(Lyn's note: Please feel free to send us any pictures you'd like included. Here's the link to this week's Pictures of the Week.)
http://carefreeazbusinesses.com/pictures-of-the-week-22019.html
http://carefreeazbusinesses.com/pictures-of-the-week-22019.html
Photo by Herbert Hitchon
And here is your bonus round from Herbert:
http://aneyeonyouproduction.com/13019-sunset.html
And here is your bonus round from Herbert:
http://aneyeonyouproduction.com/13019-sunset.html
Photo by Herbert Hitchon
Town of Carefree Marketing newsletter
http://www.carefree.org/336/IN -THE-NEWS
City Sun Times link:
http://news.citysuntimes.com/
This project will be a big jump-start to our downtown core!! I can't wait to talk to more residents and merchants about it... It is going to be an awesome year for downtown Carefree!
Councilman Vince D'Aliesio
Just a point of clarification. Hilton will not be the buyer of the land. It will be the entity (also known as the developer) that has a franchise to build and operate a Hampton Inn by Hilton. As I understand what I have been hearing, that entity owns and operates several properties both under the Hilton brand and others.
Arthur Gimson
(Lyn's note: Arthur, who worked for Hilton for many years, is correct. This is covered in the Carefree Truth-Hampton Inn, pt. 2, where the applicants speak. Arthur is responding to part 1.)
Lyn,
I so appreciate all your detailed reporting, especially on the subject of the Hampton Inn. I am giddy with excitement. This is exactly what our little town needs!
~Misty Dibella~
Bella Donna & Cane
201 Easy St #101
Carefree, AZ 85377
(480) 575-3212
I believe your 2019 open should read 2020, given the 12 to 14 month construction period.
Thanks.
Victor Gelbron
(Lyn's note: It sure should read 2020. I was working on that one all day, and into the night. My eyes were starting to cross at that point. My proofreader missed it too. Yikes. Thanks for the correction.)
Dear Lyn:
As always, I am grateful to you and Dr. Herbie for your good works in keeping the community informed as to what is going on.
I, for one, could not be happier to see a Hampton Inn come to town. During my one two-year term on Council, we struggled to do as much as possible for economic development. I worked very hard to get one of my colleagues (a real estate person) to find a developer who could bring a limited service hotel property to town. I also talked to the late Jim Van Allen, who, as you may know, was part of the Embassy Suites group (now part of Hilton). My hope, at that time, was we could find someone who would develop the Northeast corner of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Road. My real estate colleague reported back that he could not find anyone with an interest for a limited service hotel development.
Having spent over 25 years with Hilton Hotels Corporation, 20 of which was as a hotel general manager of full-service hotels, in 8 locations from London to Hawaii, I firmly believed that the Carefree/Cave Creek area was ready for a limited Service property to respond to the needs of visitors who may not have wanted either the Boulders Resort or the Carefree Resort & Spa (as it was then called). The closet limited service property to our area is at Pima Road and the Loop 101, that’s about 12 miles away. It happens to be a Hilton Garden Inn.
Having also been part of the opening team for 6 under-construction hotels, I am excited about what this development will do for the Town. While my hopes from 2011-2013 days were for a different part of town, this downtown location, across the street from the Sundial and the Carefree Desert Gardens, is even better. In fact, it is a fantastic location.
Mega kudos to Mayor Les Peterson, Vice Mayor John Crane, Town Council, Gary Neiss and Stacey Bridge-Denzak in getting this going.
Arthur Gimson
(Lyn's note: In a separate comment, Arthur also spanked me for typing 2019 instead of 2020.)
Thanks for the update and summary. Maybe I am missing something. There are numerous references to the expected business traveler. What local businesses would draw the referenced business traveler to this hotel? Second, the illustration in your email of the hotel looks a lot like other Hampton hotels in other cities. Third what if any incentives is the Town Council offering to the develop to build the hotel?
