Ah, the elusive "Craven Weasel", distinguishable by the blinding speed with which it can change coloration in response to changing political considerations, political seasons, and promises from financial or other supporters for possible post election remuneration (win or lose).

These "Craven Weasels" which slither and slink around the "dark side" differ greatly from the common, open air loving, every day playful weasel. Common weasels are playful, honest, upfront with their intentions, and are very friendly and fun to deal and communicate with. The favorite food of the common weasel has been known to be rats, sometimes of the "dirty rotten" kind, as well as the smaller, much less creative and innovative "Craven Weasels" from time to time when necessary.

It would appear that we are seeing the "coming out" of these secretive nefarious creatures. "Craven Weasels" camp in political office and do their dirty deeds in secret Executive Sessions as well as in darkened offices deep within the bowels of city hall until the election season at which time they "spin" what they have done into these glorious deeds of fabulous and grandiose proportions which even their staunchest supporters cannot recognize at first blush!

SkySwindle, Motor Mile, Hualapai Water Plant, OrchidTree, Belleview Condos, WaterView, Starwood, Neighborhood entry islands, roundabouts, Light Rail-Streetcars, Bars by the thousands, shoot-outs on Scottsdale Road, the notorious and renowned "Stench" downtown as reported on national TV, CamelView, Optima, Barrett-Jackson, West World Tent without long term agreements ..

Need we go on to mention the other disasters we, the taxpayers, have had to pay for and endure under some "Craven Weasels" currently holding public office or appointed positions? Oh MY!!!

The elections are coming: Beware those regarded as "Craven Weasels" currently in office and vote them out of office at your earliest convenience.

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~ ..And the Stonewalling Continues, Part 1………

After reading the self-evaluations, it’s very obvious that City Manager Jan Dolan is extremely adept and cunning at totally protecting herself and dumping on her staff should it become necessary. (How many have we lost to date?)

She knew that the self-evaluations could very well become public and come under fire because she has been under fire for quite a while due to her failure to properly administer and manage those under her which is evidenced by the huge number of excellent employees leaving the employ of the city of Scottsdale as well as Dolan being known to rule the employees in Gestapo style fashion according to many employees who have since departed.

With that in mind and knowing full well that the self-evaluations would be heard in executive session, she cunningly and knowingly put the entire self-evaluation in PowerPoint form so that she could fill in the blanks (on the right of the form) during the Secret Executive Session without the public ever knowing what the answers were to many questions that the public really SHOULD know about that were titled in the PowerPoint presentation.

Her self-evaluation is one of pure exaggeration, huge pats on her own back (it ought to smart sharply from being slapped so many times), and total hype of which she had little to do with except where she approved items which have cost the taxpayers tens of millions of tax dollars over her tenure which she described as just "Learning Experiences".

Try costs up to ^$16 million after all is said and done with the Hualapai Water Treatment Plant fiasco in North Scottsdale which she claims no responsibility for at all and dumped the problem off on an employee who is long gone and who DID NOT make the deal. The remaining question is, Who told the Mayor to sign the lease in question? No one will come clean on that one, we wonder why??? DUH!!

First we hear that the city had started construction upon the land with a verbal OK from the state, then the state wanted a lease in writing until the auction was conducted to which the city agreed to the tune of about a million dollars a year for ten (10) years. Any lease of state or any other land is recorded with the County Recorder and becomes public record and available to anyone with any interest.

Hualapai LLC found the lease and bid fairly and legally because the Mayor, City Manager, as well as the City Attorney stupidly and ignorantly set the top bidding price for the land in a public meeting which is also of public record allowing Hualapai LLC to know exactly how much to bid to beat the highest allowable bid of the city so as to take title to the land the city wanted and is building a water plant on.

When caught in this possibly illegal or unethical breach of the rules of law, first the city said they would condemn the property so Hualapai LLC would have zero claim to the property. When that strategy didn’t work, they then claimed that the lease was invalid because, although the mayor had signed it, the council never heard of it or approved the lease so the lease was invalid, therefore the city didn’t owe Hualapai LLC a dime. This case is still in litigation so the city will not comment.

Bright legal minds have rightly speculated that the city will lose either case hands down costing city taxpayer millions, and at that time the possibility of illegal or unethical actions on the part of the city manager, city attorney and the mayor will be revisited.

SkySwindle rip off is another major example which we as taxpayers will owe over ^$160 million dollars after it’s all said and done without any actual payback for dollars expended or any tax revenue. In addition, the lease is for 198 years with the taxpayers of Scottsdale picking up the entire tab for ALL infrastructure repairs, updates, and any other infrastructure costs for the entire length of the lease.

