives we must satisfy. Certainly, the Boulders is pristine and all want to preserve and protect it, but so is most of the balance of Carefree. The residents of other communities in Carefree also feel as passionate about their neighborhoods as do Boulders residents. No area in Carefree warrants special protection in preference to others.
Response: The Carefree Water Company can’t just hook up a few additional water lines and have the water system work properly. The water system needs to be properly balanced to account for changes in elevations, changes in water flow requirements by day and time of day, sudden dramatic increases such as fire flow requirements and the addition of the new accounts.
All of these requirements require “orchestration” and coordination. It isn’t just a simple matter of connecting water lines. Another WSR in Carefree was specified by the professional engineers designing the re-configured system, Coe and Van Loo (CVL), as necessary to balance the water flow in the multiple water zones impacted by the change and to meet minimum fire flow requirements throughout the system.
Why propose to locate the WSR in Boulders open space property, when Boulders residents won’t be directly served with water from it?
- Doesn’t Carefree have other viable alternative sites outside of the Boulders for the required WSR?
Response: CVL identified 32 potential sites in Carefree which were evaluated against selection criteria identified to facilitate the proper functioning and balancing of the Carefree water system. Cost and feasibility of construction were also included in this evaluation. The selection criteria included: 1) Site elevation, 2) Vacant land, 3) Proximity to an existing 10” water line, 4) Topographical and geological challenges and 5) Non-residential access and waterline construction.
CVL determined that only one potential site, the site in the Boulders Open Space, on the border of the Boulders and immediately adjacent to Tom Darlington Drive filled all of the established criteria. There was a 10” water main line already in place in that location, and this location was at the proper elevation to enable gravity feed of the areas served. No costly booster pump station (typically costing $700,000 - $800,000 each, including installing a water main to the booster pump, access roads, potentially more rock to dig, etc., plus annual upkeep and maintenance), would be required.
In contrast, both of the alternative locations being prominently mentioned by those who don’t want the WSR in the Boulders, the NW corner of Tom Darlington and Carefree Highway, and the NE Corner of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Road, are among the lowest elevations within Carefree and would require a booster pump station to function properly.
- The Boulders is a pristine area. Why doesn’t the Town protect the Boulders community and open space, and put the WSR in some other neighborhood? Why not put the WSR in a location where the water stored in it will be used?
Response: Many sections of the Boulders are “pristine,” but so are most of the alternative locations evaluated in Carefree. In fact, the Carefree portion of the Boulders has some of the most densely developed property in all of Carefree. It frequently has high density housing adjacent to open space property, with some of these open space properties being quite large. Many of the other locations evaluated would have required placement of the WSR in far closer proximity to an existing residence than the 160 feet that would be the case using the proposed location in the Boulders.
In reference, however, to the comments we received that Carefree should keep the Boulders a “pristine desert,” please recognize that over 40% of the Boulders acreage has already been excavated and developed for over 700 houses (including driveways and patio areas for each), paved roadways throughout the property, two golf courses and Resort and Club properties (including asphalt parking lots, tennis courts, etc.). In addition, there is a septic tank and leach fields in the open space next to the community manager’s office in the Boulders on the west side of the intersection of Stagecoach Pass and Boulder Pass.
The large open space property in the Boulders currently under discussion for the location of the new WSR is immediately adjacent to Tom Darlington Drive, facilitating non-residential access, 160 feet from the nearest home on Staghorn Drive, with a 10 inch water main already running through it, and the property has an existing easement for underground utility facilities (specifically including water) already specified in the Plat for the land and in the BHOA CC&Rs.
While all of Carefree warrants careful protection of the environment, quality water service to all Carefree residents is also at the top of the list of “must do” initiatives we must satisfy. Certainly, the Boulders is pristine and all want to preserve and protect it, but so is most of the balance of Carefree. The residents of other communities in Carefree also feel as passionate about their neighborhoods as do Boulders residents. No area in Carefree warrants special protection in preference to others.
Could this WSR Potentially Cause Medical Issues to Boulders Residents?
- Some people questioned whether the excavation required for this proposed WSR could disturb microbes and bacteria in the soil which might be detrimental to Boulders residents.
Response: Every excavation carries with it some risk for disturbing microbes and/or bacteria already in the soil. The contractor selected for the entire water system construction project, Achen-Gardner, has assured us that they will take every precaution to minimize soil disturbance and dust.
