Volume '07-01
Updated 1pm Saturday Jan
06, 2007
The Scottsdale Activist
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~ Weekly Editorial -- Staff
- Code Enforcement Busted by 25 Point Audit Hit
- New Sign Ordinance Proposals before Planning Commission
-
Scottsdale’s New Year’s Resolutions -- Craig J. Cantoni
-
Quality of Life Under Assault -- Councilman Bob Littlefield
-
Who Will REALLY Represent South Scottsdale? -- Mike Merrill
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-- Don Williams
~ Information You Can Use
~ Shout and Spout, Still HOT & Edgy
~ Thought for the Week -- Joseph Warren
~ Quote of the Week -- President Gerald Ford
~ Food for Thought -- How Long Do We Have?
Other Stuff of Interest
~ Look up Prior Editions? Click a on date to open.
~ Code Enforcement Busted by 25 Point Audit Hit
Click here to read the full Audit Report
Headline on Friday's Scottsdale Tribune front page Blares " Code Enforcers Lack Oversight"
Thanks to true honesty plus some excellent and competent work by the City Audit Department, the City Manager, Assistant City Manager, and CNR General Manager are all in trouble for failure to maintain files, properly control fine collections, and properly direct the agents working in the field among 22 other listed issues as stated in the Audit and reported by Brian Powell in the Scottsdale Tribune, Friday, January 05, 2007.
Thanks to the Scottsdale Tribune and Brian Powell, it would appear that we just may have a "Home Town" newspaper again in the Scottsdale Tribune. Powell has been steady and thorough on this story and others, and I’d bet a dozen deliciously fine Dove chocolate candy bars, he’ll continue his great investigative reporting into this story as well as others. His investigations into the unseen inner working of the city of Scottsdale are probably far from over!
Failed Code Enforcement Management starts with the most responsible person who resides at the top of the Charter Officer ladder, City Manager Jan Dolan, then Asst City Manager Ed Gawf, followed by CNR General Manager Judy Register. The Field Manager, Malcolm Hankins reportedly spends the bulk of his time in the office which doesn’t sound like where a "Field Manager" belongs.
All the citizens have ever asked for is fair, competent, and friendly but firm and concise enforcement of the city ordinances and laws using Superior Customer Service to personally inform the violators of the problem, assess the ability of the homeowner to conform, and make a decision on how to fairly solve the problem. That is apparently no longer happening.
What do you, the taxpayers think?
Questions that need answers include:
How many people were hired
into the department who didn’t meet the posted requirements?
Why were the posted requirements changed AFTER hires were made of
people who could not meet the posted requirements? Why weren’t
those who were qualified under the original posting hired, but a
possibly lesser qualified person hired and the qualifications
changed to fit the hire?
Why is the morale of this
department in the bottom of the bucket if it's not because of poor
management, favoritism, lack of training, and general misdirection?
How many outside people were
hired instead of qualified city personnel who also applied for the
higher positions?
How many people who were
required to be AACE certified within a year of hire weren’t pushed
to qualify due to failed management schedules, procedures, and
practices?
How many employees handle a
second job on city time using city equipment?
How many employees who have
second jobs have cleared them through management approval and filled
out and filed the proper AR 350 Outside Employment Form(s)?
Why has the personal contact
between the public and code personnel now disappeared? Superior
Customer Service must absolutely be the primary goal of each and
every city department and employee.
What has happened to the
bi-monthly "Neighborhood Violation Sweeps" which were promised to a
packed room of citizens by the City Manager Dolan, Asst City Manager
Gawf, and Code Management? They were implemented, then someone
decided they needed a "Field Manager" who apparently spends all his
time in the office and apparently eliminated the sweeps .
WHY? How do you "manage" the field from an office on a computer?
What happened to the
"Pro-Active" approach that was promised, but which we no longer see?
It seems that we’re back to a reactionary system again which
shouldn’t be necessary with 14 agents on the payroll at
approximately $35,000 per year plus excellent benefits
for the agents, plus a Field Manager paid at a still higher rate and
benefits.
Where can the public see the
schedules for the areas and the hours and days that each area is
worked?
Where is the "Code Enforcement
Hot Line" that was promised for weekend problems which DOESN’T go to
an unattended answering machine or an office phone? This phone needs
to be carried and answered by on-duty agents on the weekends so
major or weekend only problems don’t need to wait until the weekdays
when the problem is gone. There are a lot of weekend incidents that
the violators know will get missed because they don’t think anyone
from Code works on the weekends or at night after 5pm. Examples are
5 or more cars parked on the lawn of a home, or many signs being
posted in violation of the sign ordinances.
Why does it take citizens to
go out, take pictures of major violations which devalue adjacent
properties, and turn them in to Code
before anything gets done?
Councilman Ecton makes what I
consider lame excuses for the failure of the department. Publicly he
has tried to reduce the capacity and effectiveness of the Audit
Department in the past, but why not accept the Audit as the truth
and demand the failures be corrected immediately in the best
interest of the city instead of making excuses for less than poor
performances?
