(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-or-the-week-22719.html
Photo by Betsy Lynn




And here is your bonus round from Herbert:
http://aneyeonyouproduction.com/22319-snow.html
Photo by Herbert Hitchon  (taken the Saturday after the Wednesday night/Thursday morning snow)


Town of Carefree Marketing newsletter
http://www.carefree.org/336/IN -THE-NEWS

City Sun Times link:
http://news.citysuntimes.com/


Lloyd and Donna Meyer from Renner USA were honored at the 2019 NAMM Show in California by the National Association of Music Merchants in special recognition of their “Many Years of Excellent Service to the Music Products Industry.” Pictured here is NAMM President and CEO, Joe Lamond, and Dan Del Fiorentino presenting them with this special award.
I saw Stan's picture taped to the bench in front of the post office and some
carnations. :( Really nice guy--- my wife, kids and I used to talk to him on our walks. He said his goal was to have his body launched off of the Sun Dial when he passed....
Vince D'Aliesio
Proud Councilmember

During Call to the Public, Bob Schenkel remarked, "Mayor, Council members, I would like to thank the Carefree Water Company and its Board of Directors for the insertion to the water company's January bill.  It was a fine piece of propaganda; all sunshine, lollipops and rainbows.  Not a word about the increased costs to the current residential and business customers of the water company, or the drain on the Town's General Fund and/or reserves if the water companies in town merged together."

I have been attending Carefree Council meetings for many, many years.  Bob Schenkel's snarky speech to our Council members is one of the rudest and most ignorant I've had the displeasure to hear.  The "increased costs" are still being determined, although the preliminary figures suggest they will not be significant.  Should the Council vote to proceed with the acquisition of the Carefree Service Area of the Cave Creek Water Company once the final figures are determined, it will come with hard assets and an immediately profitable revenue stream. 


Bob Schenkel ended his inane spiel by calling it a merger of the water companies in town.  It is not a merger.  The Carefree Water Company would be making a limited purchase.  As an additional point of interest, his last sentence was incomplete, and "merged together" was grammatically redundant.

Lyn Hitchon


At Call to the Public, John Traynor said he noticed in the last 6 months that the Council packets were missing the reconciled receipts & disbursements and the trial balance, with 2 or 3 months of back versions grouped together.


Most municipalities share these figures with their Council members on an annual basis. Carefree provides them on a monthly basis.  Most municipalities do not make them readily available to the public.  Carefree is exceptionally transparent with its finances.  Mayor Peterson explained that Jim Keen is both the accountant and the IT expert.  The Town has been having multiple IT issues which Jim has been working to correct.  John Traynor is well aware of this but he lives to nitpick and to promote his own special brand of paranoia.

Herbert Hitchon

   


Hi Lyn –
Thank you for sharing Mr. Boand’s letter in your Feb. 20 email. We feel it is important to share the information below with your readers:
We appreciate the opportunity to respond to Mr. Boand’s letter with additional information for your readers. The January presentation to Council for the 2018 Enchanted Pumpkin Garden reviewed the Town expenditures, as well as the benefits of the event to our community partnerships ($23,803 to local non-profits groups.) The press received for the Town was valued at $1.74M (contrasted to the PR value of the event itself, which was $852K) which is substantial for a Town of our size and scope. Missing from that review was the overall economic benefit, as calculated using the Arts and Economic Impact calculator, available through Americans for the Arts web site. By their algorithm, the 2018 Enchanted Pumpkin Garden event had an estimated Total Industry Impact benefit for the Town valued at $2.4M. There was a 3% increase in the October sales tax receipts to the Town (over the previous year,) and many local merchants and restaurants shared they had their best sales days ever over the course of the event. We are looking forward to similar successes with the event in 2019.
Kindly,
Beth Renfro
Director of Marketing & Communications
(Lyn's note: Mr. Boand questioned the cost of the Pumpkin Festival vs. the economic benefit to the Town and the businesses.


Lyn,
This is a cute story.  School bus got stranded in snow on our road.  Only one student aboard as others not yet gathered.   
Student said: “PLEASE don’t show this photo -  my parents would kill me for wearing shorts!!!”  Lol!  But what a darling episode...  I think that the parents would laugh but then again - could be very wrong!

Happy White!

Hugs!
Jane Ceasor