I want to again thank you for having the confidence to elect me last summer to Town Council.
I feel that through the Sonoran News I can best reach out to you and let you know what my immediate goals on the Town Council are currently. I have two main goals right now:
1-Help jump-start the acquisition of the state trust land (4000 + acres) in Cave Creek and making it a reality by being assertive, determined, persistent, pro-active and tenacious. If this is 15 rounds of boxing and I keep losing every round you can be sure I will get back up off the canvas dust myself off and keep fighting until I achieve the goal. I do not give up; it’s not in my MO.
The state trust department in 2009 gave Cave Creek until 2029 to get this done and time is almost up. The town is in the process right now of getting this extended but until that happens as we all know there are no guarantees in life. I cannot speak for the past 17 years since I was not on council but I personally do not understand why this has not been accomplished. I am not pointing fingers here, the past is the past, but now and going forward we must act with a sense of urgency. And I am 100% committed to seeing that this gets accomplished per our citizens, town staff and current council. We are a team!!
2-Trail health & safety – When Cave Creek was incorporated in 1986 the population of Maricopa County was 1.6 million and there were only one lane roads to come up to Cave Creek. Today there are close to 6 million people in Maricopa County and Cave Creek is very assessable. People are coming to Cave Creek now more than ever. We have been discovered. Traffic on our trails and parks has increased and then some. Keep in mind that our main trails, Black Mountain, Cave Creek Regional Park and Spur Cross are all jointly owned and managed by both the town and Maricopa County. That being said, I believe it’s time to be pro-active about the future now and not later when it is too late. The temperatures are getting hotter now every summer and for longer periods of time; people are dying on our trails (i.e. Spur Cross). The City of Phoenix has been tweaking their trail ordinances now for about 10 years on their main preserves and mountains. They are now at the point where they will close all these preserves and mountains from May to October potentially (see AZ Republic 01/15/25 by Catilin McGlade) so where will all these hikers go? I have a proposed solution and again we will need to work with our partners, Maricopa County Parks to make this a reality. I hope you agree with my recommendations. It is all about trail safety and health and it’s pretty simple.
1- Black Mountain, Cave Creek Regional Park and Spur Cross will have large digital thermometers installed at their entrances. People need to see how hot it actually is for their health & safety as well their dogs before they attempt their hike.
2- If you follow the news you know how many dogs die of heat related issues every summer (this is why the City of Phoenix does not allow them on their trails any longer). Cave Creek with the uptick of people coming here now to hike needs an ordinance addressing this. My proposition is that from 9:00 am to 7:00 pm if the temperatures exceed 90 degrees or higher that no dogs are permitted on these trails. It’s not safe and it’s inhumane. Remember dogs are incredibly loyal animals that will literally follow you off a cliff.
It’s only a matter of time before we start hearing about dog/& human fatalities. We need some basic ordinances to be pro-active so this does not happen, as well endanger our first responders and rescue teams.
I need your support in the community to make both these very important action items happen. Remember yes we all want to keep Cave Creek, “Cave Creek” but this is not Cave Creek 1986 any longer.
Best always,
Joe Freedman
Cave Creek Town Councilman
[email protected]