Councilman McCullagh is on the Audit Review Committee as a Council Representative, but yet didn’t attend the audit review. Why?
To cut to the chase so to speak, City Manager Jan Dolan is again front and center in still another failure to perform her job to Scottsdale standards as required and needs to resign immediately or be fired.
Assistant City Manager Ed Gawf is right behind her and needs a severe reprimand, no raise, a poor performance review, and a copy of the audit entered into his file along with the reprimand and a poor evaluation. CNR General Manager Judy Register follows Ed Gawf and needs to be replaced immediately, as does Malcolm Hankins, the supposed "Field Manager" who is apparently only in the field on rare occasions. The Code Department needs a total management reorganization ASAP.
My educated guess would be that City Manager Dolan, her Assistant Ed Gawf, CNR General Manager Judy Register, and Field Manager Hankins will blame their employees and claim the reason they were audited was because employees "finked" or "Ratted them out".
Wake up Jan Dolan, Ed Gawf, and Judy Register!! If your departments didn’t have severe management problems, lack of employee control, lack of solid employee training, and other procedural problems, city employees (yours and many others) wouldn’t be going to anyone with facts and strong suspicions concerning the incompetence and failures of you and your department managers!
The City Council needs to wake up to the fact that the City Manager, Jan Dolan has still and again not performed her job as per the high standards required for the city of Scottsdale and she needs to either resign voluntarily immediately or be fired at the January 16th meeting.
~New Sign Ordinance Proposals before Planning Commission
The proposed radical changes to the current Sign Ordinance will come before the Scottsdale Planning Commission Wednesday, January 10th at 5pm in the Kiva at City Hall.
It would be in the best interest of the city for every citizen to review the proposals as well as the one proposed by George Knowlton before allowing these things to go to the council. Click on the links below.
http://eservices.scottsdaleaz.gov/cases/casesheet.aspx?caseid=32615
http://eservices.scottsdaleaz.gov/cases/casesheet.aspx?caseid=32616
George Knowlton's Proposal (Click here)
The Preliminary Report of the Loop 101 Photo Radar Program is out, but Where’s the Beef? We have no clue if there were actually more or less accidents, if the accidents that did occur factually cost more or less, how many fatalities or injuries were actually attributed to drunk driving versus reckless driving, vehicle malfunctions (stalled, blown tires), some other causes, if police officers have more effect than a camera that only takes a picture, or if the cameras as well as Photo Radar are actually legal in the state of Arizona.
It’s interesting that when a Photo Radar ticket is taken to a court higher than the courts in Scottsdale (that are owned and operated by the city with city paid judges) the charges are dismissed under state law.
What was the REAL purpose of releasing the report if it wasn’t to help Manross, Dolan, and the City Council push the cameras and the profit from them back into action early without all of the facts being known?
Why was Scottsdale partner ASU used for the report instead of an outside, non-connected transportation survey company? Isn’t the answer rather obvious?
Click on the link below to see the preliminary report.
Jan 07 Preliminary Photo Radar Results Summary Loop 101
The problem as we see it is that the city of Scottsdale should not have the authority nor spend Scottsdale taxpayer money to control cameras in an area which is under the jurisdiction of DPS. If the state decides that the program is worth the cost of the profit derived thereto, the state should take over the program using both DPS officers and the cameras in concert to control those freeways, That is IF photo radar is found to be legal.
If two Legislators have their way, Photo Radar on state highways will be either neutered or outlawed. Wouldn’t it make more dollar sense for the omnidirectional Scottsdale City Council to wait until the Legislature has its say before spending money foolishly contracting with RedFlex again who is the major and only Big Time benefactor in this program?
Official City Logo Official City Seal Proposed Trolley Logo Route Identifiers
As has been noted, there has been a major miscommunication or disconnect between the city and the citizens concerning the Trolley Logo controversy.
After quite a discussion at the last Transportation Commission meeting, it was finally discovered that the city was trying to come up with a different master logo than what the citizens had asked for. They admitted that they hadn’t taken the city seal into consideration because they wanted something new and were also told they couldn’t use the official city seal because of trademark controls. They also admitted that in 2002 they had tried to change the name of the trolley to the "City Roundup" or something to that effect and it was a miserable failure because no one would accept that name.
What we found at the last meeting from Dave Meinhart was that there is actually an official city logo AND a separate official city seal. Both are covered by registered trademark and copyright controls. What the citizens whom have been talking to me wanted was the city seal, not the city logo, inserted into the center of the new trolley master logo without it touching any part of the other parts of the new master logo to maintain the entirety and integrity of the seal trademark as well as the historical and decade’s old well known identifier. The vast majority of the citizens strongly dislike the new, generic logo. We were told that the city’s administrative rules only allowed the official city seal to be used on official city letterheads and official city documents, absolutely nothing more.
We pointed out that in direct opposition to the supposed Administrative Rule, most pieces of city owned rolling stock, city uniforms, the police department vehicles and uniforms, fire department equipment, and city signs were all using the official city seal, as well as some clothing for sale in the city store in the HR offices, not the newer official city logo. Dave, Teresa, and the staff were caught flat footed and said we’d have to take it up with the city attorney which we have officially done. We also seem to have caught the City Attorney flat footed also because she says she’ll have to research the question. Since that time, Pat Dodds, Scottsdale Public Affairs Officer, has called and I have given him this same letter for clarification of what the citizens have been asking.
