Response to Brad Burdick regarding bike lanes
Hello Brad, thanks so much for your reply to my editorial about supporting bike lanes through Cave Creek/Carefree. Your reply was well reasoned and insightful; however, I feel there is a touch of anger and bitterness to the tone of your reply. Do you feel out of control with where your hard earned tax money goes? Do you have nothing going on in your life except to worry and complain what your tax dollars are being used for? Do you have hobbies or anything to move your energy away from this issue that you are clearly upset with? Do you think about this on a daily basis? Were you home schooled or bullied as a youngster? Whatever your motivation is, your way of thinking is not forward, it seems a bit dangerous. My friend, you have a lot of opposition on your view with this issue. The bottom line is this, regardless of what you may believe who you assume I am a fan of politically, rider safety and happy folks who come through Cave Creek riding bikes. We all have families, wives, girlfriends, kids, grandkids, jobs, responsibilities, shop owners, etc…we would like to be reasonably safe, I would hope that you would want any of your family riding a bike to feel safe. Bike lanes help that. They are not the best solution but it is what we have at our disposal at the moment. We do spend money and visitors and new folks can rent bikes. You know that with our amazing weather, folks from less friendly climates come here too and spend money boosting the local economy while enjoying what we have to offer. So, you are not only affecting the locals, you would be affecting the visitors as well because, you know, they ride too and like the same amenities as we do. Brad, come join us and find out what is all about. Take a cruise around town on two wheels. Turn your frown upside down.
D. Whitehill
Email
TO: Carefree Town Council
RE: Long term resident’s point of view
NO – unfortunately I’m currently unable to attend Council and/or P&Z meetings. But YES I am a voter, and YES, after 23 years am very concerned about what I see and hear may be taking place in Carefree. Council and P&Z purposefully avoiding transparency as they consider increasing building heights. Zoning changes subverting the General Plan over protests of concerned nearby residents. Take a look at the planned Eastwood development, aka “Sardine Village” where Pima and Cave Creek Rd intersect. Spending large sums on fancy “Entry/Welcome” pillars. Did Sarah Palin have the right descriptor - something about lipstick and pigs?? And what about that mysterious outfit acquiring big chunks of office/retail square footage in downtown Carefree – believe their signage reads “Available”!
Is it unreasonable to perceive a purposeful strategic shift in the very nature of Carefree being undertaken by our political class? Should we wonder if this brand of governance on the local level reflects the voter rejection of incumbents at the federal level this cycle? Is a long term decline in sales tax revenue resulting in a move toward out of place tall buildings and greater density zoning to drive revenue through more aggressive permitting fees?
Is it reasonable to postulate these changes will over time fundamentally change the nature of Carefree, while reducing property values? I have anecdotal evidence among my circle of friends making downsizing decisions and leaving Carefree out of their location choices.
My invitation to the council is this. Discontinue your lack of transparency, present realistic financial projections that might, or might not, justify dramatic shifts in revenue generation strategy, then let we voters decide!
Thank you, and look forward to any clarification you can provide to all the citizens of Carefree.
Vance Howe
Carefree
Carefree’s Future Matters
Friends of Carefree, there was a Special Meeting of the Town Council February 11 at 3 p.m. This meeting was rescheduled from the original date of February 12.
Councilman Orrico was unable to attend the February 11 meeting. Whether due to the date change, the meeting time, or other reasons I counted only 3 members of the public in attendance besides Jim and I.
Items 1, Gateways Construction Project: [This item was continued from the February 2 council meeting.] The Mayor turned the meeting over to Councilwoman Price for an update on the Gateways Project which included an introduction of contractors and committee participants, the design review, and the cost summary.
Howard Bertram (Bertram Signs & Graphics) described the signage design and materials. Brian Gold (Let There Be Light) explained the methodology behind the design chosen to light the various Gateway signs. Next August Reno (August Reno Architects) explained the overall design and some of the challenges they faced in finalizing the column and arch designs for the two Gateways (minor details remain).
Councilwoman Price thanked all the contractors present, as well as all who contributed to the project, especially for their generous donations of time and/or materials which will save the town a substantial sum. She provided a slide which contained the project cost details. (See the photo of that information below) The bottom line cost for the two Gateways will be approximately $454,014 which includes a 15 percent contingency. There was no specific line item in the Town Budget for the Gateways Project so funds will continue to flow from the $1.5M Economic Development category. The project budget had been estimated at $500,000. In response to a question from Councilman Farrar, Councilman Miller mentioned that estimate was for four Gateways. When asked when the construction project would be completed Councilman Miller responded, June, when the Bike Lane Project wraps up.