As a point of reference, excavations for over 700 homes, each of roughly the same footprint size as the WSR under discussion, have already been constructed within the Boulders, and the recent excavation and trenching down Tom Darlington for a multi-mile stretch required to remove the Wastewater Treatment Plant from the Boulders was a construction project of roughly 4 1/2 times the magnitude of the proposed WSR.
- Some questioned whether there would be chlorine gas needed to keep the water in the WSR fresh and pure, and whether leakage of this gas could asphyxiate Boulders residents.
Response: The chlorine which will be inserted into the water in the WSR to help keep it fresh will be in tablet form, and the insertion unit will be comparable to that used for a residential swimming pool. The chlorination system has been thoroughly vetted by CVL.
Lack of Communications
- Why hasn’t Carefree communicated with Boulders residents on this matter?
Response: We did, both in a Boulders community meeting in November of 2019 and a follow-up showing of the graphics in Exhibit 3 the following Spring. But then the situation changed. Carefree became actively engaged in aggressive litigation with Cave Creek and Dr. Ryan immediately after these early communications.
During these litigations, and particularly during the discovery phases of each, the attorneys for Carefree strongly cautioned us to severely limit and preferably not communicate to anyone any information which could be of benefit to our opponents. Information which we provided early on seeking to assure those allied with Dr. Ryan that we would work with them and the BHOA to minimize the impact of the WSR was distorted and used against us. At that time, we stopped all communications.
The litigation with both Cave Creek and Dr. Ryan should be nearing an end in the near future, and we are re-starting providing information to all Carefree residents regarding the changes to the water system. One of these forums is this note, and the next communications forum will be at a Zoom meeting of the Directors of the UCFD which is scheduled for February 2nd. This will be a “Bigger Picture” meeting to update everyone regarding the changes which will be taking place and the reasons for them. This meeting will be followed by another Zoom meeting on February 9th dealing with specific aspects of the changes, including the WSR proposed to be located in the Boulders open space.
Won’t the costs to provide water service to the 1,000 remaining Carefree residents be prohibitively expensive?
- Why, again, is Carefree doing all of these changes to the Carefree water system? Shouldn’t Carefree just cancel the project, and thus not have to put a WSR in the Boulders?
Response: This consolidation will provide significant benefits to Carefree residents. Certainly to the 1,000+ Carefree residents new to the water system, but current users will also benefit as considerable funds have been built in to the financial plan to address problems in the existing system as well.
Costs will be shared and communicated at a Zoom meeting of the UCFD Board of Directors on February 9th. Carefree has been carefully monitoring cost estimates as this project has been developing, and the calculations from our utility rate consultants will be shared. The cost estimates we have developed are indicating that future annual increases in water billings should be in line with historical increases.
- Why should we, Boulders residents, pay for improvements to the water system serving other areas of Carefree?
Response: Improvements and maintenance to any portion of a public utility system are typically shared equally among all of the users of that system.
For example, when the Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Boulders was decommissioned and removed, and new larger lines were installed enhancing the system’s flow capabilities into the Scottsdale system, all system users within Carefree shared in that cost equally. Even though Boulders households are approximately 15% of the total number of households within Carefree, and an estimated 90% of the benefits of the Plant decommissioning primarily benefited Boulders residents, all Carefree households shared equally in the cost.
In the case of the properties currently served water by Cave Creek, there will likely be a surcharge placed on them in order to help pay for the cost of integrating them into the Carefree Water Company system. No such surcharge exists on the current Boulders residents.
What is the situation and rationale for Carefree to even consider condemnation?
- Why does Carefree think that condemnation is necessary? How does Carefree respond to comments that it is trying to bully the Boulders residents into accepting the WSR? Why doesn’t Carefree just work with the Boulders in a cooperative fashion?
Response: Carefree started this project working cooperatively with the Boulders Homeowners Association (BHOA),with both of us trying to do what was best for our respective constituencies.
The BHOA was caught in the midst of a dilemma, because they were aware of the “public good” nature of Carefree’s request to locate a WSR in the Boulders open space and that it would be considerably more costly to locate it somewhere else. At the same time, the BHOA wanted to protect the interests of the North Boulders residents. We discussed ways to make a WSR as unobtrusive as possible. The subject of condemnation was never brought forward by Carefree or threatened.
