Over the last 8 years we have watched Manross run very sloppy Council meetings, then misuse or fail to follow the city ordinances, rules and regulations to the advantage of her developer friends without being corrected or admonished by her own legal lap dog City Attorney Deborah Robberson.

We have all read the tirades supposedly and reportedly written by Larry Manross in many publications deprecating every person who dared to question the credibility of his wife Mary Manross or her actions. Larry is rightfully relentless in his support of "Queen" Mary asking anyone who will listen to join "Team Manross". Gee, haven’t we seen that in print more than a few times under many different "handles"?

Could it be that she is the main bread winner with Scottsdale taxpayers footing the bill?

Is a building at 2929 Colorado, Santa Monica CA possibly now or was owned by John Lawrence and Mary Kathleen Manross of Scottsdale AZ?

If so, how did they acquire it on a mayor’s salary?

Don’t forget that Manross and her husband a few years back made valley headlines in both major newspapers when they refused to allow anyone to see their insurance policies to prove that the County Assessors labeling of 2 of their 3 homes in Scottsdale as owner occupied when they were in fact not owner occupied at all and they claimed it was just a simple mistake.

When asked to provide proof that the one home listed as owner occupied actually had a rental insurance policy on that home as they claimed, they refused any and all requests proving to most their dishonesty and devious qualities early on.

What else have they hidden from the public?

George Knowlton, Editor

(Return to Top) 

Taken from a blog named Waverly West and Beyond from Canada

 http://waverleywest.blogspot.com/

At this Scottsdale city hall meeting one speaker, developer Paul Wentworth stated that he is "a small owner and investor in some of the property involved." Business partners Phil Sheegl, Luigi Talarico and Dr. Steve Weiss presented themselves solely as private citizens, not as stakeholders (Which they in fact were according to the city records).

The Horseman's Park area was being opened up and they had land in the area to develop. This project helped them on their way to do that so they fully supported it. Local citizens smelled that something was fishy, current and former city councillors owned land all over the place, but they were helpless to stop the rezoning.

(Edited by me.)

M I N U T E S
SCOTTSDALE CITY COUNCIL
Tuesday, February 1, 2000

16. 25-ZN-99 - (Westworld Properties) request by William R. Bliss, applicant,
Scottsdale Equestrian Center, LLP,
Real Estate Lending Trust/Harris Trust,
North Scottsdale Horseman’s Park LLP III,
Horseman’s Park I, owners for rezoning from R1-35 (Single Family Residential) to C-3 (Highway Commercial). C-3 ESL (Highway Commercial in Environmentally Sensitive Lands) and I-1 (Industrial Park) on 54± acres located south and west of the corner of 94th Street and Bell Road;

ADOPT Ordinance No. 3282 affirming 25-ZN-99. Staff contact person is Kurt Jones, 480-312-2524.

Comments: This request would make the property consistent with the General Plan Land Use Element. The Planning Commission recommends approval by a vote of 5-2 (Davidson and Dunn dissented). Staff recommends approval. This case conforms to the General Plan.

Councilman Thomas stated he has a financial interest in some of the property proposed this evening. It is a limited silent partnership and he has no say in how this is handled. However, he declared a potential conflict of interest (ARS 38-501) and left the dais.

Vice-Mayor Robbins stated his previous conflict has now gone away so he will be voting on this case.

Don Hadder, Planning Systems Comprehensive Planning Director, provided an overview of the General Plan as it relates to this project. Mr. Hadder informed Councilwoman Manross that an economic analysis was done. The evaluation showed that over the next twenty years the market demand and expectations for this area will virtually use up all of the land as shown on the General Plan for these kinds of uses, which roughly corresponds to the build out time frame of the city. There seems to be a fairly good balance between what is planned in this area and what the needs will be.

Kurt Jones presented the case per the Council Action Report and Marjorie Bresnahan, Transportation Planner, provided a brief overview of the traffic modeling done in association with this proposal. The findings show the proposal does not exceed the capacity of Bell Road with the improvements stipulated for the development.