This is a typical Dolan Smoke and Mirrors act which is getting very old and predictable.

Too bad the city council doesn’t have the cajoñes to fire her on the spot which needs to be done ASAP before she unnecessarily costs the taxpayer any more money.

Ms. Dolan needs to resign and move on before the next election. It’s much harder to get a job after being fired than if you voluntarily resign which in our mind is imminent.

This is another case where there are gross misrepresentations as well as mass redactions (intended omissions) according to the information we have.

First, she’s not a Charter Officer according to her own subordinates at her appointment for residence reasons, yet she includes herself as a Charter Officer for self-evaluation reasons which is a direct conflict at best.

It is obvious to anyone who studies the city council meetings that she takes her cues directly from either Manross or Dolan hands down, and makes few if any strong (or any for that matter) decisions of her own volition or impetus.

Although a very nice lady, she is, in our opinion and that of many other highly qualified legal minds, way over her head and cannot effectively handle the job of City Attorney as evidenced that we still pay 28 attorneys to get us out of our legal woes as a city which have been brought on by incompetence on the part of the city manager, mayor, and the legal department for starters.

Ms. Robberson needs to either step down or resign before the next election. It’s much harder to get a job after being fired than if you voluntarily resign which in our mind is imminent..

Having been under the gun, under attack, and in the gun sights of Councilman Ecton and others for quite a while for being too critical and unkind in her audits, Ms. Dreska is rather gun shy but still does an excellent job of trying to effectively delineate her position and why a raise is necessary.

She is the only Charter Officer who is totally independent which really ticks off department heads when she brings back an audit which calls out their deficiencies in detail. The Code Enforcement group was the last to get a scathing audit which was right on the money and showed how badly the department was being run, just as it should have, yet some had a problem being exposed.

As taxpayers, we truly appreciate the direct and honest positions taken by Ms. Dreska because she seems to be the only one looking out for the taxpayer while the mayor, council majority, city manager, and department directors are free spenders without regard for the position of the taxpayers.

Ms. Dreska should have been given a larger raise and probably should have been given some combat or hazardous duty pay for the crap she has to put up with from others within the city system who should instead be fully supporting her position to make the city system a better one through knowledge and education of offending employees and departments.

~ City Clerk Carolyn Jagger

Very forthright and straight forward, short and sweet. Ms. Jagger says it like it is and embellishes nothing. She says what she means and means what she says. She is doing an excellent job and has brought the City Clerks office out of the dark ages into the light of innovation and accessibility. She should have been given a larger raise based on her innovation, commitment to excellence, and Astounding Customer Service from all members of her staff.

It is very apparent from reading the self-evaluations that two (2) employees are extremely valuable assets to our city while the other two (2) are financial and legal albatrosses around the neck of the city and the taxpayers and who should vacate their positions post haste.

Our suggestions for improvement of the evaluation system would be to have three peers of these Charter Officers be randomly chosen by a drawing to contribute their own, anonymous evaluations as well as the one from the subject Charter Officer so the City Council has some true indicators and information from which to make a final evaluation as to the effectiveness, usefulness and abilities of the evaluated Charter Officers.

What could be more fair or informative?

Why should the Fox be asked to evaluate themselves when they spend most of their time in the hen house?

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~ ..And the Stonewalling Continues, Part 2………

Message Sent to Pat Dodds:

Sent: Thu Aug 23 23:27:30 2007

Subject: Evals

Pat,

Are they trying to hide the Evaluations for the Charter Officers? There are no links to them and they should be prominently located under the news section of the (city) website so anyone can find them.

They are now a very hot public item which I'm sure you know and we all want to see them!!

Thanks,

George Knowlton

Gee, it seems that the powers that be don’t want to accommodate the public by making readily available what the Scottsdale Tribune forced them to divulge into the public realm of information.

What would be the harm in offering the Evals on the city website as a newsworthy city event and public documents which they most certainly are by court order?

My, My, My, the "Secrecy Doctrine" and "Tell’em Nothing" attitude of the Manross Administration continues along its own sick, malignant course……………..

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We at the Scottsdale Activist have been accused by a select few (a couple of Manross lovers) of never giving positive suggestions for repairing a sinking, sick, secretive city government which is total poppycock, but then they are allowed their opinions too.

Below are our suggestions which we could expand on but feel that these are an excellent start on the repair/recovery process.

These are a few of the primary issues that need to be addressed as well as a total change in the makeup of the council.

