MARCH 30, 2011
The secret is out
CAREFREE – Word has finally emerged about the actual topic discussed at the secret meeting held on Sept. 22, 2010 at the office of the Carefree Water Co. Participants were Mayor David Schwan, Vice Mayor Glenn Miller, Councilman Bob Gemmill, ex-Mayor Wayne Fulcher, ex-Vice Mayor Lloyd Meyer and ex-council member Greg Gardner. Vice Mayor Miller has admitted his cover story about requesting a meeting to discuss town marketing plans, while accurate as far as it went, was actually far from complete.
It turns out the group will soon release details and begin promoting the Mayor Ed Morgan Memorial Grand Capsule Water Slide on the east side of Black Mountain. The project is designed to revive the Carefree town center with an influx of tourists. Dollars will benefit local merchants and, it is hoped, improve the town’s faltering sales tax proceeds. A key planning consideration is to make sure the rival town of Cave Creek is cut out of any direct water slide revenue.An ancillary feature of the water slide will be a dunk tank to replace the town’s water fountain near the post office building. A new town ordinance, supported by the mayor, will require the mayor to be a dunkee at Kiwanis programs held during the summer.
A capsule water slide differs significantly from a traditional water slide in that it is fully-enclosed and minimizes water evaporation. Daylight passes through the wall so outside viewers can watch participants. Use at night allows thrill-seekers to have a truly terrifying experience.
The Morgan Memorial Grand Capsule Water Slide is expected to be approximately 15 stories high and 600 feet long with a near-vertical drop that takes riders plummeting at a rate of 50 feet per second.