Thanks
John Nimsky
(Lyn's note: First, I believe they plan to attract business clientele from the larger immediate area, not specifically Carefree. The closest hotel of this type is by the 101 and Pima. Second, The slide provided was an example of Hampton Inns. As they said, this one is not yet "fully cooked", and will be somewhat different than the normal one, much as Lowe's made some exterior changes in their Carefree location. Third, the Town gave absolutely no incentives of any kind to the developers.)
Lyn,
It would be very helpful if the existing buildings, roads, etc. could be named in the superimposed hotel drawings. There are probably others beside myself who do not recognize the surrounding structures by seeing their roofs.
Thanks for your efforts. We are so fortunate to have Carefree Truth.
Sincerely,
Sue Clement
(Lyn's note: This slide was in part 1, but here it is again. The Hampton Inn is slated to go on the Easy Street North parcel. The sundial is just to the north of it, and the small stand alone building to the northeast of the sundial is Town Hall. Going west from Town Hall are the restaurants and shops along Easy Street, starting with the Sundial Cafe. The Post Office building, 100 Easy Street, is the big one more to the center.)
That's so ugly and generic but it's not in my front yard so I guess it works. Just too bad it can't have more character but I know that costs...
Lori Wolfe
Your recent newsletter about money matters made me wonder what has become of the Sunday musical events that used to be held in the Pavilion on Sunday afternoons in the Spring. Was it too expensive to hire the various musical groups? If so, couldn't attendees be asked for voluntary contributions, or possibly, a small ticket price to be there? I think the crowds might spill over afterwards to the shops and restaurants. I remember the events were enjoyable and very well attended.
Hazel Vaughn
(Lyn's note: I sent Hazel's email on to Town Hall. Below is Mayor Peterson's response.)
Lyn,
Thank you for forwarding the email regarding Sunday Concerts in the Pavilion. I have taken the liberty to include the writer of this email in my response.
Like Hazel, we feel very favorably towards the Summer Concerts in the Pavilion, and expect to see them implemented in Carefree again in the future. But, we encountered a number of difficulties in past concert implementations which have encouraged us to consider including them as a part of another event instead of Sunday afternoon stand-alone events. These have included:
- The concerts were quite costly, averaging $2,000/concert
- While the Pavilion was typically packed with concert viewers, many who came to the concerts were from out of town. Sometimes we didn’t recognize any of the concert goers
- The typical concert goers seemed to be more closely aligned with the musical group performing, than with wanting to learn more about Carefree
- Ticketing would be difficult, given the configuration of the Pavilion. Also, people could just stand on the periphery instead of coming into the Pavilion and sitting down on a chair
- Many of the merchants are closed on Sunday afternoons, precluding the opportunity for incremental sales to concert visitors
- Many who came to the concerts brought their own “refreshments,” and did not frequent Carefree restaurants before or after the concert
- Parking in the downtown area was at a premium during the concerts, causing some problems for the near-by restaurants which were open
Carefree is now trying to incorporate concerts in the Pavilion into other events to help increase the visitation to these events. We think that this approach will proved to be more productive.
Thanks for asking about the Sunday afternoon concerts.
Husband Bob fell in the bathroom last night. We spent the night in ER Thompson Peak. The first responders were incredible. They arrived in about ten minutes from my call. They were so kind and gentle with Bob. They were respectful to me as I was trying to keep it together. Lots of hugs and expressions of concern throughout the ordeal. I feel safe now as I face the unknown of Parkinson’s, because I know we have such professional and compassionate responders here.
Please give them a shout out from me and my family.
Connie Bedell
Hi Lyn,
Just wanted to remind your readers that February is "I Love My Library Month" at our wonderful Desert Foothills Library. In response to a matching grant gift of $15,000.00 for enhancing children's and teen educational programs, the library is asking for donations from library supporters and advocates in order to take advantage of every penny. Pass the hat in your neighborhood, home owners association, bridge group, book club, hiking group, or whatever organization you belong to and bring your contributions to the library. They will be doubled! Pictured above is the Carefree Readers Book Club making their donation. In addition to donating, everyone is invited to share why they love their library through social media, on Facebook, or Instagram (@dflalib). The Desert Foothills Library is a non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible.
