You moved to Carefree to be left alone to enjoy the open spaces of the pristine Sonoran Desert landscape. You want to be part of a community that understands, respects and enforces strict desert-sensitive guidelines for growth and development. You want the peace and quiet of a small town.
But now you are angry and disappointed.
You are in disbelief every time you look at the Hampton Inn wondering how in the world did we allow a Hampton Inn right smack in the center of Carefree. Our town used to have high standards for buildings. When Tom Darlington and K.T. Palmer met and conceived Carefree in 1946 at a Kiwanis luncheon in Phoenix, they had a clear vision. They wanted to create a low-density and upscale residential community that integrates seamlessly with the surrounding Sonoran Desert landscape. The Hampton Inn missed all the marks. As a matter of fact, it has destroyed our iconic downtown. What went wrong?
You are appalled at the mud slinging that is happening between the different factions in town. A small groups of extremely vocal individuals have managed to hijack and dominate our communication. We all see the lack of vision, sophistication and leadership from the current Mayor and our current Vice Mayor had sued the town on term-limits so he can run again even though he has been in office since 2012 – a whole decade of being on the Council. If you can’t trust the top two guys on the Council, who can you trust?
The current trend is calling for another new “boutique” hotel at the northwest corner of Tom Darlington and Carefree Highway. The current plan is also calling for three or more “quick-serve” (code word for Fast Food) restaurants, a shopping mall and additional commercial structures northeast corner of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Road. This out of control growth, reckless development and re-zoning of every single available piece of land and real estate in town in the name of Economic Development is a great concern to the vast majority of the Carefree residents. Pretty soon we will be just like Scottsdale. Is this what the people of Carefree want?
The current Council has perfected the art of talking out of both sides of their mouths on a number of key issues. First, the Hampton Inn will generate untold amounts of sales tax revenue for the town, attract hundred of visitors who will spend money to benefit the local economy, and even provide employment opportunities for our residents too. BUT, that’s not enough to run our little town, we still need to develop every single available space in Carefree to support our Town services (i.e., streets, fire, police, lawsuits, attorneys, consultants, salaries, benefits, etc.)
When the current Mayor ran for mayor in 2016 he said, on record, that one of his top priorities if he was elected mayor would be Economic Development. Well Mayor and Council members, in the last six years what plans have you put in place to revive the Los Portales Mall that has been sitting vacant and defunct of life in the middle of our town center? If you can’t even revive the little Los Portales what makes you think you can develop and transform the other areas of town into economic powerhouses?
Oh and by the way, even though money is tight, the current administration just gifted all of us a hefty $32M Carefree Water Transition Project ($18.5M for principle and $13.5M in interest) for the next 30 years all in the name of improvement and growth and in the process managed to bitterly divided our town into For vs. Against the water project. BUT, when it comes to police, fire, and emergency medical services for Carefree the Town Council pinched pennies and looked for the cheapest option leaving our citizens (and our newly minted Hampton Inn visitors) vulnerable and exposed in the event of a major disaster and emergencies. The current administration’s justification for Carefree choosing to go with the lowest bidder for public safety is that we are a “conservatively managed community” so we must watch our budget. Seriously?!?! Are we willing to take chances with people’s lives when seconds count? Carefree citizens deserve first-rate public safety services.
It’s not your fault that you are angry, confused and frustrated. We are too. We are angry that our town got hijacked by a bunch of self-serving politicians. We are angry at the mess that these career politicians have put us in. We are angry because the current administration had betrayed our trust, boxed our beloved Carefree into an Economic Development nightmare and destroyed our pristine desert open spaces. That is why we are running for Town Council.
We expect opponents to say something along the line that we don’t have the experience and/or the qualifications to run a town this size. They will say that we have not been here long enough to know the inner circles of town to get elected. They will say that it’s easy to be the Monday morning quarterback, but running Carefree is difficult. We even have been told that no one knows you here in Carefree, so you guys shouldn’t run because you won’t get the votes you need to be on the Council.
First, each of us individually have had long successful careers in business, in both public and private sectors. Kathlina Lai came from a successful corporate career in strategy, technology and supply chain management. She successfully led a number of business re-engineering efforts, spearheaded large technological transformation over-hauls and oversaw multimillion-dollar enterprises. Duke Vukotic is a successful pilot who co-owned and operated a number of successful small to mid-sized businesses. He is the current the Carefree SkyRanch Airport Community Relations Committeeman and he is also a father of three who wants to raise his children in the same pristine Carefree that his wife was born and raised in. Sven Maric is a sales and marketing expert who understands how to leverage technology to bring massive results for his clients’ bottom line. Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, he worked for Sony, DirectTV and Toyota USA HQ. Sven also has founded several start-up companies. Don’t you think the three of us can contribute our experiences and expertise to help elevate own town?
Second, the voters of Carefree decide who they want to represent them on the Council, not some secret societies. Granted that there are “informal” paths of getting the support and endorsement one needs to get on the Council, but at the end of the day, the voters decide. Carefree voters are smart. Their “nonsense” radar is on high alert so they now know what to look out for in this election. Besides, most of us came to Carefree from places where we have seen what out of control growth, irresponsible policies, and self-serving politicians can do to a beautiful place. We do not want that to happen to Carefree. The three of us believe in this so strongly that we are not even taking any monetary donations for our campaigns because we don’t want to be bought. If you want to support us, check out our website at www.Carefree2022.com and opt-in to receive the latest information, tell all your neighbors and friends to vote and cast your vote for the three of us at the ballot box on Election Day.
Finally, we know that running a town like Carefree is not easy, but it is not impossible. If towns twice or three times our size like Paradise Valley, Cottonwood, and Prescott can do it, we can do it too. The challenge for the next Council is to create the right mix of first-rate shops, restaurants, and businesses that attract the right kind of visitors to come and spend money in Carefree and at the same time preserve our beautiful Sonoran Desert landscape and maintain the peace and quietness that Carefree citizens cherish.
It is too late to undo the Hampton Inn, but it’s not too late to prevent another one from showing up. Apathy and complacency will be the Achilles’ Heel of Carefree. That’s how the current council members have managed to stay in power for so long. Not every council member is bad, but in leadership if it happens on your watch, you are responsible, especially when you have been on the watch for a long time. When the current Council consistently has a voting record of 7-0 on practically everything, it’s hard to believe that Carefree just got lucky with an agreeable bunch.
Carefree voters, would it be a crazy idea to get some fresh and new perspectives on the Town Council?
Let’s take back our town on August 2nd at the ballot box!
Kathlina Lai, Duke Vukotic, Sven Maric
Carefree
