"Thomas Jefferson said a democracy is dependent on an informed citizenry. I don't care whether it sounds corny or not. It's the truth." -Jim Lehrer
Carefree Truth
Issue #1034, July 2, 2022
Issue #1034, July 2, 2022
In the June 27th edition of the Sonoran News, 2 Carefree Council candidates have published statements containing ignorant and/or misleading information, as well as out and out lies.
Sven Maric, a recent California transplant, claims that Rural/Metro (R/M) has been chosen simply because it is the lowest bidder, putting the lives of Carefree citizens at risk. The fact is, historically the vast majority of calls within Carefree have been for medical issues, which R/M is quite capable of handling, as it has been doing for many years. It also has 2 fire trucks sitting in the Carefree Fire Station that are fully capable of handling house fires, which are the most common type of fires. While Scottsdale has cancelled its mutual aid contract with Carefree, Fire Chief Shannon has said that if their assets are available for a large scale fire, they will respond. The planes used to fight large scale wildfires are sent by the state, and they always respond, independent of the automatic aid program. Carefree has been and is continuing to explore options for becoming a member of the automatic aid program and how to finance that expenditure. Unfortunately, the other members of the automatic aid program are not keen to admit a lower cost private entity like R/M into the automatic aid club. Mr. Maric is quick to fear monger and then advocates to quickly join automatic aid, without suggesting a means of paying the additional approximately $1 million expense. Since he offers no solutions, there is not telling what, if anything, he has in mind.
Mr. Maric also claims that the General Plan (GP) update is illegally being ignored. Again, this statement is either ignorant or is intentionally misleading. The GP update is scheduled to begin this fall, well within the legal time frame, and it has been publicized by the Town. He claims that the Town will be by-passing the voters. This is not possible to do. The voters must approve the GP.
His next point hits on the Los Portalas Mall in downtown Carefree, describing it as being outdated and under utilized. He seems oblivious to the fact that the building contains asbestos insulation, as is common in buildings of that era. In order to make any changes to that building, the national building code requires that all the asbestos be removed if walls are torn down to remodel the spaces. This would cost in the millions. The building is privately owned and the Town cannot force the owner to do that. Maybe Mr. Maric would like the Town to foot the bill and renovate a private building? Mr. Maric, that maybe how it’s done in California, but that is not how it is done here. Again, there is no telling what he suggests, since he offers no solutions.
In the same paragraph, he harps about the N.E. corner of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Road remaining undeveloped, seemingly ignorant of the fact that it cannot be developed until water is available, and that Cave Creek has refused to provide a Will Serve letter to supply it. This is one of the many reasons why it is vital to bring the residents and businesses supplied by Cave Creek Water onto Carefree Water. He talks about "fast food" restaurants. The deed restrictions on the N.E. corner prohibit burger joint type "fast food" restaurants. He is, again, ignorant of the details, but is willing to spout inaccurate statements at a machine gun rate.
He claims to be running as an individual, and not part of a slate. This is a blatant lie. Check out his mailers below that list his wife, Kathlina Lai, and his neighbor Duke Vukotic.
Next up, we have Kathlina Lai. She accuses the current administration of "conducting business behind closed doors", "cronyism, favoritism, and underhanded tactics". The government in Carefree is one of, if not the, most transparent in the state. Everything is discussed at publicly noticed meetings, including the meetings of Commissions and Committees, with the exception of executive sessions, which are to get legal advice and are, by law, confidential. All of the finances are publicly available. These accusations are being lobbed to incite negative emotional responses and are not in the least bit fact based.
Transparency? Kathlina loves ‘Sunshine Government’ – unless it involves disclosing her relationship with Sven Marik. She is Sven Marik's wife, something that they are not disclosing anywhere. She also claims to be running as an independent. Both she and her husband "would be so honored" if you would vote for them, along with Duke Vukotic, their fellow slate member. Our HOA CC&Rs prohibit spouses from serving together on either our Board or our Architectural Committee, for obvious reasons. I believe this is fairly standard.
Mr. Maric, Ms. Lai, and Duke Vukotic have been running as a slate from the beginning. Here are 2 of the mailer ads for the "not a slate", along with their slate's website.