Ms. Price showed a slide of the plaques planned for the Gateways and read the acknowledgments to be included. The Council stood and applauded the contractors and other contributors to the project. The Mayor thanked everyone.
Item 20, Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at approximately 3:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted by
Jim Van Allen and John Traynor
Don’t forget to visit
www.CarefreesFutureMatters.com
Bike lane fraud
Although not a town resident, I live nearby and frequent many businesses in town. The destruction of the western flavor so many of us wish to preserve continues. Condominium developers, cyclists and fast food joints should all be shunned. To quietly accept these changes makes us all complicit, in my view. The condos are ugly, the bike lanes are ugly we have all the fast food we need.
Regarding cyclists and their safety; they want three feet but they ride the white line and it is even worse when they ride in a “pack”. I for one will not move from my travel lane to make them comfortable. Maybe we should consider barrier walls like on the freeway, so they can come to town and buy Gatorade and play Lance Armstrong. (Well said Mr. Burdick.)
Sadly, I find myself reluctant to come to town due to the changes.
Alan Wise
Email
Two Cave Creek trail connections
Our trails in Cave Creek bind the community together in a way no other town in the Phoenix Valley is interconnected for equestrians, hikers and bicyclists. These trails are like strings that may seem individually unimportant, but enough strings can even unite a “town too tough to govern.”
During my 8 years on the town council, I have worked with staff and volunteers to expand and unify the trail system.
Like our open space, trails define a town that values our High Sonoran Desert environment, and thereby adds value to all properties in Cave Creek. As many of our businesses have seen, trails also draw customers and tax money to Cave Creek. If we are to have a town that provides important services and preserves open space without property taxes, a feature of Cave Creek I support, this will be another step in building our revenues.
Those who have lived in Cave Creek for decades recall being able to ride or hike virtually anywhere in this quirky rural town. Everybody seemed to know everybody else (for better or worse) and few people worried about property boundaries and restrictions. But Cave Creek is moving forward in the 21st century when it is project that our population will double. Land owners have rights to develop and/or profit from their land as homes and investments.
Meanwhile our citizens want to protect the small town flavor as much as we can. Trails play a critical part in that effort.
With our present 50 miles of trails, critical connections enable trail users in the eastern part of Cave Creek non-motorized free and convenient access to trails on the western side of town. And vice versa. Moving from trail segments to a coherent system throughout Cave Creek has been an exciting process. But as both private and commercial properties are developed, establishing interconnected trails will only become more difficult in the future.
I am very pleased that within the past couple of weeks we have been able to move ahead with two major trail connections.
At the February 2 Town Council meeting “Call to the Public” representatives of Canyon Ridge Estates announced their support for a trail connection at the west end of Surrey Road. It was a major change that involved 180° shift in their policy. The Surrey road connection will give easier access to Desert Foothills Land Trust trails in the Go John Preserve, and into the Cave Creek Regional Park. Trails in that park were recently connected under Carefree Highway to about a hundred miles of trails in the Phoenix Preserve.
Another important connection has been in litigation for years. This is a trail connection east and west near Morningstar Road. Some of our residents have unofficially used it for may years, but were more recently blocked from access. Trail users (hikers, equestrians and mountain bike) have waited for this connection for a long time and our lawyers have now announced that the town may proceed with a variety of legal requirements.
We have never had two more important trail segments in Cave Creek.
Both trails must be surveyed and then constructed to Maricopa County standards. I will work to ensure that process moves forward as quickly as possible as our equestrians, hikers and bicyclists wait for an official opening.
Please contact me or Bambi Muller in Town Hall for further information.
Thomas McGuire
Cave Creek Town Councilman
Bern baby Bern
Bernie Sanders was red-hot in Iowa snatching half of the caucus votes from rival Hillary Clinton. Easily done with Hillary’s junkyard dog demeanor and his “I’ll give it to you for free” campaign message. In New Hampshire Bernie was white hot setting Mrs. Clinton back on her heels again. Game over; not quite.
Outside of the college campuses and the white liberal precincts Sanders enters where live businesses that he has vowed to rob, black and Hispanic neighborhoods, cities, counties, even states that still look worship-fully upon the country’s “First Black President,” Bill Clinton, now touring with the Red Queen. Then there is the money. Can you say George Soros, billionaire, market manipulator, backer of Barack Hussein Obama and...Hillary Clinton.
It seems Sanders’ only hope is that the FBI comes calling with an indictment issuing Hillary a new orange pantsuit, but not even then. With Hillary out he would still face the BBB, Bidden, Bloomberg and, perhaps Governor Moonbeam, Jerry Brown. Flame out Bernie; your fifteen minutes are about over.
Randy Edwards
Cave Creek
Military preparing to fight ‘climate change’ instead of wars?
