(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-5119.html
http://carefreeazbusinesses.com/pictures-of-the-week-5119.html
Photo by Larry Capek
My “house wolf” Na-Nuk “supervising” his supper prep. Na-Nuk is a “high content” wolfdog who is almost 14 years old and 105 lbs. He is greatly spoiled and well loved! John Braden
(Lyn's note: My friend John has the 501(c)3, Tundra Sheppard Rescue, that has been the wolfdog rescue in the state of Arizona for many years. Na-Nuk is a darling. John and Na-Nuk come up to Carefree occasionally.)
Photo by Jennifer Foor
(Lyn's note: My friend John has the 501(c)3, Tundra Sheppard Rescue, that has been the wolfdog rescue in the state of Arizona for many years. Na-Nuk is a darling. John and Na-Nuk come up to Carefree occasionally.)
Photo by Jennifer Foor
Ultra-luxury dog hair bird nest!
Photos by Herbert Hitchon
Photos by Herbert Hitchon
Town of Carefree Marketing newsletter
https://www.carefree.org/345/Town-Newsletters
City Sun Times link:
http://news.citysuntimes.com/
Thanks, Gary Neiss, for a positive and professional report. Good to see Carefree remains fiscally sound under proper leadership.
KGDS!!
Ed Morgan
(Lyn's note: The 2nd budget meeting with the revenues and expenses overview.)
Hi Lyn, and thank you again for your Carefree Truth emails. I may have missed a few and wondering if the hotel has been approved and if so, when will it be started?
Thanks!
Meredith Hess
(Lyn's note: Hi, Meredith. The final approvals were granted at the March 2nd Council meeting and the property passed from Ed Lewis to Hampton Inn/Hilton a couple of days later. They are now in the permitting process and expect to start construction in mid to late July, finishing in mid September of 2020. Here's the active link to the CFT newsletter with the info. http://carefreetruth2.com/carefree-truth-738.html
If there is ever anything you want to see, everything we have ever sent out since we started in 2009 is on our website www.carefreetruth2.com, which takes you back to the original one the that was full and wouldn't accept anymore, hence the 2 in the current one.)
Thanks for this information, Lyn. I'm happy to see my name among the winners!
Hazel Vaughn
(Lyn's note: Hazel is a fabulous photographer, and is always one of the winners in the Carefree Desert Gardens Photo Contest. Her work is beyond gorgeous! To view all the photos submitted this year, click on the link below. 12 of them are currently at the Desert Foothills Library for Public Favorite voting.) http://carefreetruth2.com/2019-carefree-desert-gardens-photo-contest.html
(Lyn's note: The following are responses to the water "survey" from Cave Creek.)
Curiouser and curiouser. Thanks.
Gail Thiele
Lyn,
Given the number of reputable and experienced condemnation attorneys and law firms in Arizona, why would Cave Creek hire an attorney from Chattanooga Tennessee? From the tone of his letter, he appears to be a political hack trying to stir up controversy.
And what little I understand, this seems to be a simple contractual matter spelled out in an intergovernmental agreement.
...So, let the games begin. I'm placing my bet on our Mayor and Town Council do what's right for the residents of Carefree.
Phil Corso
Good info. Appears as if CC just loves us water customers.
Charles Reaux
Hi Lyn:
Just a few random thoughts about the water situation.
It has always bothered me that as a resident of Carefree, since 2003, I had to get my water from Cave Creek. Not sure why because I enjoy living in Carefree and being able to enjoy many activities in Cave Creek. While I enjoy the Black Mountain Coffee Shop and Venues, I also enjoy Harold's, The Horny Toad and the Oak's Diner.
In 2010, not liking what was going on, I ran for Carefree Town Council and was elected for the 2011-2013 term. Boy, oh boy, did I get an education? From a ride along with the Maricopa County Sheriff to spending days with staff at the Town Hall and the Municipal Court, including one very full day with Stan Francom, the then general manager of the Carefree Water Company. It was at that time that I learned that there was a IGA that granted Carefree the right to acquire the accounts of Carefree residents and businesses that were served by Cave Creek Water.
Side note: It was not until I became a member of the town council that I learned that the Carefree Town Clerk is also the Town's Cemeterian!
But by far the biggest learning experience was that of the Town's ultra-conservative, super-frugal, extra-careful attitude that it was the fiduciary of the residents' funds. How it got that way had to be a mélange of John Pierson, former Town Administrator, now carried on by Gary Neiss, along with Mayors Morgan, Fulcher, Schwan and Peterson and the combination of sound business practices by all involved.
When I heard that there was a "survey" being conducted about the acquisition of Cave Creek water accounts by the Town of Carefree and that it was going to cost millions, my first thought was, "I didn't get a call." Whoever is behind the "survey" and what they hope is going to be achieved tells me that they do not understand Carefree residents. Yes, demographically speaking, some may be older than others, yes, socio-economically speaking, some may have a higher income, greater wealth, or more expensive homes, BUT THEY ARE NOT STUPID. They listen and learn and have watched; they become informed about what's going on in town. I have watched the Town go through various ups and downs, but there are more ups than downs. Having sat through hours of budget workshops and presentations, I envy at the fortitude of current Council members to wade through, line by line, the reams of paperwork. The Town staff is blessed with higher levels of mental strength as they continually educate the elected officials.