According to Dave Meinhart, the new permanent master logo would be mounted dead center in the front of the trolleys with the same master logo for all trolleys so that the trolleys could be moved route to route with out confusion, but there would be magnetic or drop-in secondary identifiers which would have bright colors with international symbols as well as printing to identify the different routes. Those secondary identifiers would be mounted on the right front of each trolley at eye level as well another at each entry to the trolley at eye level and could be moved from trolley to trolley when the trolleys changed routes for whatever reason.
Burying the seal to protect it is as bad as just throwing it away. You don't take something of value and of critical historical importance and hide it away for safe keeping to be used only on a few items. It's a part of the city's continuing visible history and needs to be utilized properly but yet openly to where everyone can enjoy and reflect on the long history it represents.
Violations of copyright or trademark infringement are laid at the feet of our legal department for prosecution who are paid well to protect and vigorously enforce the laws and ordinances of the city. If they are incapable of doing so, they need to be replaced with a staff that can do the job efficiently. Once it is known that trademark or copyright infringement will bring huge fines and penalties, even being improperly used by staff, the problem will cease to exist.
I'm confident that the city staff and city council can come up with a way the City Seal can be incorporated into the trolley logo without the public having to get anymore involved and irritated with a seeming stodgy, slow, ineffective city system of listening to the citizens and making reasonable decisions based on those discussions in a reasonable period of time.
Be assured that the public is not going away on this one.
~All's Quiet on the $15,000,000 Dolan Boondoggle Front
We couldn't have expected anything more at this point in time, Holidays and all. But the holiday's are over and it's time for a reckoning and a coming clean on this mess as well as either a resignation or a firing of the responsible department director who in this case is the City Manager.
Should the city lose the current court case to Hualapai LLC, which it is most probable they will, where will the money come from and who will lose their job over such a major and costly financial screw-up?
This is a very serious and financially dangerous situation that needs to be actively and completely investigated addressing ethical, legal, and procedural missteps made by the Mayor, City Legal Department, and City Manager. The terms and procedures for the investigation need to be completed by the entire City Council in public meetings with a fully spelled out, public plan forthcoming on or before the January 16th City Council meeting.
The public should expect a full and complete report from an outside investigation firm as soon as possible thereafter. The report should include an in-depth description and discussion of the problem with proposed recommendations for correcting the problems that currently exist, post haste.
In addition, new procedures and controls including safeguards over all types of situations such as this need to be immediately put in place that will allow the "Balance of Power" to return to the governmental process within the city of Scottsdale governmental system.
An excellent starting point would be to immediately hire a Treasurer as required by the City Charter while maintaining the City Charter Residence requirement and follow through with renewing the required "Balance of Power".
Had a City Treasurer and the "Balance of Power" been in place, there would have been a far much better chance that this serious and costly problem would have never come about.
~ Misinformed Citizens Do More Harm Than Good
It’s really a shame that some Scottsdale citizens, whom I do respect and try to understand, don’t do their homework before writing letters which don’t consider or produce all of the facts necessary to discuss some city issues.
Citizens need to understand that the way the city is financed and that the additional police funds we approved as well as the funds for the Preserve acquisition come from bonds or sales tax, not property tax. As you can see by looking at your own property tax bill, the City of Scottsdale only receives about 42 cents on each $100 dollars of Limited Property Value (LPV) out of a total of 6.25 dollars per $100 of adjusted assessed value which is lower than any other value on the tax bill except the Flood Control and CAWCD taxes.
As one can see by looking at your own property tax bill, Property Taxes don’t run the city. By state law, sales taxes do run the city to the tune of about 7.95% on every retail dollar spent.
One citizen says in the Scottsdale Republic Thursday that there are plenty of losers because the originally approved limited height restrictions were maintained on the “One Scottsdale” DMB project. What most don’t citizens don’t know or understand is that sales tax revenue is what provides the bulk of the operating cash for the city as discussed in the above explanation of property tax distribution.
The retail sales tax revenue producing portion of the DMB building would only be on the first or possibly the second floor of the building and therefore the sales tax revenue will not be affected with anything built above probably the 1st floor. The height asked for, if approved, would have been used for offices, residences, and mainly for the elevator caps and equipment necessary to heat and cool the building which does not produce sales tax and would not have added enough additional property value to do anything for the schools, or anything else compared to the damage it would have done as far as setting a major negative city-wide precedent.
Another citizen in the same edition of the Scottsdale Republic laments that the City Council needs to work harder to keep the Auto Dealers on McDowell Road pacified, that maybe we need more subsidies. What this citizen must not understand is that auto manufacturers have control over all franchises and if that franchise can do better in another available and more desirable location, the franchisee well may be required to move to the better and more profitable location. If any McDowell Auto Dealer balks at such a manufacturer’s decision, the manufacturer can rescind the franchise and the dealer will lose what he has unless he can buy another franchise from someone else which would dilute the profits of other dealers in the immediate area putting them in a position to have to move too due to lost revenue. Manufacturers only allow so many franchises in any regional area unless sales and profits allow for more which is currently not the case in the Valley or in Scottsdale.
