~ Candidate Meet and Greet for Nan Nesvig & Jim Derouin

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 ~ Council Corner by Councilman Bob Littlefield

~ Subsidies and Corporate Welfare?

Recently there have been several letters and guest columns in the local papers claiming that those of us who oppose giving subsides to developers are hurting the southern portion of Scottsdale because  it is "neglected, run-down and blighted" and can only be saved by more city subsidies for developers. 

These folks are right about one thing – I am against corporate welfare and proud to be so. 

Unfortunately, the rest of their rhetoric is the same old hogwash that has been put out for years by the special interests who want you to believe that letting them put their sticky fingers into the taxpayer’s cookie jar is somehow good for you!

The most dangerous of their falsehoods is the claim that South Scottsdale is such a blighted mess that no retail will locate there unless it is subsidized.  Here are the facts:

The bottom line is that the claim that South Scottsdale is a blighted mess is just another scare tactic to frighten you into supporting corporate welfare. 

As with any city there are some individual properties in all parts of town that need revitalizing.  But to see what really works to achieve this goal you have only to look at the recent history of Scottsdale’s Downtown.  In 1996 the City officially declared Downtown "blighted," supposedly to encourage the "redevelopment" of this area.

Instead, the "blighted" designation made things worse, so much so that when I first ran for City Council in 2002 the big issue in the election was "what should the city do about Downtown."

Today Scottsdale’s Downtown is a success story.  How did we do it?  The first thing that we did was to get rid of the "blighted" designation, which had actually discouraged revitalization – what lender wants to lend a business owner money to remodel or improve a building in an area that is officially "blighted" and might be condemned?

Next, we invested in improved infrastructure, especially parking garages – merchants need places for customers to park so that they can get to the stores to buy things.  We also stepped up code enforcement and cleanup efforts to keep the area looking good.

Where we have individual properties anywhere in Scottsdale that need to be revitalized this is the formula that works, not subsidies to enrich private developers.

The ^$2.7 billion in private investment in Scottsdale south of Chaparral Road since the start of 2003 proves that there is no shortage of developers who are anxious to do business in this part of our city without being subsidized, and that developers do not need subsidies to create successful and profitable projects in South Scottsdale. Just as was the case in Scottsdale’s Downtown, those who call the area "blighted" are the real enemies of revitalization, not those of us who oppose subsidies.

Councilman Bob Littlefield
bob@boblittlefield.com

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~ Guest Editorial by  Howard Myers

I guess I must be one of those nasty outspoken minority Activists that wants to maintain Scottsdale’s high quality of life rather than lining developers pockets.

This isn’t an issue of old vs. new as the media constantly claims, it is an issue of recognizing what makes Scottsdale unique and a desirable place to visit or live and trying to make sure that isn’t lost in the move to redevelop downtown or any other area of the city.

The important thing to recognize is that growth is not sustainable because as the number of people occupying an area becomes greater, all of the downsides of high density make that place less desirable to live in, work in, or visit start to erode its value.

It is the simple relationship between the density of people and higher stress, higher crime rates, more traffic congestion, increased infrastructure problems, and higher taxes to support trying to control all these issues. Scottsdale was desirable because it was lower in density, and therefore mostly free of all the downsides of the opposite. It also has abundant natural beauty, a lot of open space, and a vital link to western culture.

Do you realize that Rawhide was the second most visited place in Arizona behind the Grand Canyon, before the city let them go, and that old town is the major tourist draw in southern Scottsdale? We aren’t talking about providing watering troughs at every intersection, or opposing all new projects, but rather being smart enough to recognize what is good and successful and not destroying it in the name of progress.

Everyone is criticizing Tony Nelssen and Bob Littlefield for being concerned about dense developments, and the loss of our western culture. In my mind, they are the only two who have a sustainable vision for Scottsdale because they seek to maintain what is successful now and will continue to be successful in the future if we don’t destroy it.

The others are blind to the long term impact of what they are approving. If they are successful, Scottsdale will be just like any other city, and therefore no more desirable to visit or live in than any other place. At that point, we will have lost our most valued supporters, the tourists that drive much of our economy. For similar reasons, we will also start to loose businesses that will find lower rents, lower housing costs, and less traffic issues somewhere else.

So maybe we activists have a better vision for the future of Scottsdale than the "insiders", those who would like profit from Scottsdale’s current popularity with no regard for what happens to it in the future. Both developers and activists claim they are doing what is best for the city. But who would you tend to believe, a person who will reap enormous profits from changing the character of this city, or one who is merely trying to protect their quality of life and that of their fellow residents?

No, activists don’t oppose all development, just inappropriate development, and they have every right to do so. After all, this is our town and our home that is being destroyed so others can make their big killing and then move on.

It is those of us who intend to live out our lives here that will be left with the results.

Howard Myers
Scottsdale, AZ

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We heard again yesterday that Jan Dolan, through Neal Shearer and Frank Gray, is hell bent on finding who is "leaking" negative happenings from within the city of Scottsdale to the Scottsdale Activist and other print media.

Dolan and Manross vehemently deny any wrongdoing and are furious hearing these truths about bad things exposed outside their private offices.  The city is now using Websense** software tracking any employee who, in their minds, access "excessive" outside email servers and accounts or more correctly, send revealing emails to certain publications (how much did THIS computer program cost the taxpayers?).