The Library is a beloved institution in our community and it relies on the generosity of its members and donors for funding which allows it to continue to offer a variety of quality services and programs. Please consider making a gift during "I Love My Library" month to help support the Library and its efforts to enrich our community.
Thanks, Lyn.
Best Regards,
Joanne Rebollo
Library Director
Dear Lyn,
Wow! Great job at showing the businesses in Carefree. We were just talking about this kind of information at a Carefree breakfast last week. I know you have always posted some of the businesses, but you really kicked it up a big notch.
Thanks and hugs
Pam DiPietro
Lyn,
FTR, I have not noted speeding as an issue - rather too many "slow poke drivers and snow birds" deterring getting where you need to go - to work, to businesses, to supermarkets, etc.
Grant H.
Hi Lyn,
Hope all is well with you as well as your babies :) We have a greeting line called Carefree Golden Cards. We have all kind of greeting cards, and our goldens, Enzo & Cooper, are the stars. Kindly could you please help us spreading the words? Below is our website.
https://carefreegoldencards.com/
Any help and recommendation I could get from you is very much appreciated.
Thank you so much for your help
Yani Feller
480-277-3354
Wow! Great job at showing the businesses in Carefree. We were just talking about this kind of information at a Carefree breakfast last week. I know you have always posted some of the businesses, but you really kicked it up a big notch.
Thanks and hugs
Pam DiPietro
Lyn,
FTR, I have not noted speeding as an issue - rather too many "slow poke drivers and snow birds" deterring getting where you need to go - to work, to businesses, to supermarkets, etc.
Grant H.
Hi Lyn,
Hope all is well with you as well as your babies :) We have a greeting line called Carefree Golden Cards. We have all kind of greeting cards, and our goldens, Enzo & Cooper, are the stars. Kindly could you please help us spreading the words? Below is our website.
https://carefreegoldencards.com/
Any help and recommendation I could get from you is very much appreciated.
Thank you so much for your help
Yani Feller
480-277-3354
Did anyone ask the question how much retail revenue was generated for Carefree and it's businesses after spending $110,000 last year
to fly in artists from Russia to carve pumpkins ?...and now your going to spend $125,000 and no accounting of economic benefit
to the community ? Gee....I thought only gov't legislators in Washington D.C.spend money like this. What am I missing ?
Bard Boand
Carefree, AZ.
Yes, but I remember one tree that had mistletoe on, beautiful tree in median on Bloody Basin and now there are 10 and tree is dying and the tree next to it has mistletoe. This is a corridor and I would think the town would want to have it looking good. I called the Town when I reported the 1 mistletoe tree and they said gardeners were too busy. And the corner lot of Bloody Basin & Sidewinder owned by the Dr of Optometry is a disgrace. Also, on the same street with lots cars coming and going. was dosen't Carefree care enough about its town looking good..Carefree had more restrictions 21 years ago when I moved in.
Carefree Home Owner
to fly in artists from Russia to carve pumpkins ?...and now your going to spend $125,000 and no accounting of economic benefit
to the community ? Gee....I thought only gov't legislators in Washington D.C.spend money like this. What am I missing ?
Bard Boand
Carefree, AZ.
Yes, but I remember one tree that had mistletoe on, beautiful tree in median on Bloody Basin and now there are 10 and tree is dying and the tree next to it has mistletoe. This is a corridor and I would think the town would want to have it looking good. I called the Town when I reported the 1 mistletoe tree and they said gardeners were too busy. And the corner lot of Bloody Basin & Sidewinder owned by the Dr of Optometry is a disgrace. Also, on the same street with lots cars coming and going. was dosen't Carefree care enough about its town looking good..Carefree had more restrictions 21 years ago when I moved in.
Carefree Home Owner