We need council people who are open and receptive to citizens who can intelligently articulate the problem as well as a reasonable and timely solution to the problem. Those who shoot from the hip just to hear themselves shoot need to sit down and shut up for a change. We need input but we also need the suggested solutions because that’s how good, lasting changes and improvements get accomplished.

Look at the candidates as they take out the paperwork to start their campaigns. Pay particular attention to their plans, their sincerity, their backgrounds, and their ability to get the job done as well as their ability to "steer their own ship" without picking up on someone else’s plan.

Watch out for those who attach their ideas and plans to local organizations, public or private, who are known for trying to control or steer city politics and the direction in which they go and to whose advantage other than the citizens.

Just as importantly, beware those who claim another candidate is "just a one issue" candidate unless you can factually see that they are just that.

The most important job the citizens have is to VOTE RESPONSIBLY.

Don’t vote for someone just because the Republic or some media source says you should (the Tribune does not endorse candidates). Know the candidates and their issues, then vote.

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I can think of a thousand ways I’d rather spend a million bucks in Scottsdale than to buy a "Trendy" condo in the downtown area. It is a fact that a very large percentage of condo owners sing the blues when it comes time to resell their unit, even if the market conditions are good. Condos, large or small, yield a lower percent of appreciation than a standard residential home and are much more difficult to sell. Given a choice, persons with hard earned capital would rather invest in space, storage and take pride in personal ownership than move into a condo managed by a large corporation.

It begs the question, why would you waste your money on a condo in downtown, which sells for ^$650K to over ^$2M or more when you can actually own a piece of property in Scottsdale for a whole lot less? And where are all the wealthy 20-Somethings that Manross and Dolan explained all this condo mayhem would attract?

The type of crowd that Scottsdale’s Mayor, City Manager and developers had hoped to attract to Scottsdale’s bustling downtown area were the young, yuppie 20-soemthing crowds. You know the type, live/work/play 24/7 in a bar clad, and density driven downtown. Problem is that there just aren’t enough 20-somethings IN Scottsdale who make ^$1M bucks a year and who are interested enough in piddling their pocket books away on these pricey, tightly stacked little units! No they’d rather frequent our social spots, but not reside here. Further, if you are 20-soething with THAT kind of money and even half a brain, surely you’d want to INVEST in something with a better resale value than a condo.

Are the Mayor and City Manager’s dreams dashed because of this stark reality? Certainly not – they continue to blindly build and build and build, increasing height and density as if it were their last goal on earth for Scottsdale (which is just may be).

Downtown may attract the 20-something crowd because of its party atmosphere, but they live in dorm rooms, share rooms in overcrowded houses, and rent apartments in Tempe or Mesa. They don’t and can’t readily live in Scottsdale. Most of them don’t even work here! This, of course, creates a disjointed result in the "master plan" executed by our esteemed Mayor and her galloping "slidekick", the City Manager. If the people who CAN afford the condos are not buying them at the alarming rate suggested and are not taking advantage of the 24/7 environment that the not-so bright and not so dynamic duo have conjured up, then how do we reap the benefits of our investment? How do they account for their extreme actions? The answer? We don’t know and neither do they. Dolan’s plan: "build it and they will come"…is not working.

Persons who actually can afford these condos are purchasing them as either an investment or as a Part Time retirement home. Few and far between citizens can afford such a luxurious retirement. Purchasers who are also investors are now seeking renters as the sales market for real estate is flat, as well as inactive because of over building and their condos are valued well above what the market demands. If the goal of the Mayor and her inept staff was to entice new residents to Scottsdale, they are failing miserably which we all see and deplore.

The market in Scottsdale and other retirement/resort type communities is inundated with thousands of "trendy" condo conversions, and new condo complexes which aren’t selling. Parties interested in putting down roots in Scottsdale will do so in a well kept, single family residential area home close to schools, shopping and stability, not a condo. And even then, they are looking to spend their money in a place, which stands out among the crowd – some place with character and pizzazz. Potential citizens want someplace where the city government really cares about the basic conditions of the city and it’s citizens, not just the frills and thrills. Scottsdale is beginning to establish itself as "Any Town USA", "Bar City", and "Traffic Congestion Central" which will further drive potential residents from our doorstep.

A 24/7 lifestyle is temporary at best for most persons interested in its pursuit. At some point, we all grow up and move on to a life of stability, family, and purpose. Perhaps the Mayor and City Manager are counting on that not happening in Scottsdale until they are out of office or fired. We can’t read their minds, but what we do know is that we have a bunch of pricey condos either sitting empty with still more being constructed throughout this city.

