"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 #959, October 18, 2021
Issue #959, October 18, 2021
During Current Events, Councilwoman Cheryl Kroyer noted that the Ambassador Program has been a long time in the works but is ready to kick off now. The ambassadors will be volunteers who walk through the town helping people by directing them to shops, restaurants and galleries, making recommendations, and answering questions. It will be like the town having docents.
The Town just finished the training book and the ambassadors will be meeting in the next couple of weeks. There are currently 12 ambassadors and the Town is hoping to get some more. They will be out in full force during the Thunderbird Artists show the first weekend in November. The ambassadors will be wearing turquoise vests that say, "Ask me about Carefree" on the back. Ms. Kroyer felt this would be a really nice enhancement to the town, making Carefree friendlier and more accessible. Mayor Peterson commented that it is a very worthwhile project.
Mayor Les Peterson read the Rules for Call to the Public that were generated with the advice of the Town Attorney as clarification for those wishing to speak or to have their emails read into the record.
"Public Comment during Call to the Public
An opportunity will be provided to members of the public to provide public comment through written submission to Council members on any topic of concern or interest to them during Call to the Public.
"A member of the public wishing to submit a written comment must do so through the Carefree website Kandace@carefree.org For a comment to be read, it must be received by 12:00 pm noon on the day of the Council Meeting. Any comment submitted after that time may not be read until the next Council meeting. A member of the public may submit only one written submission per Council meeting, and it cannot exceed three minutes to read.
"Public Comment during the time when a Topic on the Agenda is under Consideration
If a member of the public wishes to speak during the time that a specific topic on the agenda is under consideration, and public comment is permitted on that topic, please use the “Raise Hand” feature on the bottom of your Zoom screen. All comments received may not be recognized based on time frames and other considerations, such as a large number of the comments received which are repetitive. Public comment raised during the time when a specific agenda item is under consideration must pertain to that agenda item only, or the comment will be dismissed. Any comment on a topic on the agenda not under discussion at that time will not be permitted. A comment cannot exceed three minutes in length.
"Next Steps/Permitted Response from Council Members to Comments received
During and following the reading of any public comment, members of the Council are prohibited by State Statute from answering or responding in any manner to a comment, except in response to personal criticism and/or a false statement.
"Topics raised at Call to the Public that have not been published in the agenda cannot be discussed or considered by the Council due to the lack of prior notice to the public.
When one or more members of the Council believe that a comment merits further review and discussion, they may refer it to the Town Staff for further investigation. Staff will then investigate the matter and report back to the Council when their investigation is completed."
https://vimeo.com/624954713
During Call to the Public, Kandace Contreras read two email letters into the record. The first was from Peter Sample.
Mayor Peterson and Carefree Town Council members,
In the past months I have spoken to quite a few Carefree residents about the future development projects that are currently being considered, and there are two main issues I want to make sure that you are aware of. First, while some of the people that I spoke with are aware of the current water project, none of them were aware of the "Village Center Master Plan", and the current intentions to fundamentally transform Carefree. Considering the scope of the development proposal, it is important that all residents are made aware of this project. How can the town council accurately represent the citizens of Carefree with their vote when the majority of the residents have not been informed of the proposal and therefore have not made the council aware of their desires?
The second, and perhaps more important issue that you should be aware of is that after I explained the development proposal to these residents, not one of them is in favor of the proposed development. I would think that the council would consider this to be problematic, because these are the people that you represent. The Carefree residents that I know and have met are concerned about private property rights, maintaining our single family home community, and fiscal responsibility. They are not interested in expanding our government, our town, or taking on massive debt. The unanimous votes to pursue projects to the contrary, seem indicative of a disconnect between the government of Carefree and the residents. I ask you to please make further efforts to inform everyone in our town of your new vision for the development of Carefree before voting to approve this plan.
Thank you.
Peter Sample
The second letter was from John Mattes.
At the December 1, 2020 Council meeting Resolution 2020-11 was passed and adopted.
In this Resolution there was an Exhibit A Economic Development 202-2022 Workplan Strategic Work Plan. On page 2 the first bullet point was "Create Economic Development Advisory Board-The Economic development Advisory Board is Town Council appointed Board, with Board Members have a two-year term. The Commission will meet monthly, and provide staff guidance on the economic development, land development, disposition and acquisition and financial strategies approved by the Town Council."
I do not see the Council appointed a board. On January 2 2021 Council Meeting there was an introduction and appointment of a Technical Advisory Committee. In the minutes it stated that no council action was necessary. In Resolution 2020-11 for the Economic Development Advisory Board, there was Council action needed to appoint the Board, NOT a Technical Advisory Committee. The Technical Advisory Committee were vetted and selected by Mr. Prokopek. This was obviously not the Economic Advisory Board. What happened to the appointment of the Economic Development Advisory Board? I realize questions from Public Comments can not be answered. I will be asking the question to the Mayor.
Evelyn Johnson, the Interim Director of the Cave Creek Museum (CCM), spoke via Zoom. She wanted to personally invite the Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council to visit the Museum. There are brand new exhibits, and they even have a little touch of a Van Gogh immersion which is very technical and which she thought they would enjoy.
She said the CCM had a wonderful First Day Opening on Friday. 24 people came through. That number may not seem big, but it was a big success. During the summer, the CCM falls off of peoples' radar, so to have that many people come knocking on the door and usher in the new season was very exciting.