They are saying that apparently the leaks are now even worse since Jeff Fisher’s firing and reportedly Shearer and Gray pulled one of Jeff’s co-worker aside and questioned whether they did the right thing firing Jeff, among many other questions, allegations, and accusations, etc without any representation, legal or otherwise for the co-worker. What happened to that co-worker? He no longer is associated with the city. Concerning Jeff’s firing, all we heard was that Jeff had too many personal emails in his computer. Which computer? His off city premise personal computer? His city computer? Want to make a guess? We certainly can and we’d most probably be right on target and not on city property!

Jeff Fisher got fired for that??? What did he know that they cannot allow out into the public domain for fear of legal or ethical reprisals? Why Jeff and not scores of others in all levels of the city hierarchy who use the computers and internet for personal purposes?

Do you think someone should check Frank Gray’s city computer (and personal laptop he reportedly carries to work) for the use of outside emails and websites. Could it be possible that he’s doing his reportedly personal consulting business on city time and on a city computer?

How about checking Dolan’s city computer for "head hunter" websites she can use to quickly find a new job before she’s fired for incompetence and malfeasance in office?

How about a comprehensive investigation into how many high level management types were allowed to sign up for a plethora of expensive future professional seminars, conferences and job related periodicals at taxpayers expense just before they "retired" which cost the taxpayers thousands of dollars which those people can use and enjoy for years after they leave city employ?

Do these prepaid items go directly to these former administrators at their new off-city addresses or is it internally set up so that the products are sent to the city, sans names but with identifiers, then forwarded to those former employees so the end recipient is hidden from public and budgetary scrutiny?

How about investigating a "supervisor" who allegedly borrows money from employees by intimidating them with veiled and sometimes direct threats if they don’t loan him the money he wants when he wants it? Word has it that this person (we know his name) was just promoted, can you believe it? In the current "sick" environment in the current administration, yes, we believe it. Apparently even an outside audit firm suggested that the city was "sick" causing deep morale problems which would take serious corrections to repair. Could it be that nothing’s going to be done to make those corrections happen until someone "cleans house" so to speak?

Employees are dropping like flies again..... Jon Chase moving on after 29 years to work for a bank, and Paul McKee who worked in Risk Management leaving to work for SRP. Both reportedly very frustrated with Gestapo Jan and the others, but were excellent and loyal employees we hate to see go.

Could it be that Mike Clack the Chief Development Officer is a real sports nut and gets Dallas Cowboy/San Antonio Spurs emails all day long? Is he really on the City’s fantasy football league and does he use city computers to share trades, moves and game results?   As a chief who helped get rid of Jeff Fisher he shouldn’t he be more careful?  Do they all think that now that they publicly assassinated Jeff Fisher, they are all untouchable? 

Don’t look now obviously guilty parties, but the light you see at the end of the tunnel is not a flashlight but instead the headlight of a speeding 400 car loaded freight train headed straight at you to blow your "cover" out into the open for all the public to see!!

We loved your exposure of top level city staff. You hit the nail on the head with Frank Gray. All he ever did when he arrived at Scottsdale was brag how he didn't need this job, he had a huge house in Sweden (doesn’t he have an ex or relatives or something in Sweden?), interest in a retail center, and is a world renowned zoning and urban planning consultant.  Makes the employees who are supposed to work for you really respect you and want to do their best for a short timer with no real interest in the community for whom he works.  Keep up the good work Activist! Let them know you'll air their dirty laundry! More to come I hope! By the way Kroy Ekblaw hasn’t done a damned thing for years. When will someone wise up about these employees who milk the system solely for their own benefit? 

Apparently Frank Gray has a very guilty conscience. His name nor title was ever mentioned in the Activist article, but he seemed very upset and uptight with the article last week and tried to play cover-up on his conferences etc, by saying Jan Dolan knows of all his activities and he doesn't even need this job, so if it gets too messy he'll just leave (would he please take his pal Gestapo Jan with him?). Frank always tells staff he doesn't have to work. Boy; Makes us feel real good that someone is "so dedicated" to the city we love is apparently nothing more than a Paycheck and Retirement collector. Do you suppose he backs up to the pay window with his hand reaching for his check behind his back too?

If City Manager Jan Dolan actually knows and condones all of what Frank Gray and others have been doing and allows it, she should be fired immediately!!!

We employees love seeing this stuff finally being exposed to the public! It shows how corrupt, secretive, and underhanded this administration really is. They have no idea how to control the leaks but they spend so much time trying to find the leaks when in fact they ought to be doing the business of the city by changing the working environment, stopping the management threats, and immediately start being honest, ethical, and above board instead of secretly attacking employees without any legal or witness representation because the employee just might expose the corruption and underhandedness which is running rampant within the city of Scottsdale government. We know they all know who they are and they should resign immediately for the sake of the health and reputation of the City of Scottsdale. If they would stop the stupidity, there would be no need for leaks now would there?

These actions are making employees even more suspect of Manross’s and Dolan’s collective actions reportedly through Shearer, Gray, and others and even more intent on digging up and exposing the yards and yards of political dirt buried within the bowels of City Hall as you say and in certain offices (that "dirt" should be becoming VERY fertile by now with all the BS they are adding on a daily basis). 

Morale has never been this low and will only get worse we’re afraid unless certain management types are fired and their style of management deemed inappropriate and is no longer allowed or to be applied in the city of Scottsdale.

Maybe we need to call the State of Arizona Auditor General and ask for an independent audit of certain top level and charter officer administrators and certain elected politicians?

We thank the Scottsdale Activist for giving us a voice which we pray will help fix the city before it’s too late to save the jobs of the loyal, educated, and hard working employees who have given so much to the city and those who don’t have a clue about real management.

