Many feel the citizens and taxpayers of Scottsdale have been "hornswoggled" (bamboozled, tricked, deceived) by the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce over the last few years. Virginia Korte, Rick Kidder, and their Executive Board(s) in cahoots with Mayor Manross and Jan Dolan have done nothing but figuratively rape pillage and burn the southern portion of the city.

It would seem that the shadowy and covert under the table power grab by the Scottsdale Area of Commerce has been partially uncovered and they have been found to be guilty of crimes against the citizens of our fair city during the last election.

The tip of the "iceberg" can be discovered in Laurie Roberts column in last Wednesdays Arizona Republic.

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/LaurieRoberts/61757

All members of the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Board as well as Chamber Officers and any attorneys or other members of the Chamber involved in the cause of the above lawsuit should resign their positions immediately. That includes any and all positions currently held by Virginia Korte, Rick Kidder, Mike Ryan of the Republic, and the Attorney of Record in this case.

With the revelations concerning the Chambers illegal actions above being made public, we have looked over the member list of the McDowell Corridor/South Scottsdale Economic Development Task Force and found some serious issues and Conflicts of Interest with those chosen to serve our South Scottsdale area, residents, and small business owners.

We’ve found some of the members to be very "Chamber Friendly" or members and are either large commercial property owners with millions to gain or those who have high positions in companies that are seen as overtly controlling the local economy through their selfish or greedy decisions.

The following Task Force members, rightfully seen by many as very respectable and talented members of the community, have been suspected by many of using their ability to strongly sway any decision toward their specific development, financial needs, desires, and goals without fair regard and input from the general population and small business owners of the southern area of the city.

The Task Force members listed below compose a third of the Task Force in numbers but actually control well over 70% by knowing and having been well trained in how to cajole what they want and need for their properties in South Scottsdale through the Task Force decisions, small business leaders and residents be damned.

The following members need to resign from the Task Force immediately for the sake of the city’s success in the redevelopment of South Scottsdale, above board dealings, and the true public input from residents and small business owners.

With the above being stated, we think it’s time the city council quit pulling our chains and put "real" citizens and community small business owners from within the area to fill the position of those from whom we are demanding resignations.

With all that’s going on in Scottsdale which isn’t in the best interest of some, and with illegal activities being ignored by others in the city, we decided a Special Edition of the Scottsdale Activist would be coming to you today, and is a "Wham-Doodler" as they say.

Stay tuned………………

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I have been asked to speak on behalf of a number of citizens and small business owners from all areas of our city who fear possible retribution if they spoke themselves.

With the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce being found guilty as charged on the complaints that they violated election laws, we will ask, and want direct written truthful answers to the following questions within a few days:

To the newly elected council persons Ron McCullagh and Suzanne Klapp:

As with any organization claiming they do things in the best interest of the city, non-governmental organizations should be allowed their time at the podium as are all citizens, nothing more or nothing less. There should be zero exceptions for these organizations no matter the subject, no matter the cause, and no matter the dollars or projects involved. The Chamber is the largest special interest group in our city and should be treated at arm’s length like all special interests who are seeking city funds, approvals, or special treatment.

No city employee, charter officer, appointee, or elected officer should be a member, complimentary, honorary, or otherwise of any such organization no matter their stated goals, in order to eliminate any perceived or actual possibility of coercion, innocently or otherwise.

Because of this possible lack of judgment, reduced accountability, and possible ethical failures by some within the city as a whole, it is imperative that no city employee or official, no matter their position, adhere to a high ethical standard as demanded by the city Code of Ethics.

The Ethics Code is in place but apparently has never been applied to Council Members or Charter Officers or is not taken seriously by them. The council cannot run from it’s obligation to assure the public that its actions are above board now that the biggest special interest group in the city has be found to have violated election laws in its failed attempt to elect a mayor and majority on the city council.

No member of the council, nor any charter officer should be a member of the Chamber; the Chamber should receive no subsidies or monetary help from this city for any purpose. In addition, council members McCullagh and Klapp should not vote or be involved in any decision involving the Chamber. Anything less will make a charade out of the election law and the city’s Ethics Code.

Councilwoman Klapp being very new to the council and city government system has really not had time to hear from her constituents on the subjects ( sklapp@scottsdalaz.gov ) but as reported in the Saturday Scottsdale Republic, she doesn’t see a conflict at this point in time. Many of us will give her a little time to reassess her opinion based on constituent input and her conscience when she takes a good look at the situation. We feel she is very honest and a good person, we just feel she hasn’t looked at the situation from the perspective of the voters and citizens.

On the other hand, Councilman McCullagh knew better and always plays the ends against the middle and claims there is zero chance of any conflict of interest. If you believe a word he says, look at his campaign contributors list and reassess your opinion. This guy is owned by many Power Brokers, Scottsdale Health Care and other movers and shakers in the city of Scottsdale.

At first glance we really thought Scottsdale’s leadership was getting serious about the revitalization of the South Scottsdale Community Planning Area, with the establishment of the highly touted "McDowell Corridor/South Scottsdale Economic Development Task Force".

Then we looked at their calendar of meetings and lots of huge red flags started waving wildly in an omni-directional manner.

One meeting a month over a six month period and they were talking about going to Council with a plan?? The first meeting was dedicated to the Ethics Code…..yeah that is the one that all appointees to boards, commission, committees and task forces are required to sign on the dotted line (Council still does not have to sign the Ethics Code do they? That strikes us a bit odd).

Look over their "future agenda items" from the August 13^th meeting:

Kind of daunting to think that in one meeting a month for six months these issues are going to be properly researched, then seriously discussed, with solid recommendations arrived upon, and it does not stop there. It gets more mind boggling.

You see, staff from the Economic Vitality Office and the Long Range Planning office provided these fifteen souls with a "packet" of documents. They are as follows, should you be interested in perusing them:

• LINKS McDowell Corridor Report, (August 2009 Iverson Consultants).

There is a lot of material to digest in those seven documents, let alone discuss, and create a plan of action. What makes it all the more surreal is that there are several more documents they really need to get there teeth into.

For example, the "no compete covenant" with Westcor. That is doosey. At one time it might have been a good idea (and I use the word good with reservations), but it has played heck with trying to locate viable businesses to serve the southern mature neighborhoods.

Check back to the June 14, 2009 (see index), Scottsdale Activist to the article entitled,

"Now We Know Why...But Who Allowed it to Happen?"

We published a copy of the covenant and a letter submitted to the editor of the Scottsdale Republic by former Councilman David Ortega. Ortega was very concerned about revitalization efforts in the face of such non-competition regulations.

Unfortunately, the Scottsdale Republic chose not to print the article or any copy of the documents Ortega provided.

For those of us who have been involved for over 13 years hoping to push the former Mayor and Council and the business community to get going with revitalization, the non-competition covenant speaks volumes.

This document is vitally important for the Task Force to understand in ALL of its ramifications.

One meeting a month is not going to produce even a semi-quality document upon which to base the economic future of South Scottsdale, nor will it provide a document that respects the quality of life of southern Scottsdale residents.

Additionally, this process allows for and requires, public input. Meetings at 8 a.m. leaves a major portion of the community totally out of the process. Could that be on purpose?

Southern Scottsdale neighborhoods have a several folks at the table who live here, work here, and who have volunteered many years in service to our city. Sonnie Kirtley, chairwoman of the Coalition of Greater Scottsdale; Paul Messinger, long time businessman and steward of our rich history; Tom Mason, Scottsdale Realtor^® and long time volunteer serving the Downtown and South Scottsdale; and Mike Fernandez, whose family has been in business in Downtown Scottsdale for decades and who is a young man willing to speak up, listen, and get the job done.

Let us hope that this 15 person Task Force listens to committee member Ed Gawf, retired Assistant City Manager of Scottsdale, now a businessman in Scottsdale. Gawf stressed the need to understand the nature of the problems impacting southern Scottsdale overall in order to bring forth a plan that is deliverable.

That is an excellent suggestion because the residents and small business community do not need anymore half-cocked studies that are long on visioning statements, but totally lacking in action or any strong input from some very knowledgeable long time citizens who are NOT on the so called "Blue Ribbon" panel which is loaded with Chamber members and Owners of large commercial properties in the subject area or their representatives.

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 ~ Precedent: Good or Bad? 