Mayor Peterson noted that he's been to the Cave Creek Museum. It's an excellent, growing enterprise. He encouraged everyone to support it.
https://vimeo.com/624983404
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.
The Town just finished the training book and the ambassadors will be meeting in the next couple of weeks. There are currently 12 ambassadors and the Town is hoping to get some more. They will be out in full force during the Thunderbird Artists show the first weekend in November. The ambassadors will be wearing turquoise vests that say, "Ask me about Carefree" on the back. Ms. Kroyer felt this would be a really nice enhancement to the town, making Carefree friendlier and more accessible. Mayor Peterson commented that it is a very worthwhile project.
Mayor Les Peterson read the Rules for Call to the Public that were generated with the advice of the Town Attorney as clarification for those wishing to speak or to have their emails read into the record.
"Public Comment during Call to the Public
An opportunity will be provided to members of the public to provide public comment through written submission to Council members on any topic of concern or interest to them during Call to the Public.
"A member of the public wishing to submit a written comment must do so through the Carefree website Kandace@carefree.org For a comment to be read, it must be received by 12:00 pm noon on the day of the Council Meeting. Any comment submitted after that time may not be read until the next Council meeting. A member of the public may submit only one written submission per Council meeting, and it cannot exceed three minutes to read.
"Public Comment during the time when a Topic on the Agenda is under Consideration
If a member of the public wishes to speak during the time that a specific topic on the agenda is under consideration, and public comment is permitted on that topic, please use the “Raise Hand” feature on the bottom of your Zoom screen. All comments received may not be recognized based on time frames and other considerations, such as a large number of the comments received which are repetitive. Public comment raised during the time when a specific agenda item is under consideration must pertain to that agenda item only, or the comment will be dismissed. Any comment on a topic on the agenda not under discussion at that time will not be permitted. A comment cannot exceed three minutes in length.
"Next Steps/Permitted Response from Council Members to Comments received
During and following the reading of any public comment, members of the Council are prohibited by State Statute from answering or responding in any manner to a comment, except in response to personal criticism and/or a false statement.
"Topics raised at Call to the Public that have not been published in the agenda cannot be discussed or considered by the Council due to the lack of prior notice to the public.
When one or more members of the Council believe that a comment merits further review and discussion, they may refer it to the Town Staff for further investigation. Staff will then investigate the matter and report back to the Council when their investigation is completed."
https://vimeo.com/624954713
During Call to the Public, Kandace Contreras read two email letters into the record. The first was from Peter Sample.
Mayor Peterson and Carefree Town Council members,
In the past months I have spoken to quite a few Carefree residents about the future development projects that are currently being considered, and there are two main issues I want to make sure that you are aware of. First, while some of the people that I spoke with are aware of the current water project, none of them were aware of the "Village Center Master Plan", and the current intentions to fundamentally transform Carefree. Considering the scope of the development proposal, it is important that all residents are made aware of this project. How can the town council accurately represent the citizens of Carefree with their vote when the majority of the residents have not been informed of the proposal and therefore have not made the council aware of their desires?
The second, and perhaps more important issue that you should be aware of is that after I explained the development proposal to these residents, not one of them is in favor of the proposed development. I would think that the council would consider this to be problematic, because these are the people that you represent. The Carefree residents that I know and have met are concerned about private property rights, maintaining our single family home community, and fiscal responsibility. They are not interested in expanding our government, our town, or taking on massive debt. The unanimous votes to pursue projects to the contrary, seem indicative of a disconnect between the government of Carefree and the residents. I ask you to please make further efforts to inform everyone in our town of your new vision for the development of Carefree before voting to approve this plan.
Thank you.
Peter Sample
The second letter was from John Mattes.
At the December 1, 2020 Council meeting Resolution 2020-11 was passed and adopted.
In this Resolution there was an Exhibit A Economic Development 202-2022 Workplan Strategic Work Plan. On page 2 the first bullet point was "Create Economic Development Advisory Board-The Economic development Advisory Board is Town Council appointed Board, with Board Members have a two-year term. The Commission will meet monthly, and provide staff guidance on the economic development, land development, disposition and acquisition and financial strategies approved by the Town Council."
I do not see the Council appointed a board. On January 2 2021 Council Meeting there was an introduction and appointment of a Technical Advisory Committee. In the minutes it stated that no council action was necessary. In Resolution 2020-11 for the Economic Development Advisory Board, there was Council action needed to appoint the Board, NOT a Technical Advisory Committee. The Technical Advisory Committee were vetted and selected by Mr. Prokopek. This was obviously not the Economic Advisory Board. What happened to the appointment of the Economic Development Advisory Board? I realize questions from Public Comments can not be answered. I will be asking the question to the Mayor.
Evelyn Johnson, the Interim Director of the Cave Creek Museum (CCM), spoke via Zoom. She wanted to personally invite the Mayor, Vice Mayor, and Council to visit the Museum. There are brand new exhibits, and they even have a little touch of a Van Gogh immersion which is very technical and which she thought they would enjoy.
She said the CCM had a wonderful First Day Opening on Friday. 24 people came through. That number may not seem big, but it was a big success. During the summer, the CCM falls off of peoples' radar, so to have that many people come knocking on the door and usher in the new season was very exciting.
Mayor Peterson noted that he's been to the Cave Creek Museum. It's an excellent, growing enterprise. He encouraged everyone to support it.
https://vimeo.com/624983404
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.