Concerned Scottsdale City employees

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~ Mayoral Candidate Jim Derouin’s Bio and Fact Sheet

We were astounded to see the qualifications Mayoral Candidate Jim Derouin will bring to the office of Mayor for Scottsdale.

He is one of the most understated, experienced, educated, eminently qualified, and quietly confident people we have ever met. His qualifications and experience are vast and awe inspiring as well as exactly what’s needed to get Scottsdale ethically and legally back on track with reasonable and sustained growth, a completed Preserve, and an open community consensus on all issues.

His updated Bio and Fact sheet are available in the Candidate section of the Activist, or you can Click Here for his updated Biography and Click Here for his updated Fact Sheet.

Jim will "Meet and Greet" along with Council Candidate Nan Nesvig at Chaparral Park near the west Soccer Fields east of Hayden off Jackrabbit Sunday, Nov 11 (today) between 12:30 PM and 3:30 PM.

Come, greet, learn, and see for yourself the unmatched quality of these outstanding candidates.

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~ Is the Segway People Transporter Safe?

It has come to our attention that 2 wheeled electric Segway Personal Transporters are being rented in the congested downtown Scottsdale area and are becoming a possible problem. Being that this is a new issue for more than just our city, we asked Police Chief Rodbell to answer the question for us below.

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Question:

A new vendor on 5th Avenue rents the Segway Scooter pedestrian rider.  They "train" the customer behind their building for a few minutes then lead them on tours around the Downtown area.  Here is the serious rub----they RIDE ON THE SIDEWALKS and not in the streets as required for bikes.  Saturday afternoon a leader plus 3 customers came flying from Indian School Rd around the sidewalk corner [novices barely negotiating the corner] on to Brown Avenue.  They took up 3/4 of the sidewalk and were at maximum speed that appeared to far exceed 10 mph. Pedestrians scatter!  Imagine what a Spanish-bull-run event this will become during our high season for tourists.

Because this is a new Adventure for Downtown, we need to get a prompt policy on where they can ride!

Persons riding Segways are considered pedestrians under Title 28 and therefore should use sidewalks and must obey all applicable laws pertinent to pedestrians.

The pertinent statutory definition follows:

Under A.R.S. Section 28-101(40), a pedestrian is defined as:

"Pedestrian" means any person afoot. A person who uses an electric personal assistive mobility device or a manual or motorized wheelchair is considered a pedestrian unless the manual wheelchair qualifies as a bicycle. For the purposes of this paragraph, "motorized wheelchair" means a self-propelled wheelchair that is used by a person for mobility.

As a Segway is considered an electric personal assistance mobility device, a person riding one is considered a pedestrian based on the above definition.

Segways are not bicycles because A.R.S. Section 28-101(6) requires that a bicycle be human powered while Segways are electrically powered. The definition of A.R.S. Section 28-101(6) follows:

Bicycle" means a device, including a racing wheelchair, that is propelled by human power and on which a person may ride and that has either:

Of course, they need to operate them safely.

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Conclusion:

With all of the above being said, maybe it’s time for the State Legislature to revisit the issue based on the issue of public safety. It is reported that these machines can make speeds up to 25 MPH which is far too fast for any sidewalk.

Imagine your child or elderly relative being in the way of one of these machines being driven by a novice with little to no experience.

Enough said??

What is the purpose of the Boards and Commissions of the City of Scottsdale anyway?

..........Anybody?

Ferris Bueller where are you when Scottsdale needs an excuse?

The main function of the Boards and Commissions of the City of Scottsdale is to make sure that the City Council follows the policies, particularly in regard to the General Plan.

While there are those who would like to have us all believe that Boards and Commissions serve to keep "Lady Bountiful" busy, such is not the case. This is not simply busy work for those with nothing else to do.

We have come a long way from those days. Scottsdale is a big city with big city concerns. Unfortunately, we have not adjusted our Boards and Commissions and the way that they work to address the issues that big cities must deal with.

To be sure, those who are newly appointed to Scottsdale’s Boards and Commissions are never instructed as to what they are to do. Oh, information about each Board or Commission and their focus is clarified and how one conducts themselves according to State law on open meetings and Robert’s Rules of Procedure and conflicts of interest is clearly imparted.

Problem is the relationship between each Board and Commission is not discussed anymore than how those entities relate to and work with the City Council.

Standing back and looking at it now, it appears that there is some form of magic that takes place.

There are liaisons on staff, to be sure, who compile the work of the Boards and Commissions……but what happens to that information and what Council does with it is not very clear.

Does it go to the City Manager and sit on her desk until the spirit moves her to peek at the documents?

Do citizens have to beat the doors down to get information from the corner of the desk to a work study?

Some of the Boards and Commissions have been waiting for over a year to have their work agendized by the Mayor and City Manager. The longer they can sit on things the less they have to do for the citizens.

It is time for the Boards and Commissions to get tough with Council and the City Manager.

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We were not going to touch this subject until after the first of the year in respect for the system, and we want to make it very clear that personally we like Jim Lane as a person and find him a fair, but not an especially good councilman. We think he needs more "Council Time" and needs to initiate much more interaction with the citizens in all parts of the city before he becomes the "Big Kahuna" leading the council in those big decisions.

Being that Lesley Wright brought the subject up in the Scottsdale Republic (showed up Friday on line and Saturday in the print edition) and apparently Lane is seriously considering running for mayor, we need to throw in our 2 cents worth for, in our opinion, the good of Lane and the city.