Sven Maric, a recent California transplant, claims that Rural/Metro (R/M) has been chosen simply because it is the lowest bidder, putting the lives of Carefree citizens at risk. The fact is, historically the vast majority of calls within Carefree have been for medical issues, which R/M is quite capable of handling, as it has been doing for many years. It also has 2 fire trucks sitting in the Carefree Fire Station that are fully capable of handling house fires, which are the most common type of fires. While Scottsdale has cancelled its mutual aid contract with Carefree, Fire Chief Shannon has said that if their assets are available for a large scale fire, they will respond. The planes used to fight large scale wildfires are sent by the state, and they always respond, independent of the automatic aid program. Carefree has been and is continuing to explore options for becoming a member of the automatic aid program and how to finance that expenditure. Unfortunately, the other members of the automatic aid program are not keen to admit a lower cost private entity like R/M into the automatic aid club. Mr. Maric is quick to fear monger and then advocates to quickly join automatic aid, without suggesting a means of paying the additional approximately $1 million expense. Since he offers no solutions, there is not telling what, if anything, he has in mind.
Mr. Maric also claims that the General Plan (GP) update is illegally being ignored. Again, this statement is either ignorant or is intentionally misleading. The GP update is scheduled to begin this fall, well within the legal time frame, and it has been publicized by the Town. He claims that the Town will be by-passing the voters. This is not possible to do. The voters must approve the GP.
His next point hits on the Los Portalas Mall in downtown Carefree, describing it as being outdated and under utilized. He seems oblivious to the fact that the building contains asbestos insulation, as is common in buildings of that era. In order to make any changes to that building, the national building code requires that all the asbestos be removed if walls are torn down to remodel the spaces. This would cost in the millions. The building is privately owned and the Town cannot force the owner to do that. Maybe Mr. Maric would like the Town to foot the bill and renovate a private building? Mr. Maric, that maybe how it’s done in California, but that is not how it is done here. Again, there is no telling what he suggests, since he offers no solutions.
In the same paragraph, he harps about the N.E. corner of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Road remaining undeveloped, seemingly ignorant of the fact that it cannot be developed until water is available, and that Cave Creek has refused to provide a Will Serve letter to supply it. This is one of the many reasons why it is vital to bring the residents and businesses supplied by Cave Creek Water onto Carefree Water. He talks about "fast food" restaurants. The deed restrictions on the N.E. corner prohibit burger joint type "fast food" restaurants. He is, again, ignorant of the details, but is willing to spout inaccurate statements at a machine gun rate.
He claims to be running as an individual, and not part of a slate. This is a blatant lie. Check out his mailers below that list his wife, Kathlina Lai, and his neighbor Duke Vukotic.
Next up, we have Kathlina Lai. She accuses the current administration of "conducting business behind closed doors", "cronyism, favoritism, and underhanded tactics". The government in Carefree is one of, if not the, most transparent in the state. Everything is discussed at publicly noticed meetings, including the meetings of Commissions and Committees, with the exception of executive sessions, which are to get legal advice and are, by law, confidential. All of the finances are publicly available. These accusations are being lobbed to incite negative emotional responses and are not in the least bit fact based.
Transparency? Kathlina loves ‘Sunshine Government’ – unless it involves disclosing her relationship with Sven Marik. She is Sven Marik's wife, something that they are not disclosing anywhere. She also claims to be running as an independent. Both she and her husband "would be so honored" if you would vote for them, along with Duke Vukotic, their fellow slate member. Our HOA CC&Rs prohibit spouses from serving together on either our Board or our Architectural Committee, for obvious reasons. I believe this is fairly standard.
Mr. Maric, Ms. Lai, and Duke Vukotic have been running as a slate from the beginning. Here are 2 of the mailer ads for the "not a slate", along with their slate's website.
Sven Maric
Kathlina Lai
Duke Vukotic
"Many people are unable to make a coherent argument. They can vent their emotions, question other people's motives, make bold assertions, repeat slogans--anything except reason." -Thomas Sowell
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list.
Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list.
Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.