Many Scottsdale citizens have lived in Scottsdale for well over 20 years and fully understand what makes Scottsdale “the place to be and live” where newcomers really don’t know what a precious low density, most desirable gem we have here in the Sonoran Desert. What makes Scottsdale the place to be and live is the lack of urban density and view blocking building heights which is promoted by those who see nothing but more money rolling into greedy developer’s pockets with some into the city coffers.
Unfortunately, the golden goose will stop laying enough golden eggs if City Government doesn’t stop the ridiculous head over heels spending and start concentrating on modernizing the aging infrastructure, parks, libraries, and other amenities we already have while living within our means.
If we stop the bleeding now, maintain the residential and commercial/business densities allowed by the current zoning as well as including Green Technology as mandatory in all new building, this city will again be the envy of the entire west coast and will be able to maintain a lower tax rate with some very exceptionally high residential, commercial, land, and business value levels.
Lower property tax rates bring more viable businesses and residents providing more sales tax revenue to keep our city running smoothly, efficiently, and most importantly, within our means.
|
~Letters to the Editor ~
letters@scottsdaleactivist.com Well , Well, Well folks, Here we go with the city now trying to ban political signs before the 2008 election. Any one smell a Ron McOsterman being pulled here? I noted that the city staff is recommending approval of the ban in their report to the Planning Commissioners of this city. (click on links below) http://eservices.scottsdaleaz.gov/cases/casesheet.aspx?caseid=32615 http://eservices.scottsdaleaz.gov/cases/casesheet.aspx?caseid=32616 I noted from the articles in the papers and letters to the editors, that many people stated they wanted better enforcement of the signs and their conditions, I noted that people wanted the amount of time signs were allowed up drastically reduced, I noted people who wanted the signs to be reduced in size again, I noted people wanted Code to enforce the fine issue for not taking them down on time, and I noted that there were not that many who really wrote to the papers saying ban them all. I like the options above to be tried first. I even noted the comments brought forward by resident George Knowlton (Click Here) who had issues of placements and amounts of signs in any given intersection and thought that was also a very good plan. But I note that for some reason the city is going to bat to ban them all and will claim places like Fountain Hills, Tempe, Phoenix all have sign bans, but in each of these cities in the last election cycle as well as past ones, signs were posted all over those cities and were ignored by their own city codes. Could it be that they did not want to make an issue of it for fear of lawsuits which we will probably see as our sign ordinance as it is now is shaky enough on legal standings if challenged? If you read the text changes you can easily note that even though the council refused to act on this as presented to the council because it implies that you are going after just political signs, the rewording of this ordinance is exactly that and is exactly what the council originally went against and had the wording amended so it was not so blatant and giving credence to the issue of the First Amendment. A question that comes to my mind in dealing with this city is; How much more are we as residents willing to be stripped of in our rights by not only the Federal Government but also on many occasions by actions of our city governments? If we do not speak up on this issue to the planning commissioners now, before January 10th, and also have some of us appear before the commissioners to ask them to not approve either text amendment , but instead have the staff go back and work up information on other options to consider and try before you ban them, then no matter how you feel about Bob Littlefield, again you will have to admit he was right when he stated as he has before, "we are enacting the incumbent protection act" and that is the last thing this city needs under present rule and administration. Since the city does not give you an e-mail address for the commissioners, and since I have experienced in the past the these people do not always receive e-mails sent to them on issues and never even got half of the e-mails regarding the NEXT issue, you can forward responses to me or Bob Vairo to forward to them at their personal addresses if you do not have them already. I have not spoken with Bob on this issue yet and COGS will not be meeting before this is in front of the Planning Commissioners, so I am not sure of COPP's stance in the issue but I am sure he would be happy to pass along e-mails to the Planning Commissioners if you ask him to. Regards, Michael Merrill
Happy New Year! Below are my recommended New Year’s resolutions for the Scottsdale City Council: We will stop being snookered by the slick seller of urban renewal snake oil, University of Pittsburgh Professor Richard Florida, who has convinced the gullible that suburbs like Scottsdale should be transformed into havens for the "creative class" by attracting metrosexuals, homosexuals and single heterosexuals with high-density development, mass transit, and bohemian cafes. We’ve now come to our senses and realize that Florida’s hokum will not induce many entrepreneurs and corporations to relocate here, because most businesses are headed by conservative married men and women, whose idea of fun is watching their kid’s Little League game. That’s why almost all of the companies that have expanded or relocated to Scottsdale have chosen north Scottsdale. And that’s why hundreds of thousands of refugees have escaped the professor’s high-tax utopias in other states and moved to the Valley. We will stop being snookered by the even slicker seller of urban renewal snake oil, ASU President Michael Crow, who has convinced the gullible that ASU should have an even greater monopoly over higher education and should use its monopoly power to be the catalyst for the redevelopment of south Scottsdale and downtown Phoenix. We now recognize that the cost of such redevelopment is greater than the benefits, and that it is not a good thing for the government, which already has a monopoly over K-12 education, to have a monopoly on what goes into our children’s brains in college. After all, the golden age of American innovation and invention was led by mavericks like Thomas Edison and Henry Ford, not by government clones. We will stop believing that installing slow rail on Scottsdale Rd. will decrease pollution and traffic congestion. We’ll also be honest about the economic development spurred by slow rail, namely, that it is development that would have occurred in other parts of the city if slow rail were not built. In other words, it is a zero-sum economic game. We will stop giving subsidies to selected businesses. Instead, we will lower taxes on all businesses (and thus on their customers). At the same time, we will lower the cost of government by no longer giving city employees a better pay and benefits package than the average taxpayer has. Last, if we break these resolutions, we will