The Dynamite Road and Pima Road project presents the city with just such a conflict. The request to amend the Foothills Overlay for a project on the Northwest Corner of Dynamite Road and Pima Road near the massive power lines and towers in the same area is raising the hackles of those who live in the area and count on the Foothills Character Area Plan Overlay to protect their life style of one house per one to five acres; desert open space preserved, at all costs by publicly approved future planning. 

In any other part of the City residents would be jumping up and down with glee to get a project like this into their midst. Such a project was pushed by the neighbors in the Granite Reef Road and McDowell Road area when the city took on the task of building the Granite Reef Village Senior Center. 

Only after the council’s approval of SkySong’s original plans, did the developers say it was too costly to maintain the Green standards originally professed as being a major part of the project, even though it is a site which could easily and should promote innovation in Green technology. Our city planners and leaders did not even mildly promote the qualities of the Granite Reef Village Senior Center for inclusion at SkySong.

Down the road at 85^th Street and McDowell new single family homes are being built, condo style, and none of the qualities for green building and site planning were promoted for that project, either. 

Still, the project has many strong objections. Just like there were strong objections to Troon and Troon North, Terravita, and DC Ranch, this project is deemed destined to destroy the ambiance of living in North Scottsdale and, as it’s rightfully claimed by many, that it will set yet another bad precedent based on past city planning and administration performances pertaining to Character Area Planning. 

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Sensitive Design Principles

As amended by the Development Review Board on March 8, 2001

Development should respect and enhance the unique climate, topography, vegetation and historical context of Scottsdale's Sonoran desert environment, all of which are considered amenities that help sustain our community and its quality of life. The following design principles will help improve and reinforce the quality of design in our community:

1. The design character of any area should be enhanced and strengthened by new development.

Building design should consider the distinctive qualities and character of the surrounding context and, as appropriate, incorporate those qualities in its design.
 

Building design should be sensitive to the evolving context of an area over time.

2. Development, through appropriate siting and orientation of buildings, should recognize and preserve established major vistas, as well as protect natural features such as:

Scenic views of the Sonoran desert and mountains
 

Archaeological and historical resource

3. Development should be sensitive to existing topography and landscaping.

A design should respond to the unique terrain of the site by blending with the natural shape and texture of the land while minimizing disturbances to the natural environment.

4. Development should protect the character of the Sonoran desert by preserving and restoring natural habitats and ecological processes.

5. The design of the public realm, including streetscapes, parks, plazas and civic amenities, is an opportunity to provide identity to the community and to convey its design expectations.

Streetscapes should provide continuity among adjacent uses through use of cohesive landscaping, decorative paving, street furniture, public art and integrated infrastructure elements.

6. Developments should integrate alternative modes of transportation, including bicycles and bus access, within the pedestrian network that encourage social contact and interaction within the community.

7. Development should show consideration for the pedestrian by providing landscaping and shading elements as well as inviting access connections to adjacent developments.

Design elements should be included to reflect a human scale, such as the use of shelter and shade for the pedestrian and a variety of building masses.

8. Buildings should be designed with a logical hierarchy of masses:

To control the visual impact of a building's height and size
 

To highlight important building volumes and features, such as the building entry.

9. The design of the built environment should respond to the desert environment:

Interior spaces should be extended into the outdoors both physically and visually when appropriate materials with colors and coarse textures associated with this region should be utilized.
 

A variety of textures and natural materials should be used to provide visual interest and richness, particularly at the pedestrian level. Materials should be used honestly and reflect their inherent qualities
 

Features such as shade structures, deep roof overhangs and recessed windows should be incorporated.

10. Developments should strive to incorporate sustainable and healthy building practices and products.

Design strategies and building techniques, which minimize environmental impact, reduce energy consumption, and endure over time, should be utilized.

11. Landscape design should respond to the desert environment by utilizing a variety of mature landscape materials indigenous to the arid region.

The character of the area should be emphasized through the careful selection of planting materials in terms of scale, density, and arrangement
 

The landscaping should compliment the built environment while relating to the various uses.

12. Site design should incorporate techniques for efficient water use by providing desert adapted landscaping and preserving native plants.

Water, as a landscape element, should be used judiciously
 

Water features should be placed in locations with high pedestrian activity.

13. The extent and quality of lighting should be integrally designed as part of the built environment.

A balance should occur between the ambient light levels and designated focal lighting needs.
 

Lighting should be designed to minimize glare and invasive overflow, to conserve energy, and to reflect the character of the area.

14. Signage should consider the distinctive qualities and character of the surrounding context in terms of size, color, location and illumination.

Signage should be designed to be complementary to the architecture, landscaping and design theme for the site, with due consideration for visibility and legibility.

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The city council correctly overturned by a 6-1 vote the HOA requested but illegal DRB approved plant, tree, and shrub list for this north Scottsdale subdivision. During the discussion, Councilman Nelssen suggested that in addition to the strict plant, tree and shrub list and newly approved additions to the list, there was also a maximum tree height limit of 20 feet on any part of any parcel within the subdivision.

Staffer Don Hadder stated that he didn’t think that was true. Staff was asked to look into the situation while private parties did the same. When the research was completed, the following was found to be part and parcel to the CC&R’s and the Articles of Incorporation and are valid and fully enforceable today as written.

The information from the city is as follows and was forwarded to the HOA as required:

In privately researching this problem, we found the above mentioned notation directly written and very legible on every set of plans which were included in the paper work with the sale of every lot in the subdivision and available from the county where the original subdivision plats are filed.

It would seem that it is possible that this HOA purposely disregarded the CC&R’s and Articles of Incorporation because they wanted what they wanted thereby violating their own CC&R’s and Articles of Incorporation as well as city ordinances, even after being fully informed of the penalties by the city in 1995 per formal letter from the city.

It’s true that purchasers who bought the properties from the original owners or another owner or agent may have not received the complete package from the original sale. BUT, if the property was purchased through a licensed real estate sales firm, it was/is the fiduciary and legally enforceable obligation of said real estate agent and office to provide ALL information pertinent to the property including copies of the CC&R’s and Articles of Incorporation so that the new owner will be fully aware of the restrictions if any concerning the subject property.

Even if it was purchased directly from the owner, it was incumbent upon the purchaser as well as the HOA president and board to inform the purchaser of all CC&R’s and Articles of Incorporation; this was apparently never practiced in Carriage Hills for whatever reason.

The Carriage Hills (La Posada) Subdivision is controlled by an elected HOA chosen from current residents which owns zero common or community property. Even the mail delivery box(s) and entry monument are sitting on private property so there is no real need for an HOA as it just costs the property owners unnecessary money for a property management company for which there is no need or impetus. Reportedly, this HOA treasury currently holds about ^$30,000 of the property owners money; for what?

The city of Scottsdale has ordinances which cover all of the circumstances incurred in the Carriage Hills Subdivision and could have stopped the violations, but because of the existence of the HOA, the city could only legally inform the HOA of the violations from which the HOA was to have the property owner correct the deficiencies. These corrective actions apparently never occurred in this subdivision which has caused a major incident which could have been avoided if the HOA had done their required tasks in a timely and proper manner.

It is the legal obligation of the HOA president and HOA board to maintain and enforce the CC&R’s and the Articles of Incorporation to the letter. To fail to do so could reportedly cause the residents to file suit against the president and board for malfeasance in office from which any monetary rewards must come from the president and board, not the HOA funds.

The HOA president of the Carriage Hills (La Posada) Subdivision is a licensed real estate broker and therefore it is incumbent upon him to know, follow and enforce the CC&R’s and Articles of Incorporation to the letter. He hasn’t done that, even though he or the HOA was warned by the city as early as 1995 and again about 2 years ago.

The problem is very simple but very serious: If this subdivision is allowed to skate on these serious code violations, the entire northern area of the city would suffer due to the Hillside Ordinance (Overlay) and the NAOS and ESLO ordinances will have been breeched. This would cause serious damage to the Preserve in the form of non-native plant proliferation and the loss of the ambiance allowed by the strict ordinances.

Someone from the subdivision arrogantly stated after the city council meeting that those not living in the subdivision had no right to say or do anything to correct the situation. That seems immature and ignorant at the least. As citizens and taxpayers of the city of Scottsdale EVERY citizen is allowed, No, encouraged to be involved in maintaining the integrity of the ordinances, rules, laws and other containing controls to keep our city what we as voters and residents want it to continue to be; World Class. Just because you want something, doesn’t mean you will get it if it’s against your CC&R’s or Articles of Incorporation or city ordinances, rules and regulations.