We have rejected many Letters to the Editor vehemently attacking Lane’s possible run for mayor because we didn’t want to "color" the mayoral race until after the first of the year but now that Lesley Wright has unfortunately opened that door, the emails and phone calls increased tenfold. We have personally discussed this with Lane who seems to understand to some degree but seems to be blind to the heart of the discussions and his reasonable options.

In the opinion of those who have contacted us over the last few months, and especially this Friday and Saturday, the vast majority would not vote for Lane for mayor but could possibly consider his run for his council seat again. The vast consensus is that Lane cannot beat Manross where mayoral candidate Jim Derouin will handily.

Lane’s problems are city-wide. He voted to allow the church school in the north which set a seriously flawed precedent for the entire city. Because of that vote and approval of the School, ANYONE claiming to be a "church" can assemble any number of single family homes, especially on a cul de sac emptying on to a major or minor arterial and demand they be allowed to build a "Church School" which could easily include any Islamic fanatic splinter group teaching terrorism. Because of this ignorant vote to approve the church school, the request of the Islamic group could not be denied.

Lane then voted to allow the rezoning of the Earll Street commercial property, one of the last commercial pieces remaining in the downtown area, to a residential zoning with high density and tall buildings which did not fit the character or the zoning of the area. Look at the project if you think it was a good decision by Lane or the council as a whole. That vote unfortunately opened up a plethora of new projects wanting the same treatment.

Jim Lane is a good man and is a financial conservative but he seems to forget that he represents the citizens and SHOULD be voting accordingly, not the way HE personally feels things should be which it seems he has been doing of late according to the vast majority of those contacting the Scottsdale Activist. He has voted with Manross and the council majority on far too many issues to be considered for the position of Mayor until we can stop the helter-skelter planning(?) and spot zoning which flies directly in the face of the General Plan, multiple overlays, and reasonable growth for a city about to reach build-out.

Elected leaders are supposed to represent the masses who voted for them, not the developers who make the best pitch or make promises which are never kept in Scottsdale of late, politicians who also make "deals" or trade votes, or those who will fund campaigns looking for favors in disguise later.

Look at SkyFumble the future High Tech and Innovation Center which has yet to sign any substantial or internationally recognized High Tech industry (short of a couple of employees) for the entire project and will be the only Legacy of Mary Manross and the current Council majority. This is nothing like Manross and company told the world it would be, but never will.

Jim Lane is a good, very respectable family man, but needs to run for his council seat again so he can learn more and get more experience, not for a mayoral position which he cannot win, no matter what his handlers are telling him.

Pull back the blinds Jim and take a good look around before you step off the cliff.

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 ~ Code Enforcement Gone Wild, Part 3

  ~ Why No Retail in South Scottsdale?

The city has been secretly hiding the real and tragic reason retail cannot locate in South Scottsdale.

The answer finally and apparently inadvertently came to the surface during a meeting of the Scottsdale Community Council a few weeks ago.

Many citizens are blaming the "Dreaded Activists" for the lack of new businesses in the southern portion of the city.

Well, guess what??? For all you Lisa Haskell sheep and other Activist bashers out there, here is the REAL and documented reason.

We went digging and found that both the city of Scottsdale Economic Vitality Department (David Roderique, Director), and the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce (Virginia Korte and Rick Kidder along with their executive board) approved and/or agreed to, or didn’t question the owner of Scottsdale Fashion Square (WestCor) who wanted to invoke a Covenant Not to Compete (CNC) or better known as a Non-Compete Clause. This agreement which allowed the area involved to be extended to include the former location called the Los Arcos Mall to keep the competition from snitching some of their profits by building competing businesses on that valuable 42 acres in the heart of South Scottsdale.

Along comes our sneaky, secretive mayor who most apparently knew of and approved of the CNC agreement for WestCor. That’s one of the major reasons she and Ecton pushed so hard to take Los Arcos off the public tax rolls, dumping both the Coyotes Arena and the WalMart/Sam’s/Lowes Center and thereby allowed Ellman, in a round about scheme, to receive his "gift" of ^$42 Million dollars for a property valued at a mere ^$21.5 Million dollars, thereby "giving" it to ASU for 198 years with little to no revenue of any kind, and allowing friend WestCor to reap more than theri share of profits from the southern portion of the city.

This unfortunate action by the mayor, city administrators, and the Scottsdale Area Chamber has basically stopped any businesses outlined in the Fashion Square CNC with WestCor from locating in South Scottsdale.

Tempe Marketplace also has CNC’s also, so with Los Arcos Crossing right across the river, they too have been screwed over by the Scottsdale Area Chamber and the Scottsdale city administrators and government lead by our apparently incompetent and tunnel visioned Mayor Manross.

So there you have it. Your city administrators and city government literally "Killed" the 42 commercial acre Los Arcos Mall along with huge amounts of retail and property tax revenues we used to receive on a regular basis.

For those of you who don’t know, retail sales taxes are the only means of revenue the state of Arizona allows with which to run our city governments. Property taxes CAN NOT be used to run any city government by State Law.

WestCor is not to be blamed for this major fiasco; they only did what any successful and prudent business conglomerate would ask from any city and Chamber with which they are dealing. Scottsdale government stupidly bent over backward to assist Westcor without any questions which a REAL city government would have asked in detail and negotiated accordingly to protect certain areas of the city.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the "3 Monkeys" have struck at the heart of South Scottsdale yet again which will cost us dearly for ten’s of decades to come. In this case, the "3 Monkeys" are;

Still more interesting is the fact that the City Economic Vitality Department has not figured out a way (or hasn’t tried) to find businesses to fill the south without violating the CNC.