resign from office. An author and consultant, Mr. Cantoni can be reached at ccan2@aol.com. ~ Quality of Life Under Assault -- Councilman Bob Littlefield Scottsdale is a great place to live. Unfortunately, Scottsdale's unique character and quality of life are under assault by special interests who seek to "redevelop" Scottsdale into a denser, more urban place. There is no better example of this effort than the pack of bad ideas recently proposed to the Scottsdale City Council, including light rail, subsidized housing, the height variance for One Scottsdale, and numerous proposals for higher and denser residential development in the southern part of our city. In the five years I have been on the Scottsdale City Council I have been criticized as a "naysayer" for opposing projects such as these. But sometimes "no" is the right answer to the question at hand. Not every idea that is pitched to the Council is a good one, no matter how "world class, iconic and visionary" its supporters hype it to be. And not every new idea qualifies as "progress." Whose interests does this "vision" of a more urban Scottsdale serve? It certainly is more profitable for developers - if they can convince the City Council to rezone their properties for greater height or density then they will make larger profits. And light rail, while obscenely expensive for taxpayers and a miserable failure at reducing traffic congestion, is a giant windfall for politicians and for the companies that would build it. But this "vision" of a more urban city (the very way of life that many Scottsdale residents moved here to escape) is totally at odds with what the residents of Scottsdale have made it clear that they want. The standards that these special interests want us to compromise were developed by concerned citizens from all parts of our city who donated thousands of hours of volunteer time working on task forces and study groups and voicing their opinions at meetings of our commissions and City Council. Through these efforts the citizens have spoken loudly and clearly that they want a Scottsdale of open vistas and a suburban or, in some parts of our city, even a rural environment. The "vision" of a more urban Scottsdale, with taller buildings, greater density and more communal modes of transportation, is advertised as somehow representing progress. However, teeming cities with tall buildings and expensive, inflexible rail transit are examples of 19th century thinking. With 21st century advances in communications and transportation the lifestyle of the future will be decentralized and distributed. As just one example, for a fraction of the cost of light rail we could wire the entire city for high-speed Internet as another utility like water and sewer, which would promote travel-reducing activities such as teleconferencing. That would be true visionary thinking, not the phony "vision" being touted by special interests who simply want to make bigger profits at the expense of your quality of life. This is not a north versus south issue. Pitting residents from different parts of Scottsdale against each other only benefits the special interests. We all have a common goal in protecting our quality of life and we must work together to be successful. The local newspapers are part of the problem. They are actually not so much newspapers as they are newsletters for the special interests, so they relentlessly shill for this "vision" of a more urban Scottsdale. We are fortunate to have the Scottsdale Activist to provide some balance in the reporting of Scottsdale events! However, in a recent editorial one of the local newspapers got it right when they said that the future of Scottsdale will be decided by those voters who make the effort to actually show up and vote. The 2008 city elections will be a referendum on which vision of Scottsdale – that of the citizens or that of the special interests -- will shape the future of Scottsdale. If you want your city to stay a special place in which to live you need to get actively involved in city government. Otherwise, one day you will wake up to find that you are living in a Scottsdale that you did not ask for, do not want and will not even recognize. Scottsdale Councilman Bob Littlefield can be reached by email at: bob@boblittlefield.com. |
~ Who Will REALLY Represent South Scottsdale?
Today, I got this e-mail from another Scottsdale Activist and was quite surprised to see another group who appears to be threatened by the possible formation of the Coalition Of Greater Scottsdale and those involved with that formation.
I would note some of the people involved in this issue such as Virginia Korte, and Susan Bitter-Smith.
Both fine upstanding people in this city and both with powerful political ties to the pro-growth establishment and both noted as people who support everything we have been going against in the way of increased density, increased height, and other various issues that we have stood against in the South and in the North.
One of the other problems with this e-mail is the mention of Lisa Haskell, and Carey Ley, both of which in my humble opinion have been clueless to issues of the South and not well noted for doing their homework on issues. Anything that holds these two individuals in their e-mail makes me skeptical as to the intent of the group and Haskell is well noted now as being the mouth without a plan when it comes to issues in the South and is probably why this came to me by way of another activist in the South.