It’s time the HOA president, board and residents of Carriage Hills (La Posada) Subdivision woke up to the fact that the ordinances, rules, and regulations of this city ARE enforceable as written and meant for them too. Those ordinances, rules and regulations WILL be enforced with the citizens inside and outside of the subdivision closely watching to make sure the integrity of our city and the especially the sensitive northern areas are maintained as prescribed by law.

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The Charles Miller Square on the N/W corner of Goldwater and 1^st Street is well on its way to becoming a historic city icon and magical gathering place because of the hard work and tenacity of one Richard Funke, the one single person responsible for the dream project, its funding, and its construction.

Rather than build massive towers or weirdly designed projects of which we see too many today to gain huge returns on his invested dollars, Mr. Funke has chosen to make his property a place for citizens and visitor alike to come in sit down, relax, and reflect on the history of Scottsdale in and around historic homes from yesteryear.

Some of the historic homes include the original home of Charles Miller, one of the original Scottsdale citizens and business owners. Others are from the Paul’s Hardware family. Mr. Funke plans well known but affordable cafes as well as offices and retail. Mr. Funke is also talking about negotiations to move the Charles Miller Statue from the N/W corner of Miller and Indian School Roads to a prominent location very visible from both Goldwater and from 1^st Street.

Because of the hard time the city has given him over the years, he is behind schedule but now with most of the problems out of the way, foundations have been poured, one of the homes has been placed and the others aren’t far behind.

Being very excited by the final approval of this worthy project and the continual forward progress, members of local organizations such as COGS, Scottsdale Coalition, and Citizens for Responsible Development lead respectively by Sonnie Kirtley, Nancy Cantor, and Michael Merrill have offered to help Mr. Funke finish this wonderful historic project should he need any help of any kind. They all say they and their members can paint, move dirt, clean up and other things that are necessary but hard for just one person to do to get this project completed as soon as possible.

Anyone who would be interested in helping Mr. Funke get this project finished can email fixscottsdale@hotmail.com or editor@scottsdaleactivist.com and we will connect you with those who will know of any work needing to be completed.

The only thing that could slow down this project would be Divine Intervention.

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Our city government either neglects to study the facts or conveniently ignores them. Mayor Lane spoke recently at the Scottsdale Association of Realtors Realtor Marketing Session. He was asked a very simple question "What is Scottsdale’s unemployment rate" – his reply was "I do not know". This is a quite appalling admission and highlights once again the complete failure of both our elected leaders and indeed city staff (who are not publishing the data either) to concentrate on the real issues that are affecting our city and the livelihoods of our citizens. 

So for all Scottsdale Activist readers here are the facts.

Unemployment in Scottsdale was at a low point of 2.0% in May 2007. Since then it has consistently risen: 2.7% by December 2007, 4.5% by December 2008 and 6.4% by July 2009. An unemployment rate that has increased by 42% since this Mayor took office is a matter which should be of the highest priority.  

The unemployment rate should warrant the full attention of this council and this city manager BUT it is never discussed at council meetings. Rather, they spend their time arguing/bickering about trivia. Each monthly financial report should contain data regarding the unemployment rate because it gives another guide to the health of the local economy. The problem with that scenario is that, despite requirements to do so, our city manager does not produce a financial report every month and when he does it is way too late. For example as of September 9, 2009, only financial statements up to April 2009 have been issued. This is just not acceptable. 

It was to be hoped that the removal of Manross from office would have radically improved the standards on this council but alas it does not appear to be the case. Manross of course can be remembered for guiding through budgets in her last 4 years that saw General Fund expenditures rise by 40% while revenues only grew by 3% (2008/09 v 2004/05). Those expenditure increases are at the root of our problems today. 

Did Manross or Lane or the city manager identify that city tax revenues stopped growing in the last quarter of 2007? (…..they have been declining ever since). Did they initiate a cost reduction program immediately i.e. in early 2008?  Of course not! Real cost cuts are only being implemented now – September 2009, and that is probably not enough. The revenue situation continues to be desperate. Privilege and Use tax collections for the 12 months to the end of July 2009 are MINUS 18.1% versus the prior 12 months. Bed tax collections are MINUS 21.3% over the same period. 

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That is straight from the City’s Fire Department website. BUT that project exceeded the Gold level and was given the top Platinum level.

Now let’s look at the Police Department’s new Forensics Building and District One headquarters at 7601 East McKellips Road (old Corporation Yard facility) that was dedicated last Thursday, September 9, 2009.

PD brought in a project built with Bond 2000 money which shares services with the Salt River Pima Maricopa Community and includes on those 18 acres: Forensics Lab, Fleet Facility and Maintenance, Field District One Headquarters (used to be at Civic Center with Court Building), Operational Support Building, Motor Cycles Unit, Photo Radar, DUI Unit, Vehicle Crimes , a community room (for public use), Property Evidence (all phases), plus the Vista Del Camino Food Bank Building and incredible public art "sculpture garden" comprised of 6 large sculptures and building tile work designed by that innovative Boomer generation artist Dennis Oppenheim.

All you CIS lovers go down to the campus and contemplate the "Forensic Garden". Be prepared to think about all of those TV episodes that clued you into the forensic possibilities.

Back to the new facility on 18 acres, started in March of 2006 designed by two design firms: Jim Larson designed the Police Building; and Durant Design did the Crime Lab. Both teams ably assisted on floor plan design by retired Assistant Chief, David Marshall (who also plays a mean bagpipe).

This building was brought in with a LEED Certification of Silver.

These two facilities join the Granite Reef Village Senior Center that opened in 2006 and rated LEED Gold.

Cudos to Scottsdale’s Green Building director, Anthony Floyd and the Environmental Quality Advisory Board and their Green Building Committee and Energy Advisory Committee for their advice and oversight.

(Who said that volunteering for city boards and commissions doesn’t make a difference?)

I tell you all of this because THESE ARE THE STANDARDS THAT OUR GENERAL PLAN REQUIRES ANYBODY WHO BUILDS IN SCOTTSDALE TO FOLLOW.

These are the standards that the Planning Commission, Development Review Board and Staff need to strongly suggest that anyone who wants to build and be in Scottsdale should incorporate into their development.

Fire Department Chief, Willie McDonald and Police Chief Alan Rodbell and all of our Public Safety staff, get it and made it happen. Scottsdale’s Human Services got it.

Now let’s see if the private sector and those appointees to the Planning Commission, DRB and Planning Department will make it happen.

A final, but most important note; these three projects are all in South Scottsdale with the Forensic Garden being the first in the southern end of the Indian Bend Wash Green Belt area.

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For once, we agree 100% with Councilman Wayne Ecton on the issue of when material for council discussion needs to be ready for the council (and the public) prior to a Council meeting. His offering on this issue was voted down by the council last month.

Leon Spiro entered a Citizen Petition at the last council meeting (9-08-09) asking for any and all information to be handled by the council to be ready for them and the public 10 working days prior to the meeting where the issue(s) would be discussed. Have you ever seen the size of the files council members have to wade through? How would you like to be handed a file 3 to 5 inches thick just before a meeting and then be required to make a knowledgeable and informed vote on the content the same evening?

We would like that suggestion taken a step further to say that there cannot be any additions, amendments or changes to the original offering during that 10 working day period unless the council agrees with a 5 to 2 public vote to allow the changes. Should it be deemed a true emergency, there must be either a 6 to 1 or fully unanimous vote with public input allowed. (not like the Manross/Dolan "emergencies" we’re used to having shoved down our throats).

The way it is now, any council member or the city manager can change the content right up until 24 hours prior to the council meeting meaning that the public is as unprepared as is the council which is not fair to anyone…….. of course unless that is their sneaky way to keep the public at bay and in the dark. We should publicly call that process the "Mary Trick" so everyone knows from where the covert action came.

By the council agreeing to this new policy, we could slow down the process so the issues are totally understood and researched in plenty of time by both the council and the public to make a knowledgeable and reasonable decision at the council meeting.

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We have all read and heard from the ilk of Beverly Lloyd-Lee, Mark Ortega and a few other holier-than-thou so called caring citizens. They write and expound volumes of meaningless drivel, but they never mention the facts, ordinances, laws, or rules which disallow their nonsensical ramblings to be pertinent, timely, within ordinances, or viable.

They always brag or write about their professional "qualifications" to make their case through rambling personal judgments which, in actuality, mean nothing: it’s what you DO that counts, not what you say.

Frankly, those of us who quietly(?) Walk the Walk rather than just trying to talk the talk consider the types above to be arrogant, egotistical jackasses who thoroughly enjoy reading their own words, listening to their own voices, but doing absolutely NOTHING of benefit to our city at any time that might take some physical effort or personal time.