The biggest offender is the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce who hasn’t lifted even a little finger to compensate for the gross error. According to David Roderique, director of the City Economic Vitality Department, the Area Chamber hasn’t even tried to locate businesses for the south or Los Arcos Crossing. That DOESN’T mean we need hundreds of apartments or townhouses, it means they need to work still harder to locate businesses which will not violate the CNC.

What a great organization and supporter of the citizens the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce is! And they want us to vote for their chosen ‘08 Election Candidates?

We agree with many others that there is no way that should ever happen! The Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce has done too much damage to the citizens of Scottsdale already.

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~Letters to the Editor  

Dear Friends: 

As you all know I am convinced that the current majority on the City Council is taking Scottsdale in the wrong direction.  They are destroying Scottsdale's special character, bankrupting our treasury and doing so behind closed doors. 

The only way to fix this is to elect some new people to the City Council in the 2008 City Elections.  We must find good candidates for Council and give them the support they need to win. 

So far I have found one such candidate for Council, Nan Nesvig.  Nan is for the kind of positive change that we desperately need on the Council.  She is exactly the kind of person we need on the Council and I am supporting her candidacy enthusiastically. 

Unfortunately, electing good candidates to the City Council will not be easy.  With the city elections now being held in September along with the national and state elections the costs to reach potential voters will soar.  The establishment (many of whom are making an excellent living off of the unmanaged, special-interest friendly growth that the current majority on the City Council promotes) will see to it that their candidates are well-funded and have all the resources they need to wage their campaigns.  They will literally be swimming in special-interest money and will get all the free publicity they want from the local establishment newsletters pretending to be newspapers. 

That means that those of us who want to preserve Scottsdale's special character and our quality of life must work equally hard to support our candidates.  We cannot just sit on our hands and complain, we need to give of our time -- and our money -- to make sure our candidates have a fair shot to win. 

My wife and I have literally put our money where our mouths are - we have written Nan's campaign the biggest check we can afford, have signed her nominating petition and are gathering more signatures for her.  I am urging all of you to do the same.  One thing I like about Nan is that she is willing to work hard to win.  But she needs our help to make that happen. 

You can start by attending Nan's Candidate Meet & Greet event on Sunday, November 11, 2007, 12:30-3:30PM at Chaparral Park by the West Soccer fields, at Hayden & Jackrabbit (Look for the Banners & Pop-Up Tents).  This is your chance to meet the candidate and ask her any questions you may have.  You can sign her nominating petition and take a petition to gather more signatures for her.  And you can write her a check - even a small amount will help. 

If you cannot make this event but want to help you can contact Nan by phone at 480-368-8701 or by email at nannesvig@aol.com.  Checks for campaign contributions (maximum $390 for an individual, $780 for a couple) should be made out to "Committee to Elect Nan Nesvig" and mailed to 6144 North 77^th Place, Scottsdale, AZ, 85250.

The 2008 city elections are crucial to the future of Scottsdale, and that future will be decided by those citizens who make the effort to get involved.  If you want Scottsdale to stay a special place in which to live you need to actively support good candidates for Council. Come out this Sunday, meet Nan, ask her questions, sign her petition and donate to her campaign. Help keep Scottsdale the special place that we all love. 

Councilman Bob Littlefield
Scottsdale

Mr. Littlefield:

 I read in this mornings Arizona Republic that Southwest Jet Aviation has added an Astra business jet to its charter fleet, basing it at Scottsdale Airport and will be renting it out starting this month at $2,875.00 per hour.

According to the article this jet has an extended range, seating 7 passengers and a galley.

I, as well as many other people, would like to know if this jet conforms to the "less than 75,000 lbs" weight restriction that is in force for Scottsdale Airport. 

The subject of reviewing the feasibility of allowing these larger jets (with extended range) to use Scottsdale Airport for the "Super Bowl" time frame was brought up in August of this year and "supposedly" was rejected for the reason that the runway was deemed unable to accommodate these larger jets.

I, and many others would like some assurances from you (since you are a pilot and instructor with abilities to get first-hand knowledge of the airport's operations) that this 75K restriction is not being violated by any users of this airport.

Your consideration of this request is appreciated.

Thank you.

Respectfully,
Bob Popow
Scottsdale Resident

The Astra Jet that Mr. Popow refers to in his email only weighs 25,000 lbs. fully loaded.

Attached is an excerpt from the official FAA publication known as the Airport Facility Directory.  This publication is used by pilots to gather information about the airports that they intend to fly to.  I highlighted that area of the Scottsdale Airport section that describes our weight limit.  On occasion, our Airport Operations staff will receive phone calls from pilots requesting to bring in larger aircraft such as 727s, 737s and DC-9s.  In those cases, the staff always directs them to other valley airports that are able to accommodate those operations.

There is a class of larger corporate jets that currently operates at Scottsdale Airport but with a restriction on how much fuel and payload they can operate with.  These jets could possibly be loaded to approximately 91,000 lbs.   We have found that these jets typically only need to load up to approximately 65,000 lbs. to have enough fuel to get all the way to the east coast.  These jets will only "top off" to make the longer overseas flights, but again, loading these jets above 75,000 lbs. would be a violation of our city code (Chapter 5). In order to ensure that pilots are not violating this regulation, full-time Airport Operations staff will conduct ramp inspections and ask the pilots to prove via their flight load out computers that they are not loaded beyond 75,000 lbs prior to takeoff.  We have never found a flight crew in violation of this weight limit.