Ron Smith, representing William Bliss, applicant, stated the project conforms to the General Plan and regional use overlay adopted in 1992. It is consistent with existing land use and zoning on the contiguous properties. The proposed development addresses and mitigates traffic issues and accommodates and supports neighborhood and regional pedestrian, bicycle and equestrian trails. The proposed zoning is the best land use to accommodate and protect the city’s investment in WestWorld. It is sensitive to the area by providing limited development to two stories and by significantly reducing allowable floor area ratios. The proposed development is good for the city and consistent with the city’s economic plan to support and maintain economic business development and create a balance between residential and employment-based uses. The applicant agreed to a stipulation to not apply for a Certificate of Occupancy on any parcel until the Pima Freeway connects with Princess Drive, including the frontage roads. In addition, to further the commitment to provide a quality project, the applicant agrees and is willing to stipulate to incorporate the use restrictions outlined in the attached letter into the CC&Rs.

The Mayor opened public testimony.

Lyle Wurtz, 6510 E. Palm Lane, 85257, stated his concern stems from the fact that there are current and past Scottsdale politicians who are the main owners involved in asking for this massive zoning increase. He is not in favor of more denigration in quality of life and raising taxes to support this kind of folly. Mr. Wurtz would like the changes to the General Plan to occur before the Council approves any more zoning changes.

Marcita Ryon, 8016 E. Williams Dr., 85256, President of the Coalition of Pinnacle Peak (COPP), noted that several cases have come forward in the last few years to increase the commercial and residential densities in this area of Bell Road. People in and around city government own some of the properties. Whether or not this affects the vote, it still affects the whole issue and perhaps the vote of other Council members and reflects badly on city government. The Council needs to consider everything that is going on in this area. Ms. Ryon noted the agenda states the Council is considering 54 acres but staff keeps talking about 62 acres. This needs clarification.

Phil Sheegl, 7429 Via Camello Del Norte, #153, 85258, fully supports what the applicant wants to do with this property.

Luigi Talarico, 11051 E. Beck Lane, 85259, stated the residents need services in this area. Not having convenient services only contributes to traffic congestion. He supports the project.

Paul Wentworth, 2901 N. Central, #200, 85012, stated he is a small owner and investor in some of the property involved. This project is consistent with the General Plan, is recommended by staff and approved by the Planning Commission. Congestion will not be a problem and is an unfounded fear.

Comment cards in support of the project were received from the following:

Dr. Steve Weiss, 11146 E. Beck Lane, 85259

(Note that the names in Bold print are property owners in the immediate area of the property being discussed in front of the Manross controlled city council)

The Mayor closed public testimony.

Larry Miller, development partner, addressed the issue of not having a specific plan for this development. Having been involved with development for a number of years, it is not unusual at all for a plan to first have zoning and then a specific plan with regard to the buildings on the project. This project will fulfill a need in the area.

Regarding the discrepancy in the number of acres being considered, Mr. Pennartz explained that the application is accurate. The staff report contains the 62 acres. The agenda states 54 acres; however, the purpose of the notice was fulfilled. The legal test is whether people received fair notice to comment on the project. It is evident that fair notice occurred.

Ms. Bresnahan clarified that the traffic numbers are based on trip generation numbers from the International Transportation Engineers, which are sound scientific studies.

Councilwoman Lukas stated she cannot support this case. Traffic is very problematic in this part of the city and she cannot justify making this change at this time. Complete information on the whole area, the impact of the freeway, etc., is not available. It seems premature to make this change now before all information is available and the review completed. She hopes that the notification problem will be resolved as well.

Vice-Mayor Robbins stated that many aspects of the community impact the site – the airport, WestWorld, the power line corridor and the freeway corridor. There are also a number of properties that have already been rezoned in the area, both by the state and by the city. Most of the properties surrounding the site are as intense or more intense. He likes this case because it preserves the Old Verde Canal. He likes the setbacks and the ESLO area that is northeast of the power line corridor as well as the fact that a Certificate of Occupancy will not be granted until the freeway is completed to Princess Drive. Traffic is an issue but the fact that the development will improve Bell Road and won’t be occupied until the freeway is open satisfies those areas. The General Plan was made based on the freeway coming in and the improvements of Bell Road. Scottsdale will benefit by the Bell Road improvements, the addition of services to the area and the commercial component adds to the tax base. This project would also buffer and preserve the WestWorld facility.

http://eservices.scottsdaleaz.gov/clerkdocs2/viewer.aspx?n=9580&t=MS WORD&fn=COS-document.tiff

(Return to Top) 

The Scottsdale Tribune ran a nice article on the "Problems" with the Scottsdale Preserve by Brian Powell as well as an article by Mark Scarp concerning the costs to acquire the acreage promised by Manross.