Those everyday citizens who are involved with the Scottsdale Activist, COGS, Citizens for Responsible Development, Scottsdale Coalition, Coalition of Pinnacle Peak, TOPS, the Community Council of Scottsdale, and other smaller neighborhood or HOA groups all put their money where their mouths are through action, not cheap, flamboyant rhetoric and no action.

We methodically dig deep in city files to ferret out the rules, ordinances and regulations where ever they are hiding that neither city staff nor the city council have the time to look up (or don’t want to know about). We hold all of the documentation up in the face of the city staff, the city council, and best of all, the light of day for the public to see and read.

On top of our regular 40 to 70+ hour per week professions, we freely volunteer thousands of hours, of our personal time and cost, looking out for the best interests of city we love and respect. All the while, others spout nonsensical ramblings based upon personal pontifications and pipe dreams rather than hard cold facts, ordinances, rules and regulations.

Some of us go a step even farther by trying to keep the foreclosed homes in our neighborhoods in reasonable shape by mowing what lawns there are and trimming the trees and shrubs, and keeping the walkways clean and swept so they looked "lived in" on a regular basis. We also help the elderly with their home maintenance if necessary.

Do the egomaniacs described above do any of these "Giving Back" exercises? Yeah, sure they do…. Give me a break, PLEASE!!

Next time you hear someone pontificating about their profession as a basis for what they want to see happen in the city without referencing the laws, rules and regulations concerning that point of interest, check to see if they are actually Walking the Walk, or just talking the talks as most blowhards do on a regular basis.

If you won’t Walk the Walk, just Shut Up wriggle back into your cave!!

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Districting is a good, fair, and widely proven program for equalized and fair representation (as with the US Senate) even though it failed when put on the ballot in Scottsdale.

A plan with 3 districts with 2 council members per district serving 4 year terms, with each council member being elected 2 years after the other is the optimal choice short of the true 6 district system which is growing even larger in popularity nationally due to its fairness and equality.

The 3 district system would give continuity to the council while allowing each of the 3 districts to hold their council members responsible to that specific district. This would be far better and far more fair than the At-Large system we have now because of people like Councilman McCullagh and possibly others who have pandered to the power brokers and garnered huge amounts of campaign dollars. He would lose both his power base and his voter base under either the 6 or 3 district system.

The Preference Voting plan is a pig in a poke as well as unfair to voters. The only thing Preference Voting accomplishes is reduced costs for elections. What's more important, reduced election costs, elections that are truly representative, or one where you have to pick the best of 6 when there really isn't enough time to learn about the candidates? Run-off elections provide the real meat on the issues because of more allowable time for discussion and investigations. A more informed electorate makes for a better city and more representative city government.

If we had the Preference Voting option in place during a few past elections, people would have been elected that lost after the run-off election results were posted. Preference Voting eliminates the increased insight runoff elections provide which means that the votes may not reflect that of the masses for whatever reason during the first round of voting. Preference Voting could therefore eliminate a candidate who was strong but was up against 4, 5, or 6 other glib or monied candidates. Run-off elections sharpen the knives so to speak so we can cut to the meat of the candidates and really see what the candidates are all about. You cannot achieve that level of investigation with more than 2 or 3 candidates in the race.

Concerning Phoenix: They have a mixed system which still has at-large council members and it spoils the real reason for the district system because there are enough at-large members to make a politically driven majority much easier. This causes a politically charged environment, and is more unfair because they seldom mention the at-large members have more control then the true district council members as some bloggers against Districts failed to mention. At-large members are very hard to recall if necessary while a true district council member can be more easily recalled when he/she doesn't properly reflect the wishes of his/her electorate.

Concerning Mesa: they have a true district system and it works wonderfully with few if any objections.

Districting deserves another honest and non-political look. Sadly, voter ignorance and big bucks from those who would lose control of the city council bought the failure of the last attempt to establish a desperately needed district form of government in Scottsdale. We all need to rethink this option of fairness and responsible politics for our city.

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~ Code Screws Up Again, or is it Still?

Dear Malcolm,

You really should have gotten back to me sooner regarding the planned changes of Code officers for our area and today I learned second hand that you made a fatal error in moving Mr. Ritter out of our area as the supervisor and replaced him with Denee Evans of the Carriage Hills screw-up to be the new supervisor of our area. I also found out that Michelle Bruce, our new Inspector is another person that was involved in that nightmare however we can work with Denee Evans as our new inspector as she will either learn to do her job in our area or their will be consequences. Michelle is not welcome here at all period, she seems to be tied to messes everywhere you put her, even after her demotion.

The issue of putting Mike back in our area is not open for discussion or an option and he should have never been moved from our area since we lost Larry Jonas to the great retirement package of the city. Larry had been our inspector for years and did a good job and the double whammy of moving Mike is not going to be acceptable, end of story.

Attached are just a couple of issues of many in the area that have been being brought to my attention from residents and again I was waiting to see who or when code would catch them and now I think I know why things are slipping. Illegal carport enclosures, the yard issues, the vehicles on jacks and missing engines and the vehicle issues as well as boats in front yards and recreational vehicles being stored on the street.

Like I said, we will take Denee Evans and work with her but Mike Ritter has to be brought back to our area as the Supervisor without delay. The ramifications are that this will be the only time I send the pictures to you and from here on in all photos will now be part of comments from the floor slideshows at the council meetings.

You and Raun decide which way you would like to go as you know I will hold to my word on the code issues in our area and going straight to slide shows.

Regards,
Mike Merrill

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~ City Financials

We thought the public might like the latest version of the schedule documenting the financial history plus 5 year plan. Obviously the numbers for 2008/09 are still an estimate because no results have been published by the City Manager since April.

Anyone still don't think we need a City Treasurer as a second set of eyes?

 See Excel chart here

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Next to writing, my next favorite this is reading. Even as a kid growing up I haunted the book shop at Fashion Square that opened across from Goldwater’s…….neither is there anymore.

Now I haunt Borders Books and Music at the Waterfront. Each time I go up there something new is going on, but we never hear about it because it doesn’t involve food or booze so the Scottsdale Republic is not interested.

Listen up because there are two worthwhile programs going on. One is books for the Barker Branch of the Scottsdale Boys and Girls Club. There are so many bargains in books for kids at Borders it just seems a no brainer to chip in for the kids. Heck, for as little as ^$3.99 you can make a purchase that will expand the supply of books those kids have access to. They are not fattening and safe to use.

The other program, Beans for the Boys, allows you to buy a package of their coffee and they will see that it is shipped to our troops overseas. I think that was the best ^$10 I have spent in along time and I do not have to deal with the packing and shipping costs.

Bravo to Borders Books and Music at the Waterfront Scottsdale.

Look for more community oriented activities at our neighborhood Borders.

One of the most interesting pieces of political theater to turn up in Scottsdale politics recently is the controversy about the efforts of the four fiscal conservatives on the City Council (Lane, Nelssen, Borowsky and I) to finally appoint an independent City Treasurer as called for in Scottsdale’s City Charter. 

We supported this long-needed reform not only because an independent City Treasurer is called for in the City Charter, but because the City Council has long needed a qualified financial advisor who is independent of the City Manager, who can therefore give the Council unbiased advice about financial issues.  My 7½ years at City Hall have convinced me that getting financial advice from the same person who spends the money is a conflict of interest that costs Scottsdale taxpayers big dollars.  

This year’s budget deliberations provided two great examples of why this reform is important to keeping Scottsdale city government financially sound.  The same Council members who voted for an independent City Treasurer also voted to make the City Manager slash ^$14M more from the city budget than he originally proposed.  We did that because, while the City Manager did take important steps to cut spending, we believed that more cuts were required. 

The wisdom of this move was confirmed by the latest city sales tax collections, which are lower than originally forecast.  An independent financial professional who does not answer to the City Manager for his or her job would be in a better position to give the Council this kind of money-saving advice. 

Another example is the Retirement Incentive Plan, which the City Manager told the Council would cost about ^$3M but ended up costing the city ^$13M!   An independent City Treasurer who did not owe his job to the City Manager (who clearly wanted to get that plan approved) would have been in a better position to advise the Council on the pitfalls of this plan, which would have saved the taxpayers millions of dollars. 