If you need any additional information, please let me know.

Thanks,
Chris Read
Airport Operations Manager

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Scottsdale is now a world class destination. The city has had that vision to bring us clearly into the 21st century. What I wish to clarify is that we don't want to lose the uniqueness of Scottsdale. We are different from other cities as we have a western history & people want to revisit this. We're loosing it for "progress."

Developers are getting on the bandwagon to build as many square feet of commercial & residential space as possible & as high as possible.

We started with zoning standards & now Scottsdale is going parcel by parcel with exceptions. There's not enough concern for preserving some of our "Old Town" as a historic place with the high rises changing the feel.

There is a place for this progress, but not at the cost of established residential neighborhoods to view a multi-story building out their windows. It should be stepped back & the neighborhoods need to have the city continue to be vigilant with its code enforcement.

Please notice we have so many new condo developments being proposed that we're loosing the older neighborhoods. We were promised 180 units at Skysong & now we have 325 to be built (with a possible addition of 479 more). Next to it is another 600+ units.

The developers are continuing to build these large complexes throughout South Scottsdale without concerns to the infrastructure & neighborhoods.

We need to provide affordable housing for the city workers (teachers, police, firemen, city staff, etc.). Scottsdale needs a follow through on the zoning standards for our community with established residents in mind.

We don't want our vision to be solely an elitist community.

Barbara Cawthorne
Scottsdale

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~ Dave Bachmann Speaks???

Dear Editor:

I read with delight your rambling discourse which sought to negate the points I made in the "My Turn" piece (in the Scottsdale Republic) I wrote on activists. Obviously, you failed to see that the article was written "tongue-in-cheek" with liberal use of hyperbole. Nevertheless, there is no greater honor a writer can receive than knowing that his words have rattled so many cages. My sincere thanks for your amusing comments which only serve to confirm what I wrote about those claiming to be activists in Scottsdale.

Dave Bachmann
Scottsdale

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~Screw the Elderly in the Emerald city of Oz!

Okay back off! I am not the one who made implication of this action and as I have said for years now "your three ring circus is not one of Love and Harmony for you the residents" and again the FLAMING (#$%%$#&%) of our council showed his colors in very clear language that he could not give a rats patoot about Senior Day Care in this city or your elderly parents.

Now don’t think by any long line of Umpa Lumpa turd’s that the Wicked Witch and her other henchman the flatulating butthead (Wayne Ecton) were not in the game with their fingers in the air trying to see how the wind was going to blow.

Perfect example of this was when the Wicked Witch jumped directly to a question after the city presentation was over and before anyone else could speak, and asked for an explanation of option C which was to purchase the property with the intent of creating more city offices or as it is known in taxpayer language "expanding our city government".

After Airport Bob cross examined the mayors comments about option C being thrown out so quickly the Wicked Witch retorted that she wanted to make sure everyone understood the issue of option C and she was not really supporting that route (yeah, and Willie Wonka is not producing umpa lumpa turd’s at an even quicker rate and bleeding my wallet dry). Well apparently our "Mother Mary" still thinks we are all so stupid that we could not figure out that the option required us to sell it at market rates as well as pay for it, and it also said the money would be laundered through the federal government process and the funds would be redistributed back into CDBG funds for allocation to non profit services.

Personally I think this is how the government taught criminals to launder their money.

Wow, my head is spinning from how complicated that was to understand and more on this later.

Then we got to hear from none other than our Southern Belle the flatulating butthead (Wayne) who asked if the city was bound by this action to provide such services if the option to proceed forward by a vote for option B, which supported staff to move forward with planning for the building to be reused for social services groups.

In an explanation to his question, he wanted to know that if someone came along (Scottsdale Healthcare) and offered them 5 million for the property, if the city was now bound to provide these buildings for these services, or could they back out of the deal and sell the land?

Maybe a word of encouragement for Sir Tony and his thumping for not being prepared to do battle with the "Forces of Evil" or just stupidity in this case is in order.

Tony, go back to thinking like an activist and you only have 3 minutes to speak. I know you got a big heart and a lot of love for the desert and it shows because you get too flustered when you try to make your point with no definition and a good activist comes as prepared as possible.

On the good side Sir Tony there were more people than you know who knew exactly what you wanted to say and where you were going and I heard a few zoning attorneys hit the pavement. You, I, and many other people know exactly where you were going and I have gone there many times before.

This city spits out ordinances left and right and rarely if ever is there a clear definition of how the new program, policy, ordinance, or many other things will work (we get to those things later around here, not now because we are to busy screwing up everything else).

I have said it before and will again as we spit out things here in the land of Oz that are so vague in definition or process it leaves the taxpayer or the homeowner screwed , hell at times it even leaves the city looking like fools.

I believe Sir Tony has some valid issues that will indeed require text amendments to this fiasco and 5 of our "blooming onions" either have tears in their eyes or La Poopa in their brains not to be able to have seen where this was going.

How many of the people who are using septic systems in the city know that they may be required to hook to the city sewer system and are they aware that there would essentially be a "lien" on their property?

How many vacant parcel owners are actually aware of the city program of hooking up to the city system where the city has to cut across your property to make that happen?

What is the policy for areas that have no right of ways as of yet or even street designations?

Why is there no clear language regarding notification of a vacant land owner and his lien when the resident 5 parcels up from him wants to connect to the sewer line.