At that point, these constructive efforts were essentially “hijacked” by other group(s) of Boulders individuals. This vocal group of Boulders individuals effectively put a halt to these discussions and cooperative efforts with the BHOA. Their objective was to stop a WSR from being placed anywhere in the Boulders open space, and they were not open to any design modifications, including burying the WSR and putting native landscaping over it.
Carefree essentially put this issue aside at that time until it could reach an endpoint of its legal actions with Cave Creek. Meanwhile, Dr. Ryan initiated legal actions seeking to prevent Carefree from ever constructing a WSR in the Boulders open space. Communications from some of these individuals, many without any factual basis, continued during this interim time trying to persuade others to their viewpoint. The legal action between Carefree and Cave Creek is now nearing a close, and Carefree is now ready to move forward in earnest to consolidate water resources for all Carefree residents.
In recent communications, some of these individuals have openly stated that if Dr. Ryan’s suit fails they will initiate successive legal actions one after another to delay any construction of the WSR in the Boulders open space until construction timing requires that Carefree seek another site. This would be detrimental and expensive to all Carefree users of this system who would both 1) have to bear the additional legal and construction delay costs, as well as 2) potentially bear the substantial incremental costs required in moving the WSR from the most advantageous location in the Boulders open space to a secondary location where a booster pump station would be required.
After this disclosure, Carefree assessed its options, and, not wanting to burden all Carefree households on the Carefree Water system with significant additional costs to address the demands of the few individuals, decided to move condemnation to the forefront of its thinking. Condemnation is a primary way to end this endless charade of legal actions and proceed forward with the construction of an optimum system in an expedient fashion.
Carefree was prepared to work cooperatively with the BHOA Board of Directors to make a WSR in the Boulders open space as minimal of an impact as possible, but the current and threatened future legal actions by these few individuals eliminated any possible cooperation. We find it to be very regrettable that condemnation is the only option left open to us, but we need to safeguard the interests of all Carefree residents.
- Will the WSR reduce the values of all homes within the Boulders?
Response: We are not aware of any evidence verifying or even suggesting that this claim would be valid. The WSR will be essentially invisible to the Boulders community. No diminishment of property values will occur because of the WSR. If we were to even hypothetically consider this claim for a moment, any diminishing of value, however slight, would likely have been more than offset by an increase in value from the decommissioning and removal of the wastewater treatment plant from the Boulders.
Other
- Don’t the Oaths of Office of the Carefree Council members require them to oppose this action in the Boulders?
Response: No. Quite to the contrary. In fact, the overriding fiduciary responsibility of the UCFD Board of Directors and the Carefree Town Council is to provide for the health, safety and welfare of Carefree residents. To do otherwise, and to respond positively to the wishes of a few individuals with different priorities, would be contrary to the Oaths taken.
Carefree Truth Newsletter
1/5/21
Public comments for Call to the Pubic are received via email and read into the Public Record by the staff. The emails submitted at the January meeting all addressed the issue of the placement of a water storage tank within the Boulders, and all the emails were provided to each member of the Town Council. Mayor Les Peterson explained that the Council does not vote on water issues. The water company is controlled by the Town of Carefree Utilities Community Facilities District (UCFD). The 7 Council members also serve as the Directors of the UCFD. One or two public meetings will be held in the future to discuss this issue.
No questions are taken from Council members during Call to the Public, by State Statute, since any issues raised are not on the agenda. Anything not on the agenda could exclude those who might wish to comment. However, Council members are permitted to reply if there is personal criticism or there are gross, egregious misstatements of facts.
The emails submitted are included in the link below, and most were submitted by residents of the Boulders HOA who were opposed to the proposed placement of the tank, with the exception of one. David Argo, Senior Vice President of one of the largest engineering firms in the U.S., said he thought it was vital that everyone understand the importance of adequate storage in a water system. Storage is like insurance in case there's a fire emergency within the service area. Some are complaining about the visual impact of a buried or partially buried tank, which can be screened with desert landscaping. What would their position be if water ran low during a fire emergency? He was sure that a plan could be developed that minimizes the visual impact.
https://vimeo.com/497528475
After all the emails were read into the record, Mayor Peterson informed the Council and the public that one or two meetings were being scheduled to address everything pertaining to this issue, including the impact on rates. The Mayor said it was evident that there was much miscommunication to the residents from people who did not have knowledge, but who portrayed that they did. He encouraged public participation at the meeting/s. Greg Crossman, of the UCFD, will present everything the Town knows.