Interestingly enough, the Scottsdale report compiled by acting City Auditor Brent Stockwell lacks a lot of the things that the public needs to know but were not advanced by Stockwell.

It should also be noted here that Brent Stockwell, although a very intelligent individual, works for Mary Manross and the city council (and worked for Jan Dolan), is paid by them and is at their mercy, hence a very "vanilla" report which cannot point blame where it really belongs which is squarely at the feet of the inept Manross Administration.

If all honesty was to be heard, you would hear that the purchase and the availability of the needed Preserve land will depend upon the need for that land by developers, cities and other entities interested as well as the need for money from the school districts of the state.

More importantly, the State Trust Land is there solely for the benefit of the schools to balance their financial needs during the lean times such as we have now.

These lands Were Not set aside by the Legislature to provide open space for cities, residents or counties to maintain open areas unless they were willing to pay the going market price when offered for sale by the State, or if the land had been set aside for conservation reasons.

Unfortunately, the Manross Administration and City Manager Jan Dolan got caught with their ineptness, lack of intelligence and lack of understanding of the system shining brightly while assuming they had the tiger by the tail when it came to acquiring the land.

Just because we’re "Scottsdale" doesn’t mean we get things on the "cheap" or through favors. Dolan reportedly had a very ugly relationship with the State Land Trust Department because of her apparent unreasonable demands upon the agency based upon her positions in Scottsdale and California.

We really don’t understand why Dolan was not tapped for information by Stockwell unless it would expose still more major deficiencies in the Manross Administration and council majority actions.

The report made three recommendations:

Manross claims the city is already doing what the report calls on it to do, such as adopting a formal plan and creating a team of city employees to oversee acquisitions.

When did the supposed 3 part plan come into existence?

Why did it take her 8 years to do so?

Manross added the report appeared to miss the point that this land was the top priority of the city. That was then, what are the priorities now with the advent of massive increases in height and density which is taxing all of our aging infrastructure to failure?

For a history of the preserve go to this link:

http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/preserve/history.asp

The original size of the Preserve has been increased by public vote to take still more open land off the market which has the effect of reducing density which is important to those living in the northern reaches of the city.

The REAL question is, can the city afford to continue on this spending path to gain all the acreage needed to finish the Preserve without forsaking other major issues confronting the city including a deteriorating infrastructure and SUSD needs.

Word coming from most of those with whom we’ve contacted state that another tax for the Preserve or another school tax would be shot down in favor of massive infrastructure updates in the older parts of the city that are on the brink of failure from age, use and overloading through height and density before any more money is dedicated to the Preserve or SUSD schools even though they feel the Preserve and the schools are also very important parts of the city’s future.

(Return to Top) 

Well, in Scottsdale they and their families were all forced to move to affordable Arizona cities or out of the state due to Mayor Manross and the city council majority approving a huge number of affordable apartments  to expensive condo conversions.

Currently, approximately 75% of those condos are either vacant or owned by out of state investors who cannot sell or lease them for the dollars they need to make a profit or break even. On others, they are used only for vacations etc. so there really isn’t any sales tax revenue from them.

Many have been "sold short" meaning the bank took them back and is dumping (selling) them for what they can get out of them to reduce their massive losses. Those prices still aren’t in the price range where the average family with children could call them affordable.

Because of the glut of condos on the market, single family homes are taking a hit value wise also, but you won’t see a property tax reduction because of it.

Families with children are what Scottsdale used to be about. Families with children drive retail sales exponentially where a couple or a few singles do little to generate the sales tax revenue needed to run the city.

Families with children loved to go to Rawhide and places such as that in Scottsdale. When Manross allowed Rawhide to move in favor of a new denser development, it left no where for families to do family things. Scottsdale is no longer family friendly thanks to Mary Manross, the Council majority, the greedy developers and "Queen" Mary’s wild ideas of how to bring success to Scottsdale.

Welcome to what’s left of the Scottsdale we knew and loved thanks to Mary Manross, Betty Drake, Ron "McOsterman" McCullagh and Wayne Ecton.

With the communities surrounding us (west, south and east) defining where light rail will go through their cities, it's interesting to notice where Tempe wants a spur to go.

Yup, right up Rural Road to the Scottsdale border. How convenient for ASU, MAG, Manross, Scottsdale developers and Valley Metro.

