Aug. 09

Dear Citizens:
     Council members Stavoe and Vanick were not at tonight’s meeting.
     The 2009-10 Budget was approved ( 4-1,Coady voting no).
         Coady Comment: I voted no on the proposed budget as I am concerned regarding unanswered questions on the 8 Sundial Circle building, as well as court costs and court options. I feel that further information was needed on both of these issues to make an informed decision.
     The Boulders HOA gave an update on the water treatment plant, located in the Boulders. There is a plan in place to decommission the plant in the near future. Effluent will then go into the Scottsdale sewer system.
An agenda item to lower permit fees for garage and estate sales from $100 to $25, Council denied this change (4-1, Coady in favor).
     An agenda item regarding the status of the Carefree Court was continued at the request of Councilman Coady.
         Coady Comment: A report compiled by Councilman Koteas, pertaining to an IGA (intergovernmental Agreement) with Cave Creek was pulled from the packet. Judge Scull just prior to the meeting, presented a memorandum, addressing his concerns ref. said IGA. This information is necessary to make an educated decision. It has been rescheduled for Sept.
     After lengthy discussion, council agreed (5-0) to approve the lease purchase agreement for 8 Sundial Circle. This lowered the interest rate.
     The Court will be moved into the where Town Hall is now and Town Hall will move to the Sundial Circle building. The cost for these moves is estimated at $70,000. Both Councilmen Coady and Koteas requested bids on all work to be performed for these moves.

CALL TO THE PUBLIC: Blain Keith requested a traffic study of north Pima and Dog Leg due to limited visibility.
Gary Hayward accused Councilman Coady of being behind the recall of Mayor Schwan, but was unable to give any proof of his allegations.

SPECIAL PUBLIC SECTOR: Newpath Networks will be holding a public open house to discuss placing cell towers in the public right -of-way in Scottsdale. The proposed site is on the west side of Pima, just south of Stagecoach Pass. This meeting will be held on Thursday, 8-6, from 4-6, at Spirit of the Desert, 7415 E. Elbow Bend, Carefree.

LAST MONTH’S QUESTION OF THE MONTH: To balance the upcoming budget, all charitable donations as well as a staff position were eliminated. With this in mind, do you believe that the town should be spending money for festivities to celebrate a 25th anniversary of incorporation of Carefree?
I got quite a bit of e-mail on this issue and to be honest I was rather surprised by the response. 84% had a negative opinion of the celebration. Some felt that if we had to lay off staff, then it was inappropriate to spend any money for this event. Others felt that it should be toned down and more planning should be done to incorporate charities at the event, enabling them to raise money, food and place abandoned animals in homes. Many just said “no.”
I have never had anything to do with this event, but you sent some very good suggestions and I have passed them all on to Councilman Koteas, who is in charge of town marketing.

QUESTION OF THE MONTH: Considering that the post office, Town Hall and Town Court are all in the same complex, do you believe that people should have the right to petition and campaign at this location?

DID YOU KNOW: Councilman Coady will be resigning his responsibilities regarding the Town Court effective 8/5. Due to restrictions by Court and Town staff, Councilman Coady has been unable to gather information for an IGA with Maricopa County Superior Court or Cave Creek Court. An IGA with Cave Creek would not only reduce the Town’s subsidy of the court, but add more revenue.

SHERIFF’S SECTOR: June stats for MCSO- 1 aggravated assault, 27 arrests, 3 DUI arrests, 316 traffic summonses with 171 for speed. There were 0 noise citations issued.

GOING, GOING GREEN!!: I will be forming a Green Initiative Committee. The purpose of this committee will be to gather information and updates on environmentally friendly and energy saving products and materials, and to share the information with our residents and staff. It is my hope to incorporate some of these new products and methods into our Town Building Codes.

Needless to say, any information will be shared in CAREFREE MATTERS. Anyone interested, please contact me at (480)488-3565, or e-mail me at this address.

EVENT CALENDAR - P& Z Meeting-8/10, 5:00PM, Town Council Meeting- 9/9, 5:00 PM.

If you wish to contact me, be included, or removed from my email list for CAREFREE MATTERS, write me at BobCoadyaz@aol.com. Or, if your e-mail address should change, please let me know that too, so you can continue to receive CAREFREE MATTERS.

Councilman Bob Coady