When communications between the UCFD and the residents of the Boulders began in November of 2019, sketches were made and placed at the West Pool in the North Boulders. The Mayor was there for 3 hours. Only about 6 people showed up to view the sketches. After that, Dr. Ryan filed a lawsuit and recognized the suit filed by Carefree against the Cave Creek Water Company. Once in litigation, all communications ceased, as is the norm. "You can thank those who filed suit against the UCFD for ending all communications." Any communications ended up being used against the UCFD. That was a major contributor to the lack of communication.
The Mayor noted that there are 43 HOAs within Carefree, of which the Boulders is one. The other 42 have the same pride and don't want anything in their back yard either, which is understandable. But the problems faced by the 526 homes, 1000+ people, are very real. Quarterly statements that Cave Creek Water was required to send out to those they serviced read in part, "Some people who drink water containing TTHMs in excess of the MCL over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or central nervous system, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer". A responsible Town Council cannot stand on the sidelines and say, "Well isn't that too bad?"
Once the Council and the UCFD made the decision to act, it required another water storage facility somewhere in Carefree. An engineering study was commissioned that looked at 7 sites with a series of criteria. They identified the Boulders site as the only one which met the established criteria.
The litigation with Cave Creek is nearing the end, and the Town will be prepared to share accurate information. But Mayor Peterson wanted to clear up misconceptions expressed in the Call to the Public emails. He heard about industrial complexes and above ground water towers, none of which are correct. All but the top 3' of the proposed water reservoir is to be buried. The part above ground will be covered over and landscaped. The Town was recently told by OSHA that small stands for the electrical controls sand chlorine tablets must be placed. He ended by saying that he appreciates the pride in the Boulders community, where he also lives, but the Boulders residents are currently served by a water reservoir in another community to the north of the Boulders.
https://vimeo.com/497703591
Carefree Truth Newsletter
8/11/20
During Call to the Public, James Dove sent in the following email to be read by Kandace Contreras:
"Dear Mayor Peterson and Carefree Town Council members,
On November 5, 2019 I addressed the Town of Carefree Council regarding the issue of water supplied to Carefree Foothills by the Town of Cave Creek.
The Town of Cave Creek’s obligation to disclose water-testing results from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is helpful, but extremely disturbing. Along with the monthly bills are letters from the Town of Cave Creek listing potential long-term health effects such as: liver or kidney problems, nervous system effects and/or may lead to a higher risk of getting cancer. People with weakened immune systems may be more susceptible to these water contaminants - my wife Nancy is one of those people. I am concerned for my family, my neighbors and the potential health risks these contaminants pose.
Paraphrasing from the Town of Carefree’s “Evaluation and Financial Report” from August of 2019 – “Due to the age of the system, challenges associated with performing routine maintenance, and poor construction quality, the general condition of the infrastructure is likely to be below average to poor.” As the council members are aware – Carefree Foothills’ infrastructure is among the oldest in the acquisition proposal.
Attached is a photo from today (August 11, 2020) - a water main leak just off Carefree Highway at the entrance to Carefree Foothills on Sunset Trail.
- Some people questioned whether the excavation required for this proposed WSR could disturb microbes and bacteria in the soil which might be detrimental to Boulders residents.
Response: Every excavation carries with it some risk for disturbing microbes and/or bacteria already in the soil. The contractor selected for the entire water system construction project, Achen-Gardner, has assured us that they will take every precaution to minimize soil disturbance and dust.
As a point of reference, excavations for over 700 homes, each of roughly the same footprint size as the WSR under discussion, have already been constructed within the Boulders, and the recent excavation and trenching down Tom Darlington for a multi-mile stretch required to remove the Wastewater Treatment Plant from the Boulders was a construction project of roughly 4 1/2 times the magnitude of the proposed WSR.
- Some questioned whether there would be chlorine gas needed to keep the water in the WSR fresh and pure, and whether leakage of this gas could asphyxiate Boulders residents.
Response: The chlorine which will be inserted into the water in the WSR to help keep it fresh will be in tablet form, and the insertion unit will be comparable to that used for a residential swimming pool. The chlorination system has been thoroughly vetted by CVL.