There has been discussion of using the Loop 101 as a possible route and some felt it would go down the middle of the freeway but those understanding the highway system know that the right of way off to each side is where it should go to be economically feasible because we already own the rights of way 100%.

By using the rights of way on the Loop 101, we would be able to build Park & Ride covered parking or multi-level underground garages without purchasing private property to do it.

What a novel idea! Reduced taxpayer costs!

Too bad HDR was listening to Manross and her developer friends as well as the out of touch Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce instead of the citizens who have the best ideas because they aren't owned by a developer or huge business conglomerate and they wouldn't have cost ^$1.2 million to get a solid plan.

(Return to Top) 

With the tendency for the Scottsdale Republic to continue it’s move to the far left in it’s articles and general editorial discussions instead of choosing to go the middle road, and with the endorsement of candidates who do not represent the ideas of scores in the city but instead what seems to be those of the Scottsdale Area Chamber of commerce, many subscribers are telling us they have dropped their subscriptions to the Scottsdale Republic in favor of the Scottsdale Tribune where available.

We know that the Scottsdale Tribune no longer delivers to the northern portion of the city but it is available on line, at a very reasonable rate, in its entirety, page by page.

Some have asked for the on-line address so they can check with their subscription department , so here it is:

http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/page/services.

Other newspapers include the Sonoran News which is also available on line (see link in our link area) and other Independent newspapers.

Was Lesley Wright the problem with the Scottsdale Republic and is that why she has been transferred? We don’t know but don’t think Lesley was the real problem if even a problem at all.

We feel her move is just an excuse to cover for the lack of investigative reporting by the entire Scottsdale Republic staff (Laurie Roberts excluded) including a laid back, non-Scottsdale resident Robert Leger who seems to have no clue about what is really needed in Scottsdale unless it comes from an equally liberal/left-biased Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce as gospel which it certainly is not.

Mike Ryan is not much help being that he is on one of the Chambers boards somehow.

How will the new investigative reporter Lynh Bui do with the city reports?

We won’t know until we see how much control Mike Ryan and Robert Leger impose upon her.

She can start with a clean slate as long as she does actual investigative reporting which has been sorely lacking for a number of years with both the Republic and the Scottsdale Republic.

We wish Lynh Bui well but she will have to prove herself to the populous first so as to bypass the far left attitude currently expressed daily in what some call the Repugnant.

(Return to Top) 

~ Where Have all the Tax Dollars Gone?...........

After picking myself off the floor from reading my property tax bill from Maricopa County, I took a good look at who was receiving what of my tax dollars.

"Queen" Mary Manross publicly assured all of us over and over again (especially the most gullible being her died in the wool but totally blind, deaf and dumb supporters) that she had again reduced our property taxes for the umpteenth time.

That is the biggest crock of bull crap to come down the highway since she said the same thing for the last 8 years or that she would guarantee she would devise a plan to finish the Preserve if re-elected 4 years ago which also didn’t and cannot happen during her watch(?) due to her stupidistic and open-ended spending sprees!!

That portion of my property taxes on my humble single family home that go just to the city of Scottsdale went up 10%!! If that’s a property tax reduction, I’ll eat it with sprinkles on top!!

Fellow readers: This woman who is pretending to be an open, conservative, caring and innovative mayor is the farthest thing from any of those adjectives mentioned and needs to be publicly "outted" as the most secretive, careless, greedy and sinfully ignorant elected person in Maricopa County history no matter her political persuasion (which partisanship has no place in Scottsdale politics anyway).

This woman has cost the taxpayers of Scottsdale over ^$285 million dollars just in subsidies, legal fees and stupidity. That doesn’t count the massive loss of sales tax revenue due to the loss of Rawhide and other major contributors to which she is totally blind.

That doesn’t even count her endless ventures into the senseless spending on expensive round-a-bouts, scores of neighborhood entry islands, street furniture and other ridiculous additions to the cost of running the city into the ground financially.

That ^$285 million would in itself paid for the completion of the Preserve if things had been planned properly as well as even possibly the Discovery Center.

Along with "Queen" Mary, you can fully blame her hatchet men and woman in this charade, namely Betty Drake, Ron McCullagh and Wayne Ecton. Should she be elected, you can count on "Ms. Chamber of Commerce" Suzanne Klapp will join the merry band of thieves at the public trough.

