Guest Editorial
BY STEVE LAMAR | OCTOBER 1, 2014
Fall is in the air
We are still cleaning up and repairing from the summer storms, but in the light of the new dawn there is a forgotten, now remembered, cool crispness in the air that whispers of the glories of Cave Creek and the great Sonoran desert foothills as the fall takes us to winter; to crackling fires against the chill of night, and brilliant cool afternoons when the horses find a spring in their step. When the Cave Creek Regional Park and the Spur Cross Ranch Recreation Area invite us to roam the afternoons away in our fragile, beautiful Sonoran wilderness paradise.
We endure and are blessed.
In politics, as in much of human endeavor, it is pride, not summer, that comes before the fall. At Cave Creek Town Hall, it is pride of a perverse and arrogant sort that we have witnessed and endured as citizens.
The independent Town Manager form of government we as citizens have demanded since incorporation has been dismantled for the sake of day to day government by and for the best interests of Vice Mayor Adam Trenk and councilmen Mike Durkin, Reg Monachino, and Charlie Spitzer.
In a recent example, the town manager and public works director, faced a with real community issue brought to them by long time residents who live with the continued threat to their homes and lives from the flood waters of Cave Creek, either parrot the arrogance of their Trenk council masters, or when pressed with logic, hang their heads and lament they have no staff and no money budgeted to even repair washed away water lines in a way that will survive the next substantial rain.
How can this be? It is well documented the Trenk council began its march of arrogance with the “Big Lie” – the town manager is a crook, the town council is letting him steal money, and the town is broke.
The truth … the Trenk, Monachino, Durkin, Spitzer council was handed $5-8 million surplus and the annual independent audit proclaimed in writing that all the proper procedures for handling public monies had been followed by the former town manager and council they had defamed. In fact, Cave Creek was led through the worse recession in the state’s history with flying colors. But that doesn’t serve the boys.
So to perpetuate the “Big Lie” that got them elected, they continue to proclaim poverty, and adopt ill conceived, totally inadequate budgets. Result, there is inadequate money budgeted for the essentials. Result, even minor necessary maintenance is politicized by the Trenk council.
These are the same politicians who use Trenk’s admitted criminal conduct to disqualify the signatures of citizens who demand they stand for a recall election. Who throw thousands of tax dollars to fellow engineers for ridiculous software, while our roads and medians continue to deteriorate. Who make secret deals to abandon critical trails for political operatives. Who conspired in secret meetings to replace a long time, independent, respected Town Manager with Rodney Glassman, a Trenk friend and political crony who helped Trenk, Monachino, Spitzer, and Durkin transform Town Hall into the Chicago, New Jersey style political mess it has become. Who work with associates from Carefree against Cave Creek’s commercial development.
The same politicians who swept $800,000 open space tax money to the general fund to spend as they please.
These are the politicians who abandoned implementation of the recommendations of the White Paper Citizen Committee to develop the commercial potential along Carefree Highway for the long term financial stability of Cave Creek for the sake of crippling development limitations to pay back and appease a small vocal group of their supporters to the detriment of the town’s financial future.
These are the politicians who continue to pack the planning commission with personal agenda operatives and supporters.
Politicians who have abandoned the purchase and development of our annexed open space; then attempt to appease us with piece meal trades that serve the land department, and developers of a new resort.
The politicians who have embroiled the town in lawsuits and wasted tens of thousands of tax dollars defending their unlawful conduct.
We endure and are blessed.
It is fall. There is an early morning chill in the air, and we have endured. Our signatures have been gathered again. We stand together to face the dirty tricks and politicians’ lawyers. We have endured the arrogance and we will endure the legal attacks, as we endured the heat of summer.
We will be blessed with new citizen leaders who serve in good faith after we do a spring cleaning of Town Hall. All for the Love of Cave Creek.