Lack of Communications
- Why hasn’t Carefree communicated with Boulders residents on this matter?
Response: We did, both in a Boulders community meeting in November of 2019 and a follow-up showing of the graphics in Exhibit 3 the following Spring. But then the situation changed. Carefree became actively engaged in aggressive litigation with Cave Creek and Dr. Ryan immediately after these early communications.
During these litigations, and particularly during the discovery phases of each, the attorneys for Carefree strongly cautioned us to severely limit and preferably not communicate to anyone any information which could be of benefit to our opponents. Information which we provided early on seeking to assure those allied with Dr. Ryan that we would work with them and the BHOA to minimize the impact of the WSR was distorted and used against us. At that time, we stopped all communications.
The litigation with both Cave Creek and Dr. Ryan should be nearing an end in the near future, and we are re-starting providing information to all Carefree residents regarding the changes to the water system. One of these forums is this note, and the next communications forum will be at a Zoom meeting of the Directors of the UCFD which is scheduled for February 2nd. This will be a “Bigger Picture” meeting to update everyone regarding the changes which will be taking place and the reasons for them. This meeting will be followed by another Zoom meeting on February 9th dealing with specific aspects of the changes, including the WSR proposed to be located in the Boulders open space.
Won’t the costs to provide water service to the 1,000 remaining Carefree residents be prohibitively expensive?
- Why, again, is Carefree doing all of these changes to the Carefree water system? Shouldn’t Carefree just cancel the project, and thus not have to put a WSR in the Boulders?
Response: This consolidation will provide significant benefits to Carefree residents. Certainly to the 1,000+ Carefree residents new to the water system, but current users will also benefit as considerable funds have been built in to the financial plan to address problems in the existing system as well.
Costs will be shared and communicated at a Zoom meeting of the UCFD Board of Directors on February 9th. Carefree has been carefully monitoring cost estimates as this project has been developing, and the calculations from our utility rate consultants will be shared. The cost estimates we have developed are indicating that future annual increases in water billings should be in line with historical increases.
- Why should we, Boulders residents, pay for improvements to the water system serving other areas of Carefree?
Response: Improvements and maintenance to any portion of a public utility system are typically shared equally among all of the users of that system.
For example, when the Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Boulders was decommissioned and removed, and new larger lines were installed enhancing the system’s flow capabilities into the Scottsdale system, all system users within Carefree shared in that cost equally. Even though Boulders households are approximately 15% of the total number of households within Carefree, and an estimated 90% of the benefits of the Plant decommissioning primarily benefited Boulders residents, all Carefree households shared equally in the cost.
In the case of the properties currently served water by Cave Creek, there will likely be a surcharge placed on them in order to help pay for the cost of integrating them into the Carefree Water Company system. No such surcharge exists on the current Boulders residents.
What is the situation and rationale for Carefree to even consider condemnation?
- Why does Carefree think that condemnation is necessary? How does Carefree respond to comments that it is trying to bully the Boulders residents into accepting the WSR? Why doesn’t Carefree just work with the Boulders in a cooperative fashion?
Response: Carefree started this project working cooperatively with the Boulders Homeowners Association (BHOA),with both of us trying to do what was best for our respective constituencies.
The BHOA was caught in the midst of a dilemma, because they were aware of the “public good” nature of Carefree’s request to locate a WSR in the Boulders open space and that it would be considerably more costly to locate it somewhere else. At the same time, the BHOA wanted to protect the interests of the North Boulders residents. We discussed ways to make a WSR as unobtrusive as possible. The subject of condemnation was never brought forward by Carefree or threatened.
At that point, these constructive efforts were essentially “hijacked” by other group(s) of Boulders individuals. This vocal group of Boulders individuals effectively put a halt to these discussions and cooperative efforts with the BHOA. Their objective was to stop a WSR from being placed anywhere in the Boulders open space, and they were not open to any design modifications, including burying the WSR and putting native landscaping over it.
Carefree essentially put this issue aside at that time until it could reach an endpoint of its legal actions with Cave Creek. Meanwhile, Dr. Ryan initiated legal actions seeking to prevent Carefree from ever constructing a WSR in the Boulders open space. Communications from some of these individuals, many without any factual basis, continued during this interim time trying to persuade others to their viewpoint. The legal action between Carefree and Cave Creek is now nearing a close, and Carefree is now ready to move forward in earnest to consolidate water resources for all Carefree residents.