So again I ask: Where have all of the tax dollars gone?……Into the glorious but deadly spiraling financial maze without an end devised by a scheming Mary Manross and conniving band of misfits to build their legacy at whatever the cost to the ignorant or sometimes innocent taxpayers of Scottsdale.

Costs you and I as citizens and taxpayers of Scottsdale cannot afford to allow to continue under any condition.

As a very astute Councilman says repeatedly:

(Return to Top) 

~Letters to the Editor  

It still amazes me how this city council and mayor continue to get away with the things they do. Every time I think I’ve seen it all, they do something even worse and more corrupt and contemptible.

How can this council in their right mind not force Fred Unger and his new partners to totally eliminate the original plan and reapply to make the changes necessary to meet the rules listed under the planning process?

A 125 unit hotel instead of 42 condos? What’s worse is the reduction of 33 parking spaces. Come on folks, this is worse than the difference between apples and oranges.

What’s wrong with these supposed public servants (?)?

How dare they not take the public into consideration being that we are the ones who will paying for the subsidies and other charges they are forcing us to pay?

The federal government is in deep trouble due to these same types of oversights and failure to perform and I’m afraid we will watch this city go to hell in a basket if the current council is re-elected. I remember the bankruptcy of affluent Orange County CA all too well being that some of my lived there.

It’s time to stop this council from frivolous spending by throwing all of them out on their ears.

I’ll be voting for Jim Lane, Nan Nesvig and Tom Giller to stop this nonsense so Scottsdale doesn’t become another Orange County CA.

E Slocomb
Scottsdale

  Living in the Land of Oz

 ~Oz Planning and Development at its finest, again!

Well! Here we go with round 2 of some of the stupidest planning and development that our fine city can come up.

In order to, yet again, bail out another developer that can not, and did not, make his project come to fruition in Downtown, and, yes it is again, another Fred Unger failure, we have the Scottsdale City Council End Run.

Does the recent news about bailing out the banking industry ticked you off? We, the taxpayer’s nation wide, will have to carry the load of these people who made poor choices and bad decisions.

Well, if it does make you mad then you should be twice as ticked off that the city council is blindly doing the same, again, and it is at the cost of the city taxpayers this time.

So welcome to, again, the double whammy of the Manross era.

The "Three Ring Circus of Oz" recently passed what they called an "amended development standard," for the second or third time now, for the second phase of the South Bridge project which was supposed to be a 49 unit condo project along the Canal Bank.

That project was approved 4 years ago under the watchful eye of our illustrious, but obviously clueless leaders even though concerns were expressed that the developer needed to have proof of the financial power to complete the project, along with other concerns expressed by residents.

Well, guess what? The developer in question does not have the money, and never has, which is why the "brownstone project" with more condos on the other side of the canal has been nixed for the foreseeable future. It is also why the developer had to find strong backing for his plans that were already approved and might require changes to accommodate the new partner.

Here are the problems with this problem project. It is not the new project as it has been proposed.

It is the process by which it the changes were approved by Council.

You see, the Manross Administration with their typical Smoke & Mirrors program has now slipped it past everyone that the developer has received city subsidies for his project in the original agreement for the condos and parking.

One of those great subsidies, which David Roderique and I went round and round about, was the issue that stated the developer would be responsible for maintenance of the parking garage for the next 100 years and it would save the city approximately a million dollars, over the 100 year span and it sounds and smells as bad as the SkySong plan and the stench from the sewers at Camelback and Scottsdale Roads.

There were other "incentives" given to the developer for the plan which have been rolled into the new plan somehow, and no one can really say how because the plans are completely different from what was originally approved years ago.

The new plan calls for 125 "hotel units" as opposed to the 49 condo units which calls for greater demands on the city infrastructure in Downtown, including more height.

I mean lets face it when you look at the change in the development plans it is easily noted that this new use would call for a larger demand for trip uses, city services, electrical, sewer, water, and do we really need another hotel in Downtown? The bed taxes are way down and sales taxes are down and it is not because of hot summers.

We don’t have a lot to draw tourists to Scottsdale now because of the brilliant lack of planning by the Manross administration. Of course we only market Scottsdale to the luxury loving tourists and they might not abide raising a sweat by just walking to the car.

Back to the nitty gritty. The city also will lose out on parking spaces as the increase in the number of hotel units compared to the condo unit numbers has basically tripled and there are a total of 127 parking spaces for the 125 units planned. The original plan called for spaces for daytime uses for the public, but I cannot see how this can be accomplished now with the new plans which should mean that we are actually losing spaces from the original plan to the new plan.