When our national focus was still sane, the United States Department of Defense had a singular goal: defending the U.S., while maintaining the capability to wage war on two fronts. What did that look like? If the United States were drawn into a two front war like World War II, we would be able to triumph.
So what happens when you take on so many priorities that the objective actually becomes more elusive? We should ask the Pentagon after they implement Directive E 4715.21, or the directive relating to “Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience.”
The directive comes as a direct result of Executive Order 13653, Obama’s effort to institutionalize his stance on climate change within the government. The thinking goes, “If the effects of climate change are imminent, shouldn’t we make the appropriate preparations?” What could go wrong?
For starters, what happens when the military is procuring weapons based not solely on cost, reliability and effectiveness? Does the introduction of “climate sustainability” disrupt this already cumbersome balancing act? Producing cost effective, functioning technology is already a challenge that the defense establishment grapples with; doesn’t this create more problems than it solves?
This is corroborated by the Daily Caller’s report, which excerpts the report by saying “The way in which DoD acquires its weapons platforms and supplies will also see significant changes.
According to the document, the assistant secretary of defense for acquisition will overhaul “policies to integrate climate change considerations into mission area analyses and acquisition strategies across the life cycle of weapons systems, platforms, and equipment.”
That’s pretty bad, but it gets worse. It also creates “climate boards” that will integrate the new standards into all layers of the services.
Worse still, the military’s tactical aims are being complicated, according to Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning, “Sergeants leading a platoon should not be worried about the environmental sensitivity of a rice paddy that needs to be traversed to achieve their mission, while providing the maximum security for the personnel under their command. Tank commanders should be afforded all the training they need no matter how much fuel is expended in the process. And Naval Captains should run their ships at the speeds that are necessitated by the immediate needs of the situation. Instead, President Obama would install bureaucratic boards and other second guessers along with real time tactical climate change assessments that would be held over officers’ heads should they choose what was deemed to be a climate change insensitive course of action.”
A three year moratorium on the Obama climate order should be instituted by Congress to assure that the full impacts can be realized before doing great damage to the technical capabilities of our armed forces, as well as damaging our capability to project force. If we want to return to the original mission of our military, which is readiness, Congress itself must be ready to flex its Article I muscles. Our safety may very well depend on it.
Dustin Howard
Americans for Limited Government
Historical society obstructs science education
Over 40,000 children visited the once top rated Arizona Mining and Mineral Museum in Phoenix every year. Most were brought by teachers or scout leaders to participate in structured earth science education programs. School busses arrived almost daily, and came from as far away as Yuma.
Then, the Arizona Historical Society gained control of it in 2010. In early 2011, the AHS inexplicably locked the doors even as children were still scheduled for field trips. Every year since, the AHS has accepted and spent the full mineral museum budget, but has refused to operate the museum.
Now, Senate Bill 1440 would reopen the museum and restore the K-12 education programs by transferring all mineral museum assets to a state agency willing and able to operate the mineral museum. The AHS is now using public funds to hire lobbyists to oppose the bill. The AHS has no plans for the building, but does not want to allow others to reopen the mineral museum for students and teachers.
Dick Zimmermann
Tempe
A sixth letter to America
Many things that are going on in America today show what happens when a nation denies God’s Word and then follows man’s ideas of what is right. The nation becomes morally corrupt.
In The Holy Bible, the Word Of God, (Psalm 14:1), it says, “The Fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.”
One of the latest examples of a corrupt America is evident when you see what happened in the case where concerned American Christians video-taped those involved in the sale of human baby body parts. One of the investigators was indicted and threatened with a 20 year imprisonment.
Meanwhile those who were doing “abominable works” weren’t touched. Apparently, the ungodly law, passed and re-approved, by this nations’ top court, is so revered, there is no oversight whatsoever on those practicing this terrible inhumane injustice.
So revered that law enforcement even overlooked the fact some of those body parts were taken from babies delivered alive and then butchered for those body parts.
Yes America, we are not only committing a crime against God, we are committing a heinous crime against humanity.
And yes, senators and congressmen/women, you could have stopped it in 1973, and even now, if you have the guts to stand on God’s Word. And His Word is “Thou shalt not kill,” and he is talking about the innocent, not the murderers.
So ask the present sitting Supreme Court justices to reverse or annul Roe v. Wade and to vote on it within three months. Those judges who vote to continue the murdering of unborn babies are disobeying God’s Law, and therefore, not “holding their offices in good behavior.”
Meanwhile, start impeaching those justices who completely disregarded God’s laws by approving same-sex marriage. They not only threw your law out, but also completely disregarded “the will of the people.” Wake up America!
Manuel Ybarra, Jr.
Coalgate, Oklahoma