In recent communications, some of these individuals have openly stated that if Dr. Ryan’s suit fails they will initiate successive legal actions one after another to delay any construction of the WSR in the Boulders open space until construction timing requires that Carefree seek another site. This would be detrimental and expensive to all Carefree users of this system who would both 1) have to bear the additional legal and construction delay costs, as well as 2) potentially bear the substantial incremental costs required in moving the WSR from the most advantageous location in the Boulders open space to a secondary location where a booster pump station would be required.
After this disclosure, Carefree assessed its options, and, not wanting to burden all Carefree households on the Carefree Water system with significant additional costs to address the demands of the few individuals, decided to move condemnation to the forefront of its thinking. Condemnation is a primary way to end this endless charade of legal actions and proceed forward with the construction of an optimum system in an expedient fashion.
Carefree was prepared to work cooperatively with the BHOA Board of Directors to make a WSR in the Boulders open space as minimal of an impact as possible, but the current and threatened future legal actions by these few individuals eliminated any possible cooperation. We find it to be very regrettable that condemnation is the only option left open to us, but we need to safeguard the interests of all Carefree residents.
- Will the WSR reduce the values of all homes within the Boulders?
Response: We are not aware of any evidence verifying or even suggesting that this claim would be valid. The WSR will be essentially invisible to the Boulders community. No diminishment of property values will occur because of the WSR. If we were to even hypothetically consider this claim for a moment, any diminishing of value, however slight, would likely have been more than offset by an increase in value from the decommissioning and removal of the wastewater treatment plant from the Boulders.
Other
- Don’t the Oaths of Office of the Carefree Council members require them to oppose this action in the Boulders?
Response: No. Quite to the contrary. In fact, the overriding fiduciary responsibility of the UCFD Board of Directors and the Carefree Town Council is to provide for the health, safety and welfare of Carefree residents. To do otherwise, and to respond positively to the wishes of a few individuals with different priorities, would be contrary to the Oaths taken.
Carefree Truth Newsletter
1/5/21
Public comments for Call to the Pubic are received via email and read into the Public Record by the staff. The emails submitted at the January meeting all addressed the issue of the placement of a water storage tank within the Boulders, and all the emails were provided to each member of the Town Council. Mayor Les Peterson explained that the Council does not vote on water issues. The water company is controlled by the Town of Carefree Utilities Community Facilities District (UCFD). The 7 Council members also serve as the Directors of the UCFD. One or two public meetings will be held in the future to discuss this issue.
No questions are taken from Council members during Call to the Public, by State Statute, since any issues raised are not on the agenda. Anything not on the agenda could exclude those who might wish to comment. However, Council members are permitted to reply if there is personal criticism or there are gross, egregious misstatements of facts.
The emails submitted are included in the link below, and most were submitted by residents of the Boulders HOA who were opposed to the proposed placement of the tank, with the exception of one. David Argo, Senior Vice President of one of the largest engineering firms in the U.S., said he thought it was vital that everyone understand the importance of adequate storage in a water system. Storage is like insurance in case there's a fire emergency within the service area. Some are complaining about the visual impact of a buried or partially buried tank, which can be screened with desert landscaping. What would their position be if water ran low during a fire emergency? He was sure that a plan could be developed that minimizes the visual impact.
https://vimeo.com/497528475
After all the emails were read into the record, Mayor Peterson informed the Council and the public that one or two meetings were being scheduled to address everything pertaining to this issue, including the impact on rates. The Mayor said it was evident that there was much miscommunication to the residents from people who did not have knowledge, but who portrayed that they did. He encouraged public participation at the meeting/s. Greg Crossman, of the UCFD, will present everything the Town knows.
When communications between the UCFD and the residents of the Boulders began in November of 2019, sketches were made and placed at the West Pool in the North Boulders. The Mayor was there for 3 hours. Only about 6 people showed up to view the sketches. After that, Dr. Ryan filed a lawsuit and recognized the suit filed by Carefree against the Cave Creek Water Company. Once in litigation, all communications ceased, as is the norm. "You can thank those who filed suit against the UCFD for ending all communications." Any communications ended up being used against the UCFD. That was a major contributor to the lack of communication.