The biggest kick in both cajoñes is that with all of these new changes to the project, it is easy to see that the plans in no way match the original plans which, by the city’s own rules, should have required the developer to kill the original plan with the city, "incentives and all," and resubmit a new set of plans to address all the issues that never got resolved.

Instead, here in the land of "Mary the Fairy" Oz, at the Tuesday, September 25, 2008, City Council meeting, we did nothing more than amend the development standards so they could build a 125 unit hotel instead of the 49 condo units!

Again! We never addressed the "incentives" from the original plan which totaled out to about ^$5 million dollars and we never even looked at the environmental or infrastructure impact changes from increasing the uses from residential to a 125 unit hotel or the loss of parking spaces!

Should the plan have been denied?

In addition, the Council should have gone so far as telling the developer, and the City staff, that the changes to what was being requested, and approved, are totally different from the original. Therefore, the developer needed to submit new plans for the project, thereby addressing all the issues that were never addressed.

But…..here in the Oz of "Mary the Fairy" Manross, that is not likely to happen, especially since it is coming close to the election run-offs where keeping things like this secret, under wraps, is the better way to deal with it.

They don’t think the voting public remembers these deals, and convoluted and secret plans, but there are some of us out here who remember all of this stuff.

The South Bridge project has turned out to be a total flop and the developer is looking for someone to bail him out while still gleaning a handsome profit in the process. The restaurants are struggling and store fronts have gone empty and people don’t even know the place exists.

I don’t get it Ozites. We just had the entire council, other than Ron "the Craven Weasel" and his inept handler, "Mary the Fairy" Manross, snub their noses at the Downtown Plan Update for it’s total lack of clarity on the issues of infrastructure, density increases, architecture and other issues, and then at the drop of a hat they approve a totally new project without discussion of any of the issues and how they tie in with this project.

Whose pockets is Fred Unger in anyway?

It is like watching a bad soap opera that plays out twice a month and all the cast members seem to have cases of increasing dementia with each showing to the next and they cannot connect dot one with dot two to save their own lives, forget about the color of the dots which they don’t want to see either!

Like I said in the opening of the first article if you are ticked off that we are going to be bailing out the banks nationwide, just stop and think for a minute about the double whammy we are about to get hit with since in short order we are going to be bailing out the city. Remember when the mighty and affluent Orange County California filed bankruptcy? Not a pretty picture is it.

I will assume everyone read the papers this week and the articles about the decline in revenue in Oz and maybe some of you will start paying attention.

Too bad it is way too late to do anything about it now though.

About 3 years ago our truly elected Mayor in the just past General Election, Jim Lane made the statement that the city should be watching what they are doing as there could be a recession coming up right around the corner. This is EXACTLY why we need a Mayor who can comprehend possible incoming bullets we might have to dodge. Manross and her blind, deaf and dumb cronies have spent money like wild drunken sailors without a plan for recovery while our nation is in a huge international financial crisis.

To make matters even worse, "Mary the Fairy" claimed that our property taxes went down when in reality they went up and average of 10% on single family homes based solely on that portion of the tax going to the city of Scottsdale (check your Maricopa County tax statements that just came in the mail, check the line that says "City of Scottsdale" which will show that increase.)

Well, I think it is pretty clear that the recession is here and if any one thinks this is going to be resolved in the next two years, and things go back to normal, they are nuts.

This recession is going to resonate for a good 5 years before everything stabilizes, possibly even longer depending on who is elected our next president and whether taxed are raised (longer recovery) or lowered (shorter recovery).

Banks, insurance companies, and mortgage companies are dropping like flies and the housing market is glutted with foreclosures and a huge overstock in housing (and now more people homeless??) and credit companies are the next in line to start dropping and some say this recession has all the earmarks of the Great Depression.

So you ask "how does this affect us"?

Well lets look at what some of us have been talking about for the last 3 years regarding our city budget, recognizing the fact that we have been outspending what we have been taking in over those three years; resulting in large sums of taxpayers dollars when all totaled together.

How many of you have paid attention to the money we have doled out over those three years, like when we had the council approve raising the city spending limit?

Or maybe when the city approved a huge employee raise of 7%, and actually more than that if you think about the newly re-worked benefit packages, and as I stated before, that is for eternity unless the city starts laying people off.