In an editorial opposing this move, the local paper did get one thing right when they pointed out that Mayor Lane and I have been calling for an independent City Treasurer for at least four years.  Councilman Nelssen has supported this since he joined the Council three years ago.  The fact that we have been calling for a City Treasurer since long before anyone dreamed that John Little would ever be the City Manager shows that the claim that appointing an independent City Treasurer is somehow a slap at Little is total nonsense. 

If there was ever a time when we need an independent financial professional to advise the City Council it is certainly now.  For 50+ years Scottsdale enjoyed increasing sales tax revenues.  This led to a free-spending culture that never saw a budget item worthy of being cut. 

Well, those days are gone, forever.  Like every other municipality in Arizona Scottsdale’s sales tax revenues are down by double digits.  The car dealers (and the sales tax revenue they generated) that have left town are not coming back.  Home values in the entire Phoenix area have plummeted.  Tourism is down about 30%.  Clearly this is not just a temporary downturn that we can hope to just weather.  We need to permanently change the culture of Scottsdale City government when it comes to spending, and appointing an independent City Treasurer to oversee the city’s money is key to making that happen.  How sad that what should have been a reasoned debate about how best to organize the administration of the city has been used instead as a vehicle to personally attack the four of us on the Council who supported this important reform.   

Bob Littlefield
Scottsdale City Council

bob@boblittlefield.com

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~COGS CORNER—The Coalition of Greater Scottsdale

www.cogsaz.net

~ September Subjects…

What a month! You have multiple chances to listen and comment at Task Force meetings, be courted by development proposals at commission hearings and to use your computer keyboard to answer questionnaires and surveys about current projects in and near our city.

PUBLIC MEETINGS you are encouraged to attend:

Monday, September 14^th at 7:30 am The Downtown Task Force may consider zoning and parking issues, pedestrian amenities and transit planning within the downtown area. This meeting will be inside the Galleria, suite 170 at 4343 North Scottsdale Road. Can’t make this one? Future meetings are Oct 12^th and 26^th, Nov. 9^th and 23^rd, Dec 14^th and 28^th. Get details at

http://scottsdaleaz.gov/boards/taskforces/downtown

Monday, September 14^th at 5 pm The Charter Review Task Force will consider language to clarify future city elections and other matters on their posted agenda. Go to

http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/boards/taskforces/charterreview

ONLINE QUESTIONNAIRE AND SURVEY awaiting your thoughts:

General Plan Update As the city updates its planning vision for the next 10 to 20 years, you are asked to respond to an online questionnaire. Go to

http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/generalplan/update

Proposed Pedicab Ordinance. You have probably seen the muscular young people peddling their passenger bikes/pedicabs filled with 2 or 3 baseball fans and tourists. It has become quite an enterprise in the downtown, but lacking in rules to ensure safety for everyone. For more information go to

http://www.scottsdaleaz.gov/codes/pedicab.asp .

Email your thoughts to pedicabfeedback@scottsdaleaz.gov or attend the public open house on Sept. 22^nd from 4 to 6pm at the police headquarters 8401 E. Indian School Road. The deadline for feedback is 30 September.

Papago Regional Park Master Plan Everyone enjoys the Botanical Garden, the Zoo, the Arizona Historical Society displays and kids love climbing the park rocks. Residents of Scottsdale joined Tempe, Phoenix and the Salt River-Pima Maricopa Indian Community for the past months at workshops and forums envisioning a "new" regional park. You are correct---Scottsdale does not own a single square foot of the park! But, we have the most property bordering the park—and it is predominantly residential. Time is short to add your recommendations. Go to

http://www.DiscoverPapagoPark.com for details.

HOT ISSUES IN SCOTTSDALE NOW

Northwest Corner of Pima Rd and Dynamite The owner is requesting a change from R-190 (single family residential with rural character) in an Environmentally Sensitive Land area plus inside the Desert Foothills Overlay to Planned Neighborhood Center in Environmentally Sensitive Land area. The application describes the project as on 10 gross acres, 5 of which can’t be developed because of natural washes. The commercial facility would include a gas service station, an electrical car plug-in station and a building with retail equestrian products. Pictures of the proposed project designed by the highly respect architect, Vern Swaback, were in the Phoenix newspaper recently. Some northern residents who attended the public open house expressed strong opposition to "destroying the rural character and protection of our lifestyle by trying to remove the Desert Foothills Overlay requirements". The project went before the Development Review Board on Sept. 3^rd. The Planning Commissioners will hear the case for a vote on September 23. The City Council is tentatively set for the October 27 agenda. The case is 7-ZN-2009 and 234-PA-2009 on the city’s website.

Scottsdale’s Osborn and 90^th/Shea hospital campuses look to the future:

A public meeting with representatives of Scottsdale Healthcare was hosted by COGS this past week. Plans for new construction, interior street and landscape changes, and a request to rezone to Special District/Downtown Overlay were described by Attorney John Berry and Scottsdale Healthcare Government Affairs official, Michelle Pabis. On July 16^th of this year, their development team submitted cases 10-ZN-2009, 670-PA-2008 and 4-AB-2009, 670-PA-2008. On September 9^th the Planning Commission held a study session to review the case. The key to their request is to get the re-zoning now so they "can plan with certainty and flexibility for the next 10 to 20 years" stated zoning Attorney Berry.

On the Osborn 44.6 acre campus (just east of Scottsdale Road) all new buildings on the medical campus perimeter would be 75 feet tall; one interior building would be 100 feet and two new patient towers would be constructed to 120 feet. Because hospital "floors" require infrastructure such as wiring, pipes, and special supply lines between floors, these heights translate into 5 stories and 8 stories. Review the design plans from your computer at this city website:

http://eservices.scottsdaleaz.gov/planning/projectsummary/applicant_submittals/projinfo-10-ZN-2009.pdf

Did you know that Scottsdale Healthcare is the largest employer (2^nd in the entire city to General Dynamics) and holds the most land in downtown Scottsdale?

WHAT IS COGS? The Coalition of Greater Scottsdale is a citizen and small business advocacy group. Contact us to assist you in researching, tracking or for support on any neighborhood or city issue. Go to our website at www.cogsaz.net for summaries of monthly meeting topics and guests. You may be added to our frequent COGS E-Newsletter by contacting us at cogsaz@cox.net.

For the COGS Board of Directors

Sonnie Kirtley, Chairperson

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~Living in the Land of Oz

Welcome back to all the people who continue to tell us how much they miss this Web News Site with the articles and columns it contains.  

While the Scottsdale Activist has been called out again by many residents to publish another edition based on current issues, I think that I am going to stick with some old issues that have some new twists.  

~Oz Chamber of Horrors found guilty 

I am going to leave this issue to the Editor and other writers to vent about; however I will again point out that there were others running for the council seats now held by two of those named in that now "considered to be illegal" flyer with alleged violations of the Election Laws of this State.  

~The new Council of Oz 

To tell you all the truth I have not formed an opinion of them as of yet, and most of the decisions that have no political issues tied to them have been voted on in a fair nature, but we still have the usual idiots voting wrong on other issues.

For example, we had the New Wizard of Oz (Mayor Lane) and that other person who paid 80K to get a council seat that only pays 18K plus a car allowance, and enjoys not paying taxes like the rest of us (Council person Borowsky) voted to cut the amount of code enforcement officers for the city. Luckily the rest of the Council Maidens thought that this was a stupid idea based on a multitude of issues. What the Wizard never clued in on was that taxpayers decided in a "public election" that we would increase our sales tax rate to give the city more money for these types of services as outlined in "public safety". Yep, Code Enforcement is part of safety.

Sad thing is that those of us in the area patrolled by Larry Jonas will not being seeing him anymore, since he took the city offer of retiring under the give away we offered to employees. Honestly, I could not blame him for taking the money and running, but the problem is that this position will not get refilled. So, theoretically, we have lost one position of the two they wanted to cut, and I will bet there will be pressure from the Mayor or the City Manager to keep the position unfilled. They will also not be filling any other positions due to people leaving that department.

Now, here is the part of this issue that ticks me off and the Wizard needs to remember his past commitments.

The Wizard of Oz made comments in open public meetings, and by e-mail, that he applauded the efforts of some of us to fix code enforcement and voted in favor of increasing the amount of inspectors and he, also supported changes that were made policy wise about code issues. Then he turns around and votes to cut those services that were needed back then.

So, tell me Jimmy boy, do you think that the city now needs to reduce those positions because everything has risen to a much better level of compliance? Do you think that we don’t need them anymore?