Then there is the issue with language such as our infamous language issues being so vague giving the city plenty of wiggle room with words like "shall" and not "must", "should", and not "will", or even "can" and not "required" and this exist from the zoning ordinances to Tony’s issue with the native plant vegetation problem.

Tony also brought out another issue that may require another study session or maybe an investigation by the council and that is the implementation and enforcement of these policies.

While people may think that the city code is clear in what it says, the city has garnered a great reputation for adopting policy for these ordinances with such HUGE gaping holes and ambiguities in language and lack of even trying to enforce the codes it is unimaginable.

Yeah sure I am kidding, and that is why people’s homes flood up North when it rains in those washes the developers placed their homes in and city policy cleared them from the intent and meaning of the codes.

That’s why developer designed diversion plans do not work in a natural flood plain and the city claims no harm, no foul as policy was followed; see what I mean Northies?

That’s why we are now looking at millions and millions of dollars to fix the flood issue up their as we are not responsible since we followed policy but the taxpayers of the entire city will have to pay millions to fix.

The Wizard has already told us how well we were prepared for the "new downtown" and yet we find that is not correct either as "everyone" is paying for that fiasco.

Over the years I have received many pictures of developers who have ignored the native plant ordinances and in the process the city turns away from the issue as vague policy allows it to happen, and trust me Tony when I say that more people than you know were well in tune with what you were getting at and trying to set a standard for when the city brings out new crap like this that has an air of Waterfront stench to it.

Remember, those pesky activist who catch these things and send pictures of developers and the city playing bad?

Don’t worry, be happy, we will "tweak it" later like we always do and we will either be being sued to do it or we will have swallowed yet another bitter pill in taxpayers money to fix something we should have fixed from the start but then again you have 5 council members who are to stupid to realize these minor things that we can fix later.

By the way, is it not the taxpayers again who are fronting the money for this program of increased population, and in the north now?

How much do we need to budget next year for this program Sir Tony after the city guru of finances has been telling us for 4 years to slow the hell down on our spending as it out paces our revenues?

Yep Tony, hard to believe we have that many council members who are too clueless or afraid to confront the issue as we saw it clearly, but they seemed to be in a fog.

Take a little time my friend and you and Bob work out those specific issues and then come back so we can watch the monkeys jump around the barrel.

~Welcome to my Dictatorship

Holy crap Ozites did you hear the Wicked Witches further slip into controlling the actions of all council members?

This Wicked Witch had the audacity to make the comment that no single council member should be able to make a request to agendize an item for discussion unless all the council members agreed to it during the last three ring circus event.

Oh yeah baby! This little piece of white trash has decided that our city charter which was established well before she moved her bony little patoot here is weak in this area and pretty much called for a charter change.

I am telling you Ozites, it was a complete melt down by the Wicked Witch that showed every single bit of her intention to control the council and the way the city is run and it also showed the many faces of Sybil who by the way walked onto the bookshelf and spoke to me about "Mother Mary" being her idol now.

Well here are a few words for you "Mother Mary"; you can kiss my Lilly white patoot if you ever think I or residents of this city will ever allow you to get away with more of your secretive regime and third Reich Gestapo tactics you have employed in your 16 years of city services where every year with you in office has gradually degraded this city and what it stands for and means to its faithful residents.

Your leadership abilities are a disgrace and almost as large a disgrace as your talents for negotiations and fiscal reasonability’s to the taxpayers but what can you expect from a Democrat on a power trip as you slowly butcher everything about Oz while playing nice to the preserve people in hopes your bull dung will carry you through another election.

Then again I would hope in this election we have a qualified candidate to run against your sorry excuse for leadership and talent to run such a fine city but we have to convince those you have been able to hood wink over the years.

 ~The rumor mill is running again. 

Ah the rumor mill is running again and this time I have been placed in it along with a few others. 

On Monday I met with the Yaris along with my friends Susan Bitter-Smith and John Berry to discuss the plans that are put together so far for the new entertainment district they would like to create in an old commercial area of no interest next to the new "W" hotel. 

The next day I get a snitch mail telling people that we met for 45 minutes and I was drinking scotch and I guessed they wondered if I liked the scotch of John Berry. 

Truth is I met with them at 5 and we ended pretty close to 7 P.M. and I had 2 small glasses of white wine while we discussed the concept and plans as far as they have gotten. John did not speak much unless the zoning questions came up, Susan Bitter-Smith got there a little later and the Yaris were very nice people with a very nice conceptual plan so far and I plan to meet with them more as the project progresses forward but more on that next week maybe. 

A new rumor going around the rumor mill is that a certain board member of a south Scottsdale group was meeting with developers with out their board being present, AGAIN! 

Rumor has it that the owners of Los Arcos Crossings property have no clue who the hell Lisa Haskell is nor does she represent them in any way regarding their project plans. 

Rumor has it that the same above nut case has not been at a CASS meeting which she was supposed to be part of in months. Well, so much for her being able to get along with any group, other than her reflection in a mirror of course. 

Rumor has it that again the same above mentioned nut case threatened a city council member with the threat of recall, and that was not the funniest part of the e-mail, she thinks the councilman is up for reelection! 

Rumor has it that three of our esteemed leaders don’t like old people. 