Maybe we should look at all those subsidies we have handed out over the last 10 years because those have to be paid back with interest and we can look at say, SkySong, and an easy ^$120 million and growing, for a plan that does not even make sense any longer (if it ever did).

Would you believe it is in the range of over ^$300 million taxpayer dollars with none of that going to the Preserve which could have paid for almost all of the additions to complete it including the Discovery Center?

Then take our bond debt from the 2000 bond, which only has about ^$50 million left in it, if I remember correctly. There is the fact that we are still paying on stuff we have bonded out, and will be for a good period of time yet, with interest. The most recent one that comes to mind is adoption of the Water and Sewer Master Plan Update that cost us half a billion dollars and counting. Those Bonds have already been approved for sale under the emergency clause if you remember some of my past articles on that matter.

Then we have all those little "incidentals" we keep approving like paying the auto dealers on Motor Mile to advertise, or maybe a cool ^$1.2 million on a Master Transportation plan that leads no where with zero conclusions. You could add in that, for the third time now, we are revamping the pond in front of city hall, or the new plans to redesign the entry of the City Mall area from Old Town and other such little feel good projects of our council.

We need to add-in all the stupid things from transportation, like round abouts, entry islands, and speed humps, speed bumps and speed islands, that no one can tell us how much they have cost, what it costs us to maintain them, or even why they were put in to begin with.

We did find out that the recent speed hump on Granite Reef along with the reworking of the sidewalks has cost us ^$80,000, so the other useless and unneeded one, at Camelback and Hayden, had to cost at least that much.

While the city claims they have a strong contingency fund I can guarantee you that it is not strong enough to pay all of our bond debt payments for any sustained period of time and Scottsdale will indeed start looking for CPR before the market stabilizes.

Don’t forget we just passed a ^$217 million dollar bond with the Oz School District and they are already talking about coming back at us in 2009 with another ^$200 million bond election to which they think we will give blanket approval. For what?

Well, try to have a wonderful week, and just think, in about another month we will be starting to work on a new budget for the 2009/2010 year and it will be interesting to see how this goes considering the current economic problems and the blunders of the Clowns you just keep electing back into Scottsdale City Elected office.

Michael Merrill (with some staff input)
"The Brutal Critic"
Scottsdale

 (Return to Top)

 ~ Cantoni Confab

 ~ Found by Craig Cantoni

Below my signature is a fantastic summary of the historical causes of today’s financial mess, written by a blogger known as CS and posted on the website, "Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis."

As a sidebar, it dawned on me today that the great American free-market thinkers and think tanks have done a superb job of spreading the ideas of liberal democracy and capitalism to other countries, thus letting hundreds of millions of people escape tyranny and poverty. Ironically, however, judging by the increasing socialism of the US economy, the ideas have not taken root at home. First, government consumes 44 percent of national income, versus just 12 percent prior to the New Deal. Second, K-12 education is essentially socialized, since 90 percent of kids attend government schools. Third, virtually all of healthcare is socialized, because Medicare and Medicaid have such a huge impact on pricing that they’ve crowded out a free market. Fourth, much of higher education is socialized, because student loans and government research grants have made colleges beholden to the government. Last, the government now has de facto control of the housing industry by its takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Oh, and let’s not forget the takeover of AIG.

If this is winning the war of ideas, I hate to see what losing looks like.

Regards,

Craig Cantoni

By CS

I am almost shaking as I write this for what is happening to the capital markets, this country, and the free world. The impact of the past two weeks' action in the financial markets, if not reversed by cooler heads, will have irreparably changed the world in a way that only terrorist attacks and acts of war have in the past.

Nationalizing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, providing an emergency quasi-legal bridge loan to AIG, temporarily banning short-selling on all stocks in the US, and instituting an RTC-type entity to handle the toxic waste of the financial system is economic violence on a grand scale.

The long-term cost of these actions to dollar holders will likely be in excess of $1 trillion. The basic premise of a free economy is one governed by laws and not men, where property rights are respected, where individuals are free to make contracts with each other, and where honesty and transparency exist in the marketplace. It's questionable whether any of these currently exist in the economy of the United States.

Before I continue let me provide a partial list of entities responsible for the financial mess we find ourselves in:

Frankly, I don't know where we go from here. Despite what government officials want, you cannot intervene your way to renewed credit and economic growth. The excesses of the past 25 years have come home to roost, and if we aren't careful this country's status as the hub of global capital markets and the holder of the world's reserve currency will disappear.