As for the other Flying Monkey General (Councilperson Borowsky), who knows what her motivation was to vote for the removal of services. Other than the sheer fact she has no clue about anything Scottsdale or what has transpired in the past, if it was not a direct hit to the family business.  

All in all, I really have no issues with most of what the Oz Council and the Wizard of Oz have done to date. Until the Chamber issues popped back up with a result no one thought would be truthful or correct, things have been relatively calm. 

Let’s hope that the Oz Leaders keep on this path as I give them a better scorecard than the Oz Repugnant did and I say a C+ for this short period of time is a reasonable and objective score for the many problems they are trying to deal with from past administration and Oz Leaders.  

It is not going to be a short journey or an easy one to fix the numerous problems that past leaders have ignored and actually created but only time will tell whether we are heading down a better path and I applaud all of the Leaders of Oz for their time and commitment to start trying to fix all of this mess.  

~Traffic talk with the Oz Commissioners of Road Trash 

Okay Ozites, I am not sure how to tell you this, but the Oz Commissioners of Road Trash are at it again and this time they have moved the stupidity down to the South, since the North kicked them out of their section of the city for trying this same stuff. After the many hours that many people put into the NTMP (neighborhood traffic management project) it has now, again, been shot to hell, completely ignored by those people that the Oz leaders appointed to the Commission of Road Roids (aka the Transportation Commission).  

This is all about the stupidity and waste of transportation tax dollars which accounts for ^$500,000.00 of shared revenue from the State that we use to stick obstacles in the middle of streets where there are no credible issues for such devices to be installed.

Round-abouts, chokers, speed tables, raised and un-raised median islands and the list goes on are being placed on community streets in full violation of policy and guidelines. 

We "Grandfathered" no projects during the new policy meetings folks so let’s not go there. 

For the last year (actually longer) the Oz Commission of Road Debris has passed projects that have resulted in the wasted expenditures of hundreds of thousands of these precious tax dollars that could have been used for much better transportation issues.

One of the perfect examples is the recent cut to Trolley funds and route restrictions or outright removal of routes that had many people upset.

I guess since the leaders of Oz never paid attention to all the complaints about this issue they had no clue that they could have saved all those routes and funded them by removing the funding for this road trash program.

A good thing about this issue coming out now, is that it will show all the violations of policy and guidelines. Maybe shining some light on this mess it might get them on the right track to remove those funds from the project, restore funds and routes to the trolley, and maintain them through the tough fiscal period we are faced with? 

Yeah sure, I gave our leaders a decent score card, but I don’t think they have the gumption to face this issue and do the right thing for the larger portion of transportation issues. If they look at the larger picture they could actually move to a B rating for making smart fiscal transportation decisions for everyone.  

While I cannot give out all the information in this article, I can give some examples. When Airport Bob (Councilman Littlefield) has the item on an agenda everything will be made public.  

Among the examples is the claim from 15 people in a notification area of 600 having to do with traffic increases on Earl and 86^th street that comes from Hayden Road. But wait, you cannot get from Hayden to Earl and 86^th from Hayden Road because there is an SRP canal that runs parallel from Osborn to Thomas along 82^nd Street. There is no other way to get around it other than Osborn!

In the same project the policy states that you must have 50% or more of the residential area having direct access to the street, but 86^th Street from Earl to Thomas has absolutely no residential frontage access? 

Well, Ozite tax payers this project has many other issues of policy violations is going to cost in excess of ^$90,000. I would think that those funds could have been better spent at keeping trolley routes operating under these difficult times.

Want another kicker on the issue?  Those commissioners have stated before that there are problems with these projects not meeting policy or guidelines. They have done so on the public record, but then turn around and pass them in full knowledge that they do not meet policy or criteria????? 

Example 2 would be the Palm Lane project with speed humps being installed. That was done based on the perception of cut through traffic from Hayden had created safety problems.

Well, I found it interesting that the street in question can only make a left turn from Hayden on to Palm and that it leads no further than Granite Reef. So, my question would have been why would anyone decide to take this route unless they actually lived in that area?

Again, the Commissioners of Road Rage stated clearly, again on the public record, that the project was so clearly out of guidelines that even the traffic count was far below the required criteria. It should never have made it this far, but then again, they all passed the project to the tune of over ^$30,000.

Hmm, I wonder how much of that money could have been used to continue funding the trolley routes they cut or did away with?

Nearly a year ago the city dumped a speed hump and extended the curb lines on Granite Reef and Oak, in my community. When questioned about this issue the Transportation Department claimed a safety issue, but refused to send me any information. What made the city conclude there was a safety issue there? They aren’t telling.

With over two decades of me living down the street from this serious danger we noted that there has never been a safety issue of any type in the area.

Last month the city removed what cost the taxpayers ^$80,000 worth of street crap because they never figured out that placing the speed hump all the way across the street resulted in un-intended buildups over the sidewalks when it rained with water flowing onto properties, and forcing the re-routing of storm water to 87^th street. They also never took into account that the bulged out sidewalks also created large puddles of water for nearly 8 home frontages on both sides of Oak Street that took up to a week to evaporate.

It had to have cost at minimum another ^$30,000 to remove all of this and restore the street to its original design so water flowed as it was previously designed to do. That is another over ^$100,000 that could have been used for real transportation issues other than restricting it.

The previous project we talked about on Granite Reef faces the same problems and in short order will be required to be ripped out resulting in yet another stupid waste of transportation dollars that could be put to better use.  

Some of us are still trying to figure out where this "exception clause" came from as the original policy and guidelines does not show any "exception clause". It only appears in "staffs’" PowerPoint presentations? 

Again, don’t ask how it is that a project was passed based on information from over 6 years ago, with an excuse from staff stating "it has to have only gotten worse over time." They cannot prove that it has gotten worse at all or if it has gotten better without new information?

Again the Commission of Oz Insanity in Road Furniture passed the project and questioned the same thing instead of getting new information to warrant it. 

Enough said on this issue. If I keep letting out all the issues, we know that staff will be running around in circles trying to find the projects and come up with some lame ass excuse as to why it was within policy and guidelines to be approved even though the commissioners themselves questioned them, but still passed it. 

Don’t ask the Oz Transportation Department to work to fix the issue’s because the last e-mail I have from them (Meinhart) I asked them to tell me how they would like to proceed with fixing the issue without going to the council and to date there has been no response.

Hell, I asked for the documents for one project from the city and asked that I get it before the commissioners meet. It gave them over a week to provide me with it, and I never got that information.

Our Director of Oz Affairs (John Little) sent me an email when I complained of not getting the information before the meeting and he stated that the city never received an e-mail from me. Of course I sent him a copy of the e-mail and never got a response from the Oz Director of Affairs again. It was funny every councilmember got the email, but staff never got it.  

I guess, again, we as residents with a clue, who have spent time working with others to put these policies in place, have no choice but to snitch on them to the council of Oz for failing to follow policy and waste of taxpayers money that could be much better spent.  

I am not sure how all of this is going to play out. The history of bringing these issues of "road trash" to the council, of meeting with them to discuss the issues causes me to doubt that we will get where we need to be.

The one bright spot I might be able to get is removing some policy language like the one that states "it is the commission’s prerogative if they think the issue should be placed on a council Consent Agenda." My change would be to make it mandatory that all of the NTMP projects be placed on the Council Agendas.

Another would be that "all" the information that is provided to the commissioners be made public by downloading the same exact packet they get from the agenda.  

~New wrinkle in the NTMP issue as of Friday 

Well, Ozites we should have seen this one coming. As of today the "staff" of the road debris challenge has decided to try to head off the assault of the above article which means they already got a copy of the column from the copy we sent out to the Commissioners asking for them to make a response to their actions and the staffs choice to ignore the policy and guidelines.

It appears that staff has added a last minute agenda item to the Tuesday study session and it is a review of the NTMP program. 

I always find it funny that when staff gets caught with their pants around their ankles, and can see that they are going to get some heat, staffs first action is to try to get to the council and snowball them before the issue can be fully vetted from the community side of things.

Luckily, I was able to get to three of our leaders of Oz before the meeting and they are Mayor Lane, Councilman Littlefield, and Councilwoman Klapp. I find this tactic that the "staff of Oz" continually uses appalling.  

Let’s face it Ozites, we have all seen this type of tactic used by staff on many issues and this usually happens when there is something wrong and people are trying to pull their pants back up over their ankles or are they "Crankles".  

Here is a note to the Staff: You may have gotten some of the info from the article that you must have received from one of the commissioners, but you don’t have all of it and three of the elected leaders of this city do have the information.  