In their flyer below, I have noted in RED some information for you to consider and think about and I feel that this is an attempt to see if the powers that be can thwart the long sought after efforts of a real city wide voice in the new formation of COGS which seems to have a lot of long and well noted establishment people lurking around in the background to see if they can mute was has been started by all of us.
While I am not saying that none of you should attend the meeting, I am just giving you a heads up to what is possibly being played out by former City Council members and Chamber of Commerce people who have been noted to like everything that we do not.
Regards,
Michael Merrill
Citizens for Responsible Redevelopment
See Flyer and my added comments in RED Below.
Subject:South Scottsdale Forum
Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2007 16:55:54 EST
Below is a flyer about an upcoming community forum to talk about issues facing the southern part of our City. CASS is a grass-roots organization founded by Susan Bitter-Smith, Lisa Haskell, Cary Ley and me. Our goal is to provide a positive and productive voice for southern Scottsdale and support reinvestment opportunities in neighborhoods and commercial ventures. Call me if you have any questions.
Thanks, Virginia Korte
Sponsored by Citizen Advocates for Southern Scottsdale
Plan to attend The CASS Community Forum
Tuesday, January 9th, 6:30 PM
Granite Reef Senior Center, (Granite Reef just north of McDowell)
Topics Include:
1. R1-7 Zoning and how it affects us featuring Doug Sydnor AIA
My Comment: This seems a bit premature to be talking about as the city has yet to even begin public meetings and the city will not even be coming forward with this plan for another year yet at the least, all of which we will have the chance to look over and discuss with the city on what we like and what we do not like. The city recently approved a change in the R1-7 zoning which took away some of the old requirements for additions to homes but left intact all the other issues which there will be open houses and discussion with the city on and seems a bit strange to consider how it effects us now when we do not even know what the changes are going to be or what the city will present to the planning commission yet. Also the citizens group that has been promised by Frank Gray has yet to be formed and I will be checking with him to see again when that formation will take place and get back with all of you.
2. Affordable Housing featuring, Jim Feltham of Family Housing Resources.
My Comment:This also should be an interesting topic as I have yet to hear what the definition of "affordable Housing" is for Scottsdale. We already know how the city responded to affordable housing with what took place on Bellview and this is not something I encourage for communities in the South. While it may be a rather interesting discussion the words that should have been used are "Work Force Housing" meaning those who work for a living and taking also a hard look at how we can obtain quality housing for our senior citizens unlike what we got with the housing next to the Senior Center where this is taking place.
3. Condominium Conversion featuring, Ken Losch Leading Valley Realtor.
My Comment: If anyone has paid attention to the issue of Condo Conversions in the papers and the realtor world we could have easily noted that many of the conversions will end up being rentals anyway and the market is now flooded with these conversions that are not selling and will be forced to return to the market as rentals.
My problem with what I see in this situation is a back door power play to stop the formation of COGS or to again splinter the community back into a North/South divide much in the same manner that the city has created and I would warn any of you who may be thinking of attending this to consider this very strongly as these are issues that COGS also will discuss under a more reputable voice of the South and the North with no strings or ties to past City Council or Chamber of Commerce people as well as Lisa and Carey who have consistently gone against the larger majority of Scottsdale Citizens wishes and voices. If you think I am wrong about this, just consider the names involved listed above.
I have never found any reasonable argument by those opposed to photo radar whether it be on the 101 or red light cameras.
Those opposed cite that it's "Big Brotherish" or that it "violates our rights" or the constant cry that it's a "cash cow" for the City and State.
I say in response:
1. On the issue of Big Brother spying on us, with today's high volume of traffic the City and State simply do not have the financial resources to hire the additional law enforcement officers necessary for traffic law enforcement, hence radar is a supplement to officer enforcement which frees them up for accident investigation and pulling over alcohol impaired drivers.
2. I can only laugh at those who say it violates their rights. Would those opposed please tell us which "right" it is to break the law by exceeding the posted speed limit by more than 11 MPH?
3. Their argument that radar is a cash cow for Scottsdale and the State is the one that amazes me the most. Since the cash they speak of comes from citations issued to those who broke the law why are the folks opposed to radar looking out for the lawbreakers pocketbook? I say let's increase the fines as that would be a sure fire way to get the attention of speeders, and why would anyone care? Simply drive within the posted speed limit and you'll never be subjected to a monetary fine.
Recently I've seen probably 50 or more letters to the editor of The Republic favoring photo radar and not a single one opposed. I say to the Council, turn the cameras back on, no need for further study.
Don Williams
Scottsdale
Editors Note: With all due respect to Don, and from a different perspective, here is some food for thought concerning Photo Radar on the 101 Freeway collected from a number of different sources;
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Freeway Photo Radar tickets taken to an Arizona Court after being convicted by a Scottsdale owned and operated city court are being thrown out based upon AZ laws because the ticket wasn't served by a sworn police officer of the city where the ticket was given as required by law.
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The 101 freeway is state land, not Scottsdale land and it should require that the state operate the system if it is to be operated at all.