Freezing foreclosures, mandating artificially low mortgage rates, sweeping junk assets on bank balance sheets under a Level 3 rug, delaying the writedown of debt, pursuing a witch hunt against legitimate players in the capital markets, and having the government be the lender and borrower of last resort will do nothing other than recreate the mistakes of the 1930s. Short-selling isn't taking down financial firms, overlevered balance sheets of bad assets is.

This country has a lot of problems.

We have made commitments, militarily and to future retirees, that we cannot keep. We have an aging infrastructure and a reliance on diminishing fossil fuels. And we have lost confidence in the principles that led to our rise as the beacon of the free world.

But there is a lot to embrace as well. We have great traditions of freedom and entrepreneurship. We have an educated, skilled populace that wants to make a better world for our children. And we have an undying belief in the American Dream, that hard work and thrift make the rags to riches story a possibility.

But if we are to thrive in the 21st century we must reject the failed ways of the recent and not so recent past and rediscover that which made those who came before us proud to be American.

Thanks for reading,

CS

(Return to Top)

It's difficult to keep track of all the numbskulls behind the mortgage meltdown and the subsequent economic crisis, but below my signature is another.   If only we elect the right president next time, everything will be okay.  No, we'll only be okay when we stop being sheep looking for a leader. 

Craig Cantoni 

LAS VEGAS - As part of President Bush's ongoing effort to help American families   achieve the dream of homeownership, Federal Housing Commissioner John C. Weicher today announced that HUD is proposing to offer a "zero down payment"   mortgage, the most significant initiative by the Federal Housing Administration   in over a decade. This action would help remove the greatest barrier facing   first-time homebuyers - the lack of funds for a down payment on a mortgage.

Speaking at the National Association of Home Builders' annual convention,   Commissioner Weicher indicated that the proposal, part of HUD's Fiscal Year   2005 budget request, would eliminate the statutory requirement of a minimum   three percent down payment for FHA-insured single-family mortgages for first-time   homebuyers.
 

"Offering FHA mortgages with no down payment will unlock the door to homeownership   for hundreds of thousands of American families, particularly minorities,"   said HUD's Acting Secretary Alphonso Jackson. "President Bush has pledged   to create 5.5 million new minority homeowners this decade, and this historic   initiative will help meet this goal."

Preliminary projections indicate that the new FHA mortgage product would generate   about 150,000 homebuyers in the first year alone.

"This initiative would not only address a major hurdle to homeownership   and allow many renters to afford their own home, it would help these families   build wealth and become true stakeholders in their communities," said Commissioner   Weicher. "In addition, it would help spur the production of new housing   in this country."

For those that choose to participate in the Zero Down Payment program, HUD   would charge a modestly higher insurance premium, which would be phased down   over several years, and would also require families to undergo pre-purchase   housing counseling.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly   among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans;   and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living   with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as   well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD   and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov   and espanol.hud.gov .

(Return to Top) 

~ Miscellaneous but Important City Information

New Issue Brewing?  The City of Scottsdale has no formal noise ordinance. As new residential projects are approved in the downtown core, as existing neighborhoods nearby are impacted, and as new liquor and nightclub licenses are approved----abusive noise levels are an increasing problem for local residents.  We have one COGS member who reports that a nearby club plays live music until 2 AM with their doors open.  The level of noise is unlivable---and unsleepable in their home. They have received no enforcement from the police department. 

Camelback and Indian School Road construction continues....82nd Street will close briefly at Indian School Rd...Camelback Rd east of Scottsdale Road will reduce to one lane in each direction from now to October for a new water and sewer line. 

 ~ Loop 101 General Purpose Lanes

(Return to Top)

 ~ Candidate Endorsement Announcements

 Check the Candidate section for the latest endorsements for Council and Mayoral candidates. You might be surprised who has endorsed who and who hasn't been endorsed.

(Return to Top)

 ~ Council and Mayoral Candidates Information

Information is added to the candidates list as the candidates send it to us. We do not solicit such information, but will will include it if offered by any and all candidates for Scottsdale elected offices at no charge.

~ 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

(Return to Top)

~ Arizona Tax Revolt

(Return to Top)

~ 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.

(Return to Top)

 

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

(Return to Top)

 ~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

(Return to Top)

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.