Here is another message for staff: I met with the Chairman of the Transportation Commission this week and we had a wonderful chat that lasted over 2 hours regarding policy issues in multiple NTMP projects. I bet he will have some questions for staff sometime soon also.  

In closing Ozites I wanted to address the McDowell Road Task Force issue, but I have used up all of my time and space in this matter. Maybe next time I will be able to actually concentrate on that issue and share with you some of the idiocy that is going on with that gong show. 

Be well my friends and wish me luck in yet another battle with the staff and transparency.  

Michael Merrill
F8713@aol.com
"The Brutal Critic" 
 

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~ Letters ( Letters@Scottsdaleactivist.com )

~What did they know and when did they know it?

Dear Laurie and Lynh,

Even before the contributors are exposed (or not) who was on the Chamber Executive Committee at the time the Chamber produced this campaign? Do those on the Executive Committee have any issues now or soon to be before City Council? Like Scottsdale Healthcare? Has anyone asked Mike Ryan to tell his side of the story? This is in large part why I didn’t think the Republic was a credible venue for a candidate forum. 

The Chamber has engaged in the deliberate act of disenfranchising the citizen’s rights. If we let it go, it will occur again in next election. It is affecting people every day here in Scottsdale like the Desert Foothills zoning issue.  

While I appreciate what you both have done thus far I would like to see the Chamber and their special interests have their powers diminished. 

Thanks! 

Thomas W. Giller
(480)947-3654

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~ The Chickens to come Home to Roost.

The Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce (SACOC) over the last few years seems to only cater to big business, shun small businesses, and reportedly less than 50% of their membership does business or own businesses in Scottsdale.

It’s been said by numerous citizens that SACOC members Virginia Korte, Rick Kidder, and their Executive Board(s) in cahoots with Mayor Manross, Jan Dolan, Ron McCullagh and councilman Wayne Ecton have done nothing but consistently rape pillage and burn the southern portion of the city, figuratively speaking, for years.

The tip of the iceberg is very evident in the Roberts column; we need to dig far deeper folks.

Doesn’t anyone remember Virginia Korte's AZ Republic interview a couple of weeks ago? She was heavily promoting light rail and the Discovery Triangle for the McDowell Corridor. She was singing the SACOC song by the numbers and not acting at all like a bipartisan, constructive member of the appointed McDowell Corridor/South Scottsdale Economic Development Task Force.

Look at who appointed whom and you'll recognize the Power Brokers upcoming election line-up. Ron McCullagh for Mayor, Wayne Ecton’s re-election, as well as Betty Drake probably making a late decision to run for something, anything!!

It’s been reported that both council members Suzanne Klapp and Ron McCullagh STILL HOLD ACTIVE POSITIONS in the SACOC organization even though they are now publicly elected members of the Scottsdale City Council. Doesn’t sound right does it? Do we clearly see a conflict of interest here? Does it sound like the SACOC illegally paid to get what they wanted in the last election by hook or by crook as found by the Tucson City Attorney decision?

It’s really sad that the following members of the McDowell Corridor/South Scottsdale Economic Development Task Force are all large property owners or managers in south Scottsdale and just by coincidence are reportedly also members in good standing of the SACOC.

Virginia Korte maintains control of the Korte Trust properties in south Scottsdale,

Tom Sadvary is President and CEO of Scottsdale Healthcare,

Wendy Lyons is Vice President of Community Stewardship for Scottsdale Health Care.

Don Couvillion is Vice President for real estate for ASUF/ SkySong,

George Adams is the Manager of Facilities Ops, for General Dynamics Corporation,

These five otherwise highly respected individuals need to resign from the task force immediately for the sake of honesty, integrity, and proper representation of the residents and small business owners in the area being studied to eliminate any conflicts of interest, perceived or actual.

All members of the SACOC Executive Board as well as SACOC Officers and any attorneys or other members of the SACOC involved in the underhanded dealings in the above lawsuit should resign their positions immediately. That includes any and all positions currently held by Virginia Korte, Rick Kidder, and the Attorney of Record in this case, and we ALL know who he is don’t we.

Can we say it's time to clean house?

Respectfully,

"Council Watcher"

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~Open Letter to Carriage Hills HOA President

(The author noted that they had sent this directly to the HOA president by Snail-Mail also)

Mr. HOA president: You really need to read this article so you can understand how mad the residents here in the other subdivisions in the north are at what you have allowed that has now spilled over to every other HOA’s in the north and other parts of the city. You are apparently a realtor and should have known better. Now a number of us will have to pay because of the actions, stupidity and greed of you and your board and a few of your selfish residents. You cannot buck city hall when the laws are obviously on their side (if you had bothered to read them) because you always lose.

Is it true that you actually had an area sprayed against the ordinance? Really stupid if it’s true. When there is a 7-0 council vote to refer a committee decision for a full airing with the council, you can figure where you stand and what will happen; you lose.

You wonder where we got your address? Easy, you’re name and address are all over the public record both in the city and the state as well as the local media.

Thanks for nothing Dave.

A disgusted Northern Scottsdale Resident

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~ Why no Retail in South Scottsdale... Could it be….??

Could it be that this entire underhanded, cunning but unnecessary situation was all planned under the table by a certain administration (or two) who wanted a certain University to have a certain prime city commercial corner free of charge instead of giving the residents of the city what they so rightly deserved and had previously enjoyed for decades?

Could it be that the suspect administration(s) was far more interested in personal legacies and agendas than it was the future of the southern portion of city of Scottsdale and the devastating drop in sales tax revenue of the last few years? Could it be that the 'measly' ^$250,000 per month of sales taxes revenue from the former Los Arcos Mall even while it was dying took a rear seat to the personal wants and desires of certain political individuals?

Could it be that certain administration(s) knew of the Covenant not to Compete owned by Westcor which controls an area equal to a 5 mile radius from Fashion Square (includes the Los Arcos area) but didn't bother to tell anyone?

Could it be that Westcor’s Covenant not to Compete is the REAL reason that we cannot get any real shopping in the form of retail stores, cafeterias, or theaters in the southern portion of the city?

Could it be that the Covenant was the reason the former owner closed down Los Arcos Mall because he couldn't land any new tenants when trying to renovate it?

What about Los Arcos Crossing just east of the former Los Arcos Mall?

Does this 32 acre parcel have the same problems?

Why hasn't the Scottsdale Area of Commerce done the job they should have done to help bring in the businesses back to south Scottsdale and help the residents and small business owners instead of constantly catering to the large commercial property owners in the city?

No! No one who professes to love Scottsdale would do that…….. or would they based on greed and control?

A concerned citizen

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~ Scottsdale Republic Kowtows to Chamber

To criticize the Chamber fine as based too much on "common sense" ("Voters must know who’s behind ads," 9/5/09), is a clear illustration of the sorry state of Scottsdale politics. The Chamber isn’t looking for a loophole to get out of trouble. They looked for a loophole to avoid being caught…and it didn’t work.

This flies in the face of the Chamber’s third "core value" of their Mission Statement: "INTEGRITY: Honest and trustworthy in action and intent." Comparing Mayor Lane’s campaign donor reporting (filed months before required by law) to the Chamber’s attempts to HIDE their campaign donors is utterly ridiculous. 

For this criticism of common sense to come from the Republic only reinforces this point. Mike Ryan (Scottsdale Republic GM) is a member of the Chamber’s Executive Committee. Therefore he is directly responsible for the Chamber’s illegal campaigning. Even if he didn’t authorize the campaign (which was never explicitly stated in Friday’s editorial), he remains a member of the Executive Committee. This is a clear conflict of interest. You can run a newspaper, or you can be a political hack. Choose one or the other. 

With regard to whether the fine is "reasonable," the plain language of state law provides for a fine of THREE times the amount spent by the violator. Whatever the fine, having it based on the amount spent by the violator makes it as fair or unfair as the violation. If the Chamber wanted a "more reasonable" fine, they shouldn’t have spent so much money in violating the law. Fortunately for them, the Chamber already got a whopping break because the City Attorney is letting them off with only two times the amount they spent. 

Tom Giller and Nan Nesvig got more than 50,000 votes between them. That is an outrageous number of citizens who were disenfranchised by the Chamber’s campaign, not to mention the thousands previously mugged by the hijacking of the Hanover referendum and the dust control referendum. We will never know if Tom and Nan would have beaten Klapp in a fair fight. The Chamber’s illegal campaigning is the reason we won’t know. 