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Speed traps like you see in small towns can become a huge "cash cow" for those towns, especially if they manipulate the speed to be lower than usual for that roadway, don't post warnings, and set the radar at just 4 mph over the posted limit which is the minimum allowed by federal law.
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Why should Scottsdale taxpayers pay the bills to operate the system and be legally liable for possible multi-million dollar law suits brought by accidents caused by the cameras which are already documented as happening.
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The state already collects about 47% of all traffic tickets revenue state-wide but it goes into the state general fund instead of into the fund which would provide for more desperately needed DPS officers.
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According to city statistics, Less than 2/10 of 1% of those traveling the 101 are flashed. Of that 2/10ths of 1% that are flashed, less than 20% of those are collectable tickets. That 20% ends up being city or county residents because rental, leased, out of state, and vehicles driven by persons other than the owner are not and cannot be properly ticketed or enforced due to many laws and situations which is discriminatory against local honest drivers, right or wrong.
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Photo radar doesn't catch unlicensed, uninsured, unregistered, stolen vehicles. It doesn't stop drunk drivers, people with suspended licenses, illegal immigrants, or drug runners, most of which are the high speed violators.
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If the state ran the program properly, all collected funds, less reasonable and verifiable costs, would be put into the DPS funds so more DPS officers could be put on the freeways.
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When DPS or other sworn Law Enforcement officers make a stop on the local freeways, they ticket for more than just speeding in many cases. Many additional tickets include suspended licenses, no insurance, no registration, DUI for both drugs and alcohol, and some stops pull up warrants which need to be treated differently. DUI's, Warrants, and many things other than a misdemeanor require that the driver not drive at all leaving the vehicle on the freeway, and all drivers with warrants are taken to Madison St. or another jail for processing.
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Red light Photo Radar may help some but the main benefit is seeing what actually happened in the intersection for insurance and ticket purposes when there is an accident which is a good thing.
If the state would take over the system and operate it properly according to AZ state laws as well as using the proceeds strictly to hire and maintain more sworn DPS officers, I don't think as many people would be opposed to it.
See the article Are Red-Light Cameras Fair to Drivers? Click here.
"Our country is in danger, but not to be despaired of. Our enemies are numerous and powerful; but we have many friends, determining to be free, and heaven and earth will aid the resolution. On you depend the fortunes of America. You are to decide the important question, on which rest the happiness and liberty of millions yet unborn. Act worthy of yourselves."
-- Joseph Warren (Boston Massacre Oration, 6 March 1775)
“I am not a saint, and I am sure I have done things I
might have done better or differently, or not at all. I have also left
undone things that I should have done. But I believe and hope that I
have been honest with myself and with others, that I have been faithful
to my friends and fair to my opponents, and that I have tried my very
best to make this great government work for the good of all Americans.”
-- President Gerald Ford
~ Food
for Thought, Take it or Leave it
~How Long Do We Have?
About the time our original thirteen states adopted
their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history
professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall
of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier: "A democracy is
always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form
of government.";
"A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters
discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public
treasury."; "From that moment on, the majority always vote for the
candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with
the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose
fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship."
"The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years."
"During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the
following sequence:
1. From bondage to spiritual faith;
2. From spiritual faith to great courage;
3. From courage to liberty;
4. From liberty to abundance;
5. From abundance to complacency;
6. From complacency to apathy;
7. From apathy to dependence;
8. From dependence back into bondage"
So, where are you in this Chronological calendar?
Should the Government guarantee and provide for you so you will survive to your golden years and after with full government assistance including numerous entitlement programs?
Or, should you assume full responsibility for your survival with the government as the protector of the nation from outside aggression unless you fall into the position of verifiable destitution through personal health reasons over which you had zero control and without a family to help you?
It was pointed out by a reader that the quote attributed to Professor Joseph Olson of Hamline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, were not his words and should not be attributed to him.
We never said we were perfect, but for the misquote we do apologize.
~ Information You Can Use
~ 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,
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
~ View Past City Council Meetings
We can now access the city council meetings by clicking on the following link:
http://scottsdale.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3If 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.
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.
~
For Continuing Information
on Photo Radar,
Click on the Logo below.
~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
~ Scottsdale Legal Defense Fund
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:
72nd & 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.
shoutandspout@scottsdaleactivist.com
~The city council and staff have had 2 holiday weeks now to address the $15 Million Dollar boondoggle perpetrated on the taxpayers of Scottsdale through a major mistake created by Jan Dolan. Gee, how are they going to cover this one up without firing Dolan which she should be immediately?
~ I never thought I would read, or especially send anything to the Scottsdale Activist, but after what's going on in this city government, I see why the Activist exists and I now will be a avid reader and supporter. Keep up the great work! You are finally fully appreciated by this Troon resident!
~Well, well, well. $15,000 to support the well heeled Bar owners for the downtown New Years drink-a-thon that was suppose to see 15,000 revelers. Well, it seems that number was pared down 30%+ to 9 to 10,000 by last Friday and now the Repugnant says there may have only been 6,000 which is less than 50% the original crowd expected. That $15,000 taxpayer gift to the well heeled Bar owners doesn’t include the costs for extra police protection and the DUI Task Force. It’s time for the City Council to stop supporting alcohol related venues of any kind in Downtown Scottsdale.
