My View
MARCH 13, 2013
Peirce’s referendum
Linda Bentley’s article will report the results of the March 12 election. Since our publishing deadline is prior to election results, I will reserve comment until the March 20 printed issue.
Before continuing though, a word or two about our web page where we publish every week, 52 weeks a year. Since the information on the web doesn’t require printing or postal distribution we are free to add more than is possible in the printed versions. For example, we often have as many as four guest editorials online while the printed issue has half as many. Many articles are expanded in length and because we don’t encounter space issues as we do on the printed page we can add more news articles and many pictures. Our advertisers are increasingly advertising in both the printed and online versions.
So do yourself a favor and visit www.sonorannews.com.
The final town election for council will be on May 21, if there are any runoffs. Sadly, due an out-of-town instigator a referendum was filed against the council decision to upzone a small property on Carefree Highway west of the CVS drugstore. Never mind Carefree has upzoned that entire corner to commercial.
The “activist” who spearheaded this irrational action is Carefree resident Jim Peirce. Never mind that he sat on his hands while Carefree commercialized the northwest corner of Cave Creek Road and Carefree Highway without a peep from him or his comrade in arms, Cave Creek’s ex-council member Grace Meeth.
Such excursions are costly to Cave Creek but also put the whole planned project on hold, making it costly to the property owner. That location screams out for commercial zoning, as does the rest of the Carefree Highway corridor. I know property owners in the neighborhood are angry, but what did they expect when they bought relatively cheap property alongside Carefree Highway?
It is impossible to put a big picture hat on a pointed head and this action is exactly like the ravings of the recent slate. The slate argued like a retarded child about “keeping Cave Creek Cave Creek” by eliminating commercial outside the town core, but that is where a steady revenue stream is likely. Besides, who cares what outside of Cave Creek trouble makers like Anna Marsolo and Jim Peirce think?
Nonetheless it is fantasy reading to indulge in Marsolo’s ravings. In the Feb. 29 issue of the Foothills Focus she appeared as a rare letter to the editor. In fact she was the only LTE, which shows even her buddies at the Arizona Republic have standards sometimes.
Her title was “Resident fears further Cave Creek Development.” Once again the old gal is flying under false colors. Not only is she called “resident” but the credit was given to Anna Marsolo, Cave Creek.
SHE IS IN MARICOPA COUNTY NOT CAVE CREEK!!!!!
Her arguments are long in the tooth and wrong. As a low information person I can accept she doesn’t have a clue. She has never changed her beliefs and she has been the source of serious troubles for actual citizens, not outside agitators. It is an old story she complained about signs the owners of the Tumbleweed had on their property. The complaints went by phone to the Assistant Town Marshal Bobby Hernandez. Cave Creek has a complaint system and town officials are not supposed to act unless they have a signed complaint. Nonetheless Hernandez had MCSO handcuff Jeri and Gary Rust. The town could have been liable for a huge lawsuit, but excellent legal work by Attorney Tom Rawls and negotiations with the town manager resulted in an apology and settlement.
Once she and her friend, then Councilwoman Grace Meeth, complained to the town because a nice couple from Alaska had trimmed their wild foliage, insisted they didn’t have the right to do it and tried to give them town trouble.
The last thing Cave Creek needs is more Marsolos and Meeths, but now we have a Carefree complainant. Peirce once told me he didn’t care at all what others thought of him and I believe that.
He has a good side when he is complaining about breaches of the law by Carefree “leaders” but in this case he is way out of bounds.
Cave Creek voters, do each other a favor and vote this ridiculous referendum down in May!