This isn’t a tennis match where one player got a bad call and missed out on a trophy. This is representative democracy, where the umpire and the rules are supposed to protect the fundamental right of the citizens to choose our representatives. There is no room for "negotiating" that right. The Chamber is damned lucky none of its members are going to jail. 

John Washington
480.229.1831
john@ReactionResearch.com

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~ Does City Staff Care at All?

Mayor, Council members, and Transportation Commissioners,

I was informed today during my meeting with Council Person Klapp that there has been a last minute agenda addition for the Tuesday study session and it is regarding the NTMP program (Neighborhood Traffic Management Program) which is the item I have been speaking of and trying to set up meetings with some of you to discuss before the item comes to the agenda item that Councilman Littlefield has asked for.

We both found it kind of funny to see it appear so quickly.

Again and in usual fashion of the past city staff moves that I thought would have dissipated with the new council, I see that we are working on trying to head off any discussion on this matter that may take place in a regular agenda and is now an item for the study session that I am sure was not what Councilman Littlefield had asked for and this is the wrong setting for this type of argument.

I grow tired of these games from staff and if you all remember I made attempts with Mr. Meinhart to try to figure out a way to resolve these problems without having to bother the council and to date I have never had a reply from Mr. Meinhart to even meet and talk. I did however have a conversation with the Transportation Chairman on the matter that lasted over two hours which only resolved one issue for me and left him with a list of questions to research. I also had asked once before for information to be sent to me before a commission meeting regarding the Roosevelt NTMP project which was never replied to and your city manager stated that they never got an e-mail from me. I presented Mr. Little with the e-mail I sent to Mrs. Bohac and again had never even received a response from the city manager about that problem.

Funny they don't want to talk to me but they have an "all of a sudden itch" to talk to you.

Now all of a sudden the issue is mysteriously and quickly added to the study session agenda and not a regular agenda item as asked for by Councilman Littlefield in which the staff could have also provided the same information to the council at that time.

I am respectfully asking that the Mayor have the item removed from the agenda until the first meeting of next month and that it be placed on a regular agenda item so that I have the time to continue to meet with the rest of the council to discuss this matter and give them the information that I have on the issue so that they may raise their own questions for staff in open public meeting.

If the item cannot be removed for some reason I would respectfully ask that the council hear the presentation and than thank staff for the refresher course and leave the item to no discussion.

I cannot attend this study session due to a conflict with my agenda items that I must present to the School Board I work for.

Thank you for your attention to this matter,

Michael Merrill
f8713@aol.com
 

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~ Scottsdale Republic in Big Trouble?

I saw a notice in the Republic that they were going to start charging an additional 25¢ for the TV guide so I called to cancel my subscription. When the person on the other end of the phone asked why I wanted to cancel, I told them that the TV guide and the Sunday ads were the only thing left of value in their paper and I wasn’t willing to pay for the TV guide. I about fell over when they said they would give us the paper with the TV guide free for a year if we would keep the subscription at the same rate. I told them, sure why not.

Then they asked besides the TV guide, was there any other reason why we wanted to drop the subscription and I told them they no longer told both sides of the whole story, were always slanted farther and farther left in their view, and ran down anyone who didn’t agree with them.

We're subscribers who will cancel the Republic after the year is up.

Editors Note:

We ran into the same situation and had the same experience. It’s a shame that a newspaper that could be a true hometown newspaper has turned into a typical liberal, slanted rag never telling the other side of the story in a balanced fashion as legitimate news organization need to do to be viable with the exception of Laurie Roberts and now possibly Lynh Bui.

There are printed media out there that are successful and increasing circulation because they print both sides of the issues.

Another negative for us is Robert Leger who editorializes, usually wrongly and very slanted on Scottsdale politics, actually lives in Fountain Hills and has only lived in the valley a few short years. How can he even have a clue to what’s really going on in Scottsdale when he never calls those who are working hard using facts instead of hyperbole to which he listens to keep the politicians and city staff honest? We can’t even get a letter or editorial in the Republic without it being broken up so badly it doesn’t make sense.

It’s really a very sad bit of reality. The Scottsdale Republic had the potential to be an excellent home town newspaper but it will never happen under the current leadership. This city would be just as well off without the Scottsdale Republic as we are with it. We get the food ads without the paper, there are other print or Internet media sources where we can get honest, unbiased news without the far left slant and half truths. Why pay for something that is only used to line the bottom of the bird’s cage or the cat box, or as filler & cushion in a shipping box?

And you wonder why we are constantly pestered to do the Scottsdale Activist weekly?

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~ Shouts and Spouts Editor@scottsdaleactivist.com

~Thank you to all of you for offering the Activist during the hot summer months. We understand the strain it puts on all of your families, we just hope they understand how much your efforts are appreciated and how much good you are doing for all of us living in Scottsdale. Without the Scottsdale Activist, we have no voice at all. Thank you!

~ City Treasurer? Absolutely!! We need someone to look over city manager John Little's shoulder to see where and why he is moving our money and report any deviations from policy to the city council because he learned about that stuff from that squirrelly Dolan woman. Jan Dolan screwed over this city when she took total control of everything and I'm sure she's laughing her tushy off just thinking about how she led everyone around by the nose, moved our tax money where ever she and Mary wanted it without anyone questioning her behavior, and having Mary sign legal contracts without council approval. Yeah, Robberson was behind that too.

~ What's with Lisa Borowsky? She seems totally bored with the council process and acts like it's taking up too much of her life. She's the one who spent ^$80,000 to get elected which means either she or someone else has plans for her. She didn't even serve her time on the DRB, what was that all about?

~ Robberson is FINALLY gone, God Bless the city council for finally seeing the light. Why it took so long is beyond me but good riddance.

~So Ecton wants to run for office again next year. He has got to be kidding - he is going to lose big time. A humiliating defeat is just what he deserves.

~As a newer resident of the Carriage Hills subdivision, I feel I have been sold out by my HOA because they didn’t tell me about the plant list or anything. All they do is continually raise my dues and for what? I found out all of the information about the HOA when I was one of probably 40+ home owners who received Notices of Violation on the subject. Where was the HOA? I thought they were to protect us from these types of things. I would have voluntarily either not planted or totally removed any violating plants and trees if I had just been informed. I for one would like to see our HOA abandoned in favor of city oversight to keep this disaster from happening again. Thanks for nothing Dave! I want all of my HOA dues back.

~ So we have the 3 blind, deaf and dumb attorneys making decisions for the city instead of getting someone on a temporary basis who can really shake up and straighten up the department? Scottsdale is getting to be the joke of the Valley the way our legal department blows case after case after case and cannot make a reasonable decision without himing and hawing around because they don't have a clue what to do. Good riddance of all of them when we get a new City Attorney who knows their stuff. They can stand up straight in a real legal department anyway.

~Oddly, the Downtown sits in the middle of South Scottsdale, but some brilliant mind within the confines of city government refuses to acknowledge the need to be careful with the fringe areas of the Downtown as they impact the single family residential neighborhoods of the South Scottsdale Community Planning Area.

~What a tragedy that Jim Derouin backed out of running for Mayor. Lane is proving to be a loose cannon and totally out of control. That six letter word R-E-C-A-L-L will be ringing in his ears very soon.

~When the McDowell Corridor Economic Development Task Force goes over the statistics for the expenditures on development in South Scottsdale they had better look at them two ways. First, with the stats combined with the Downtown Area and second, with both separated out. There is a huge difference.

~ I can't stand it when Councilman Ron McCullagh speaks at council meetings. He makes it sound like he's God's gift to the city when in reality he's the devil in sheep's clothing. He never has an original idea and is tied to Kidder, Korte and the Chamber at the hip. Why can't you council guys and gals see through this clown?

~ My wife noticed that the Charles Miller Square is finally making progress and will be a beautiful diamond at the top of the crown for Scottsdale. What a lovely, unselfish gesture by Mr. Funke. We can't wait for it to open. Can we get the Miller statue moved over there too?

~ Members of the city council do not belong being any part of the Chamber, it is a serious conflict of interest and they need to resign immediately from one of the other. The speaker at the city council meeting last Tuesday was absolutely correct.

~ What's with Code Enforcement? I'm seeing things going downhill like a train headed for a major disaster. Illegal signs everywhere, weeds growing over the curb for so long they have now died, vehicles parked on streets with weeds and spider webs growing under them, and no apparent changes are in the offering. It's time to fire the manager, whoever that is now with all the changes.

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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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~ 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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