What is the outcome? Year after year, through good times and not-so-good times, the Town ends up with a Budget that works. Year after year, despite talk of doom and gloom, more monies seem to find their way into the Town's reserves, now over $9 million.
While I have no knowledge of how the "survey" was uncovered, I can only guess that one or more of the educated and informed Carefree users of Cave Creek Water became suspicious of the information being provided. In today's age, we learn of "phishing" scams on the Internet, email messages from former Nigerian oil ministers and I am certain that we have all had those robo-calls with offers that sound too good to be true.
As I understand the activities evolving around the acquisition of 526 Carefree residential and business accounts currently served by Cave Creek Water, those accounts will bring with them their respective water allocation of CAP water. Back in 2011, I recall doing a comparison between what I was paying to Cave Creek, versus what I would pay to Carefree, using rates that were in effect at that time. I think that I was right in the middle of the category of average user. Carefree's water rates at that time were slightly lower, by about 5%. I looked at a couple of statements, one in winter when there is less evaporation from my pool, and, more importantly, less landscape irrigation. The other was from June of last year. One had 5,620 gallons and the other 22,940. Comparing my bill and calculating what it would have cost based on Carefree's current rates, Carefree water would have been 8% less in the low usage month and 2.5% lower in the high usage month.
The documented track record of the Town of Carefree tells me that it will not embark upon the acquisition of these water accounts without having done its due diligence to determine that it can provide equal or better service. I, for one, hope that a blend of CAP and aquifer water will be better than all CAP water that I currently receive, same safe quality, but with less hardness.
Yes, there will obviously have to be a cost associated with the acquisition, just as there was a cost to the Town when it first purchased its water company. It is a business. I have full confidence that the Town of Carefree will negotiate the best possible price for the acquisition, to be followed by the implementation of financing to pay for it. This will be so that ALL of the Carefree residents and businesses can enjoy the benefits of great stewardship of the Town's resources.
Arthur Gimson
Dear Friends, Patrons and Art Lovers,
Well, here we go --- the LAST FIRST FRIDAY ART WALK of the season in Carefree is this coming Friday, May the 3rd, 4:00 to 7:00! Since it will be OUR last Art Walk, we hope that you will be able to stop by and have a glass of wine with us to celebrate our times together and our connections. Since Carefree is our home base, we hope that we will continue to see you when we are here and not roaming around the country in our Airstream.
GREAT NEWS! A local artist/graphic designer, Michele and her husband, Todd,
will be opening a gallery/studio here in our location next fall and will be at the May 3rd Art Walk so you can meet them. We will be assisting Michele and Todd make the transition from our space to hers in late May and June although she will not be opening her gallery until early October. And YES, we are excited to say that she will be showing TED's signature metal sculptures and multi-media canvases at her new gallery as well as continuing to represent a few of our awesome artists such as Hans Finsterwalder and his incredible wood sculptures and Tom Kreuser who creates beautifully glazed ceramics. Also look forward to seeing some new artists to complement Michele's paintings and photography. We are so happy to welcome her into our space and feel really good about this transition for all of us.
So this Friday's Art Walk will be like a party to celebrate our 6 years in Carefree and we truly hope you can stop by if you are still in the area. DaVidRo will be coming from California for the Art Walk on Friday so this will be your last chance to meet him and buy one of his pieces of amazing kilnformed glass since he will be returning Saturday morning to pack up his remaining pieces and take them back to Palm Springs. Also Joey Morgan who does the gorgeous composite imagery pieces will be coming to our gallery for the Art Walk as well as Tom Kreuser. If you have ever considered adding one of our artists' work to your
personal art collection, this and the next few weeks may be your last opportunity to do so.
We will continue to keep our gallery open until the end of May, during regular hours of 11:00 to 5:00 Wednesday through Saturdays. So if you cannot make the Art Walk, we hope you can stop by once again in May to celebrate with us our retirement from owning a gallery. It has been such a JOY for us, creating a beautiful environment filled with contemporary art to share with all of you and interacting with you about Art, Architecture, Travel and our mutual experiences. Thank you so much for being part of our wonderful adventure and journey for the past 6 years! What memories!
TED and JOY
TED PHILLIP DENTON CONTEMPORARY ART
100 East Street, Suite 1
(Backside of the Post Office Building facing the Desert Gardens Waterfalls)
To whom do I report a worker from the gardening group Carefree hires who was cutting off all the new growth on a prickly pear near the Sundial? I asked him what he was doing and he said he ate them. I told him that they did not belong to him but to the town of Carefree. For all I know he has been doing this for years.
Louise S.
(Lyn's note: I passed this email on to Kandace Contreras, the Town Clerk, and below is her reply. It's good to know.)
Lyn,
The prickly pear have to be trimmed or they would overtake the garden. If he enjoys and uses nopales, it beats throwing the trimmings in the landfill. The prickly pear aren’t over trimmed so it is fine.
Kandace French Contreras, CMC