"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 #1082, May 6, 2024
Issue #1082, May 6, 2024
Water’s Worth Fightin’ and Payin’ For
There’s an old western saying, Whiskey’s for drinkin’, water’s for fightin’, and Carefree is no exception. There’s a lot of consternation about our recent water projects, and I get that. Many feel the projects are too expensive, and some complain the tank site on Tom Darlington is unsightly. It seems that no matter how Town leaders try to defend the project and its benefits, some folks will keep on fightin’ this dead horse.
However, to put it simply, if we don’t control our own water, someone else will, and not to our benefit. In this desert, water, and the rights to it, are absolutely critical to any Town’s future, not to mention your own home’s future. It’s been one heck of a fight, but in the end, both Carefree and Cave Creek are coming out winners.
Recall that some 550 Carefree homes were previously served by Cave Creek’s water system, which at the time was not being well maintained (this is well documented). Those Carefree residents had no recourse, while the rest of us, served by Carefree’s system, blissfully drank from a better source. Also recall that Cave Creek’s system was the closest system capable of serving Carefree’s commercial property on the NE corner of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Rd, yet Cave Creek resisted making water available to any such development. At the same time, they were busy growing and stabilizing their own sales tax base by serving water to their own commercial developments on every other corner at that same intersection. Recall also that only after Carefree exercised its legal right to disconnect from Cave Creek’s water system did Cave Creek finally get serious about upgrading their own ailing system by connecting to Phoenix’s water, among other big improvements.
This isn’t an attack on Cave Creek – they were protecting their own, as any Town should. So, Carefree took the difficult but necessary steps to protect our residents, our potential sales tax base, and improve availability and delivery of our most precious resource. It wasn’t cheap – far from it – but it was the right thing to do for Carefree’s future, especially as the western States gear up for an epic whiskey drinkin’ water fightin’ battle over our dwindling regional supplies. Don’t be surprised if, or when, our Colorado River allotments are decreased. Carefree and Cave Creek are now far better positioned for this future.
And Carefree is taking another smart long term step toward water security by participating in the Bartlett Dam Expansion Project, which could become an important additional future source.
Concerned about the cost of all this? When you bought your home, you paid a price. Whether or not you took out a mortgage to help pay that price doesn’t matter, the purchase price was the same. Taking out a mortgage is standard practice for many home buyers, and I’ve never heard anyone quote the price of their home by including the interest payments they must make over the long life of that loan. Instead, we make sure we can afford the monthly principal and interest payments.
The same goes for water bonding. Our $18.5 million water bonding debt – the principal we owe – amortized over 30 years at a low interest rate, is a sound investment for Carefree’s future. Assessing an additional monthly fee for those 550 previously unserved customers is fair and economically sound, resulting in modest cost increases for most of us. The additional $2 million the Town loaned the water company last year is also wise, because much of that capital investment will be used to complete essential system capacity upgrades necessary to supply enough water to fight a wildfire in the northeast portions of Carefree. Yes, these are big numbers, and there’s no doubt we’re a frugal bunch, but good infrastructure is not cheap.
What about that unsightly tank along Tom Darlington!? Well, if you’ve ever landscaped your own property in this desert without breaking the bank, you’re probably familiar with 1 and 5 gallon plants. They don’t look great when first planted, but give them a year or two to get established and blend the tank with the desert, and our patience will be rewarded.
Thanks, and here’s a whiskey toast to all those fightin’ for a win-win, sustainable and secure water future for both of our beautiful Towns, Carefree and Cave Creek.
Peter Budnick
Carefree Resident
However, to put it simply, if we don’t control our own water, someone else will, and not to our benefit. In this desert, water, and the rights to it, are absolutely critical to any Town’s future, not to mention your own home’s future. It’s been one heck of a fight, but in the end, both Carefree and Cave Creek are coming out winners.
Recall that some 550 Carefree homes were previously served by Cave Creek’s water system, which at the time was not being well maintained (this is well documented). Those Carefree residents had no recourse, while the rest of us, served by Carefree’s system, blissfully drank from a better source. Also recall that Cave Creek’s system was the closest system capable of serving Carefree’s commercial property on the NE corner of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Rd, yet Cave Creek resisted making water available to any such development. At the same time, they were busy growing and stabilizing their own sales tax base by serving water to their own commercial developments on every other corner at that same intersection. Recall also that only after Carefree exercised its legal right to disconnect from Cave Creek’s water system did Cave Creek finally get serious about upgrading their own ailing system by connecting to Phoenix’s water, among other big improvements.
This isn’t an attack on Cave Creek – they were protecting their own, as any Town should. So, Carefree took the difficult but necessary steps to protect our residents, our potential sales tax base, and improve availability and delivery of our most precious resource. It wasn’t cheap – far from it – but it was the right thing to do for Carefree’s future, especially as the western States gear up for an epic whiskey drinkin’ water fightin’ battle over our dwindling regional supplies. Don’t be surprised if, or when, our Colorado River allotments are decreased. Carefree and Cave Creek are now far better positioned for this future.
And Carefree is taking another smart long term step toward water security by participating in the Bartlett Dam Expansion Project, which could become an important additional future source.
Concerned about the cost of all this? When you bought your home, you paid a price. Whether or not you took out a mortgage to help pay that price doesn’t matter, the purchase price was the same. Taking out a mortgage is standard practice for many home buyers, and I’ve never heard anyone quote the price of their home by including the interest payments they must make over the long life of that loan. Instead, we make sure we can afford the monthly principal and interest payments.
The same goes for water bonding. Our $18.5 million water bonding debt – the principal we owe – amortized over 30 years at a low interest rate, is a sound investment for Carefree’s future. Assessing an additional monthly fee for those 550 previously unserved customers is fair and economically sound, resulting in modest cost increases for most of us. The additional $2 million the Town loaned the water company last year is also wise, because much of that capital investment will be used to complete essential system capacity upgrades necessary to supply enough water to fight a wildfire in the northeast portions of Carefree. Yes, these are big numbers, and there’s no doubt we’re a frugal bunch, but good infrastructure is not cheap.
What about that unsightly tank along Tom Darlington!? Well, if you’ve ever landscaped your own property in this desert without breaking the bank, you’re probably familiar with 1 and 5 gallon plants. They don’t look great when first planted, but give them a year or two to get established and blend the tank with the desert, and our patience will be rewarded.
Thanks, and here’s a whiskey toast to all those fightin’ for a win-win, sustainable and secure water future for both of our beautiful Towns, Carefree and Cave Creek.
Peter Budnick
Carefree Resident