~ Bitter-Smith and Korte support what southern resident want?? Sure they do, That's why they support higher density and height increases via the Waterfront Project, light rail, 24 foot view obstructing water tanks on Historic Cattle Track, etc. Don't be suckered folks.............. This is nothing more than a play by the "establishment" to continue control of the city.
~ It's about time someone caught up with Code Enforcement. Since that new field manager came on board, everything has gone backwards. I think we might have been doing at least somewhat better with the 4 or 5 fully dedicated agents we used to have. I think the new ones will be fine if they are properly trained on good ways to handle the public and solve problems by doing the job the way it is suppose to be done, not the way the field manager wants it done.
~The biggest on-going story of 2006-'07 is the $15 Million Dollar Hualapai Water Plant Boondoggle by Jan Dolan and the lease for state land signed by Manross without the council or legal approval.
~Portland Oregon (our light rail idol???) provides free internet connection in-town and is planning to expand it. Why does the Scottsdale service cost ----and why so darn much?
~The biggest story of 2006 is the citizens of north and south Scottsdale, and company after company, telling the pooh-bahs in city government, in the media and in universities what to do with their new urban elixirs of high-density development, high-rise buildings and slow rail. Citizens killed the attempt of DMB Associates to exceed height restrictions at its "One Scottsdale" development, realtors came out against street-clogging slow rail, and companies continued relocating or expanding to north Scottsdale instead of the centrally-planned black hole of Sky Song. Hooray to Scottsdale residents for being smarter than the pooh-bahs.
~ I agree that Dolan needs to go but I don't think the council has the cajoñes to fire her, they are all afraid of the Queen Mother and would rather let the city go to (heck) than take a stand against poor city management and the Manross Machine.
~The new organization, Citizen Advocates for South Scottsdale, appears to be an attempt to again divide the city, the establishment has benefited for years from pitting north vs. south (literally, "divide & conquer"). Manross, Dolan and their establishment supporters are terrified that activists in all parts of the city will band together to thwart still more of their schemes. Remember, for us this is our home. For the establishment, this is their business money pot and they are making buckets of money by urbanizing Scottsdale. The Coalition Of Greater Scottsdale has threatened their pocketbooks and they are reacting to prevent us from doing so.
~ The newest group, Citizen Advocates for South Scottsdale is very scary because it has the earmarks of pro-build out, pro-high density, and pro-light rail written all over it. It is a group of people with some money and clout, This is Virginia Korte and the developers in bed with each other. She sees dollar signs, possible kick backs, along with power and fame through her support. They have included two token southern citizens to make it look like a citizen committee which it isn’t. I wouldn't be surprised if this is Korte's stab at entering into the race for mayor. What I don't get is Susan Bitter-Smith’s involvement unless zoning attorney John Berry and attorney Tom Irvine are quietly in it with her which would make perfect sense. This has Manross, Dolan, the council majority, and the establishment developers written all over it. The question is can COGS, the new conservative citizen group, defeat the attempts of CASS to over develop Scottsdale and bring in light rail? It seems that it all comes down to who can be bought by CASS supporters.
~ If we are going to have Photo Radar on the freeway, let's make sure it is operated by the state with all revenue going into a fund to hire more DPS officers, not into the general fund or to some city general funds where they can use it any way they wish.
~ If I read and hear it right, Virginia Korte and Susan Bitter-Smith are the "big names" for the new group CASS which we assume has been formed to protect south Scottsdale from runaway development. Interesting. Virginia Korte owns the corner of McDowell and Scottsdale Roads, is still affiliated with the Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce, supports light rail, high density and increased heights while Susan Bitter-Smith along with zoning attorney John Berry are responsible for promoting the high rises in downtown as well as the 24 foot brown tanks on Cattle Track. None of these actions suggest that either Korte or Bitter-Smith will fit what the citizens of north or south Scottsdale want in their representatives: low density, low rise (max 36 feet), and more retail businesses and restaurants to support the residents. I see this as a Manross/Dolan/Developer plan to derail the heavily city-wide supported conservative new COGS organization.
~ Even though the Activist was fine with all the pictures and such, the new leaner format is easier to load and maneuver through with my old dial-up computer. Thanks for all you do and enjoy a Happy New Year!
~ Here we go again, Queen Mary will start the Photo Radar by threatening anyone who doesn't vote for it will be ban from her private, closed door castle. Do you think we could recall her and fire Dolan before they do anymore damage?
~ Does the council have the guts to fire Dolan? If they don't there might be some other heads roll because I think this city and it's citizens have put up with enough BS over the last year with the Water Plant boondoggle, then the Code Enforcement expose plus other stuff really takes the cake. Fire Jan Dolan NOW!!!
Hello All,
This seems to work well. Click on the link below to Check it out. Helpful hint! Just plug in your zip code and it tells you which gas stations have the cheapest prices (and the highest) on gas in your zip code area. It's updated every evening.
Be a good neighbor and pass this along.
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