Rumor has it that a certain city department is telling some developers that their plans are not good right now under the current political “atmosphere”; or could it be that some council members are more concerned with putting some of these plans on hold until after the elections? (We know this trick pretty well around here in Oz now don’t we? You will see the pretty poppies that block the yellow brick road from the emerald city  and during an election year you will see developers taking a little nap if they try to approach our leaders up for re-election, after the election, and as usual we re elect some of these dingbats, it snows and they awaken and make their way towards city hall) 

Rumor has it that a developer is being asked to build a public parking garage for the city that is city owned property and even though his parking lot, for his project, covers all the required parking for said project.

It is also rumored that the developer would be paid back all costs of the garage over time as the city parking structure fund, better known as our phantom parking fund is dry at this time. (I am not so sure that there may not be something illegal about this however it sure does appear unethical on the citys part). 

There is a rumor going around that some developers have bought some lands in downtown and the South and have fund out that funding may not really be there any longer and I would just interject some of the issues we have discussed before. 

• Fannie Mae sees 1.4 Billion dollar LOSS
• Citi group looking at having to write off over 5 Billion
• Arizona foreclosures up over 500%
• Countrywide is having to drop rates for some to save the loans
• Wachovia, B of A, JPMorgan Chase, all warning of big losses
• Consumer confidence levels reach as low as the levels of 2005 for early November losing over 20 points since October.

I think the moon has been full all week and I just had not noticed it. 

Have a great weekend Ozites and remember, you cannot have enforcement without a policy and in Scottsdale we have policy without enforcement.

Michael Merrill
F8713@aol.com

 ~Some interesting . . . and true information about Phoenix and Arizona

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~ Information You Can Use

Just click on the logos below to go to these websites.

Send our Brave Troops "Something from Home", Click on  Links below.

Gathering of  Eagles Website was launched 2/9/07. Click on the Logo above for more information on how they are protecting America's Memorials.

~ UPDATE!! A "Must See" for All Americans

Every American should check out all of these websites to learn more about what the American population is about to have to deal with.

This is NOT for Children.

I don't normally allow anything but Scottsdale information in the Scottsdale Activist but after receiving many emails about this and viewing it, I think that it's imperative that every adult at least look at what's offered here if for  nothing more than their own education and to have everyone stop and think about the future of our country. Click on the link below,

 www.obsessionthemovie.com

If you don't have Adobe Flash, install it from the bottom of the page that comes up after you click on the link above. You should be able to view all available links within the main page.

The website below is of great interest as seen from a Lebanese point of view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8fa9yKQeTY

The website below gives some history of Terrorist attacks:

http://patriotfiles.org/civilizationcalls.htm

This website tell you what REALLY happened:

http://www.terrorismawareness.org/what-really-happened

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~ Arizona Tax Revolt

~ Prop 13 Arizona

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~ View Past City Council Meetings

We can now access the city council meetings by clicking on the following link:

If you have any problems, check your firewall and other safety features which could block access to the city site.

~Continuing Light Rail Information

The Scottsdale Citizens Transportation Study Committee invites you to view their website for more questions and answers at  www.norailforscottsdale.com .

================================================================

Simply click on the links below to get all the information you'll ever need concerning Light Rail.

     Goldwater Institute Report

     American Dream Coalition

    The Public Purpose

If you have any questions about light rail, send them to editor@scottsdaleactivist.com and we'll get the answers to you as soon as we can.

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~ For Continuing Information on Photo Radar,
Click on the Logo below.

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 ~Are Red-Light Cameras Fair to Drivers?

These modern-day robocops make ticketing easier and can be huge moneymakers for local governments. But critics question their accuracy and fret over privacy issues.

Click on the link below , then scroll down to read the article:

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/AreRedLightCamerasFairToDrivers.aspx

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The Scottsdale Activist is very pleased to announce an effort on the behalf of the residents and taxpayers of the city of Scottsdale to promote open, honest and accountable city government. The Scottsdale Legal Defense Fund (SLDF) has been created to take legal action to hold the City accountable when its actions are contrary to state law, the City Charter, City ordinances or the public interest.

The most necessary ingredient to make the SLDF work will be confidential contributions from concerned Scottsdale citizens who are willing to help their community.  By contributing, we can change the way City Hall does business and insure that our tax dollars will be spent wisely.

No funds from the SLDF will or can be used for any political purpose.

Contributions shall be kept confidential as permissible by law and can be made in any Washington Mutual Bank to account number 3114165786 for the Scottsdale Legal Defense Fund. Branch locations are listed below. Contributions are not tax deductible.

The SLDF has retained the law firm of Miller LaSota & Peters, PLC, in connection with the patently illegal action taken by the Mayor and Council appointing the most recent Scottsdale City Attorney, while ignoring the residency requirement of the Scottsdale City Charter even though the new City Attorney’s contract (according to Scottsdale Republic reporter Laurie Roberts) requires that she reside in Scottsdale.  The City Council action was based on a legal opinion which was reportedly rendered during a closed door Executive Session of the City Council by a subordinate to the then acting City Attorney, who was subsequently appointed to the City Attorney position by a vote during a public City Council meeting. The opinion has been requested as a public document under state law, but the City has not yet provided it. The SLDF will take other appropriate legal actions based on the conduct of the Mayor and Council.

Washington Mutual Bank Locations at which contributions to the SLDF can be made are:

72^nd & Shea                    7337 E. Shea Blvd #120                480-609-8524
Hayden & Chaparral     7908 E. Chaparral # C-113            480-949-0069
Horizon                            14854 N Frank Lloyd Wright         480-614-6660
Scottsdale Ranch          10155 E. Via Linda Blvd #131       480-767-2060
Kierland Village              6501 E. Greenway Pkwy #133     480-315-2905

There are many other branches throughout the Valley.