The Mayor noted that there are 43 HOAs within Carefree, of which the Boulders is one. The other 42 have the same pride and don't want anything in their back yard either, which is understandable. But the problems faced by the 526 homes, 1000+ people, are very real. Quarterly statements that Cave Creek Water was required to send out to those they serviced read in part, "Some people who drink water containing TTHMs in excess of the MCL over many years may experience problems with their liver, kidneys, or central nervous system, and may have an increased risk of getting cancer". A responsible Town Council cannot stand on the sidelines and say, "Well isn't that too bad?"
Once the Council and the UCFD made the decision to act, it required another water storage facility somewhere in Carefree. An engineering study was commissioned that looked at 7 sites with a series of criteria. They identified the Boulders site as the only one which met the established criteria.
The litigation with Cave Creek is nearing the end, and the Town will be prepared to share accurate information. But Mayor Peterson wanted to clear up misconceptions expressed in the Call to the Public emails. He heard about industrial complexes and above ground water towers, none of which are correct. All but the top 3' of the proposed water reservoir is to be buried. The part above ground will be covered over and landscaped. The Town was recently told by OSHA that small stands for the electrical controls sand chlorine tablets must be placed. He ended by saying that he appreciates the pride in the Boulders community, where he also lives, but the Boulders residents are currently served by a water reservoir in another community to the north of the Boulders.
https://vimeo.com/497703591
Carefree Truth Newsletter
8/11/20
During Call to the Public, James Dove sent in the following email to be read by Kandace Contreras:
"Dear Mayor Peterson and Carefree Town Council members,
On November 5, 2019 I addressed the Town of Carefree Council regarding the issue of water supplied to Carefree Foothills by the Town of Cave Creek.
The Town of Cave Creek’s obligation to disclose water-testing results from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is helpful, but extremely disturbing. Along with the monthly bills are letters from the Town of Cave Creek listing potential long-term health effects such as: liver or kidney problems, nervous system effects and/or may lead to a higher risk of getting cancer. People with weakened immune systems may be more susceptible to these water contaminants - my wife Nancy is one of those people. I am concerned for my family, my neighbors and the potential health risks these contaminants pose.
Paraphrasing from the Town of Carefree’s “Evaluation and Financial Report” from August of 2019 – “Due to the age of the system, challenges associated with performing routine maintenance, and poor construction quality, the general condition of the infrastructure is likely to be below average to poor.” As the council members are aware – Carefree Foothills’ infrastructure is among the oldest in the acquisition proposal.
Attached is a photo from today (August 11, 2020) - a water main leak just off Carefree Highway at the entrance to Carefree Foothills on Sunset Trail.
The last time a leak occurred at this same location was in September of 2019 which lead to extremely poor water conditions in our home. The Town of Cave Creek recommended flushing the water by running all faucets for 30 minutes. The end results were two weeks before our water became usable again and substantial cleaning and relating costs to restore our water filtration system.
We are entitled to clean and safe drinking water and would appreciate an update on the Town of Carefree's water rights acquisition.
Next the absurd rate increase proposed by Liberty Utilities. If approved - by the Arizona Corporation Commission - since 2016 Liberty Utilities rates will have nearly doubled. Moving the sewage treatment location from the Boulders to the City of Scottsdale certainly had associated costs, but the residents of Carefree should not bear the financial responsibility of irresponsible project management on behalf of Liberty Utilities. I understand increased costs with slight rate adjustments, but the proposed additional 2020 rate increase is both unreasonable and inequitable. I trust the Town of Carefree will do everything possible to persuade the Arizona Corporation Commission to reject Liberty Utilities proposed rate increase.
Thank you for your time and leadership in our community.
James Dove"
We are entitled to clean and safe drinking water and would appreciate an update on the Town of Carefree's water rights acquisition.
Next the absurd rate increase proposed by Liberty Utilities. If approved - by the Arizona Corporation Commission - since 2016 Liberty Utilities rates will have nearly doubled. Moving the sewage treatment location from the Boulders to the City of Scottsdale certainly had associated costs, but the residents of Carefree should not bear the financial responsibility of irresponsible project management on behalf of Liberty Utilities. I understand increased costs with slight rate adjustments, but the proposed additional 2020 rate increase is both unreasonable and inequitable. I trust the Town of Carefree will do everything possible to persuade the Arizona Corporation Commission to reject Liberty Utilities proposed rate increase.
Thank you for your time and leadership in our community.
James Dove"