The rapid rate of construction worsens each day. Ad hoc zoning procedures and rapidly approved half-cocked plans are flying through the halls at the Kiva leaving a wake of destruction, which echoes, throughout our city. Driving through the downtown area leaves most persons victimized, dizzy with anxiety, and a feeling of helplessness. Walking through downtown after dark is an experience you only want once, especially after being bumped into, knocked down by, or worse yet, barfed upon by a drunk 20-something.

Who will buy all these condos once the dust settles? Your guess is as good as ours; they could even become the high class slums of Scottsdale occupied by fly-by-night drifters praying on non-suspecting older citizens or the drunks who are still visiting what’s left of the 24/7 venues, by offering get-rich-quick schemes.

No one seems to be beating down the doors to take advantage of the "master plan" so highly touted by Manross and Dolan.

………….and it is another sad day in our once beautiful, World Class city.

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Reportedly, there are 11 properties in the 3^rd Ave. Lofts and they are lender owned. Some of them are "short sales".  That means the original loan amount is HIGHER than the value today, so the lending bank will be forced to take a loss. 

We will have to do some more research on the tax records to see the chain of events that transpired. Some of them may have been purchased, and some of them may have never sold.

 ~Here’s an example!!

A 1 bedroom, 1 bath nestled in 1,072 square feet of living space. Exquisite 3rd Ave loft with mountain views. Unit has all the upgrades, Stainless Steel appliances, Granite counters, Mocha oak Hardwood floors, Undermount sinks, touch screen controls for lighting/security systems. 5.1 surround sound in LR, speakers in Bedroom, Den & Bath w/ volume control in each room. Full time concierge, underground parking, resort style pool & spa w/ BBQ's for entertaining, 24 Hour security... Move in Ready! WELCOME HOME!!

This property is offered for sale at ^$621,760 dollars!

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

 ~ Over Priced, Trendy  Condo's

Now, who is realistically the potential buyer for one of these "trendy" beauties and why are the owners having to advertise them for sale and sell them "Short" if they are such "HOT" properties? The buyers are not whom they are telling you they are. These buyers will be most probably investors who will rent out the units to young singles who will live in the units until they graduate from college, get married, or bored into oblivion by the 24/7 "Bar Scene" in the downtown area and move on to something newer and more exciting leaving a disheveled mess for the owner to clean up and repair solely at the owner’s expense.

These types of renters are 3 to 4 times harder on a property than an owner which means that the life of the lofts are approximately 33% to 25% of the life of the average single family home with a responsible owner/resident. With these types of costs, the owner of the condo property will have a hard time realizing any appreciation due to the constant upgrading that will need to be done to keep the clientele who can pay the upscale rates needed for the owner to survive and for the property not to become an "eater" as they call a loser in the trade.

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

 ~ Single Family Home

If our research is correct, a person can buy a nice 1,800 square foot, 4 bedroom, 2 bath with a swimming pool and 2 car garage single family residence in prime condition on a quiet residential street in the southern portion of the city for a far better price.

This property is close enough for children to walk to safe parks and schools, catch the busses for a short ride to Scottsdale Community College and to Fashion Square as well as anywhere else in the valley they might want to go. In addition, this owner will realize the appreciation and tax advantages gained by owning and maintaining a property which shows pride of ownership.

The above described property can be purchased for about ^$325,000.

Why would anyone purchase a 1,072 S/F condo for ^$621,760 when they can purchase an 1,800 S/F single family home less than 2 miles from the so called "action" for ^$325,000?

It’s obvious that the current administration has no clue about what they are doing nor do they have any vision of any kind for the future of the city other than what the greedy developers and their hired guns tell them they need to make their quick money and move on to still another unsuspecting city or town.

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

 ~Asbestos

In talking to those who were builders in Scottsdale during the 50’s, 60’s and early 70’s, it is most probable that many of the multi residential unit properties (apartment houses, etc) currently being targeted for remodeling, conversions to condos, or being totally torn down have Asbestos within the walls and ceilings which will have to be handled according to strict Federal Government Standards for safely cleaning up and eliminating the Asbestos from those properties which is very costly and needs to be included in any plans tendered to the City Planning/Building Department.

Anyone purchasing a condo which was originally built prior to the 70’s needs to ask for and receive a certificate from the seller or seller representative which guarantees that any Asbestos which is or was in the building has either been totally removed or remains safely encapsulated under Federal Standards within the building along with where it is encapsulated.

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I got an e-mail from a friend today that had some hot tips on the Downtown Condo Craze and just exactly how well this whole banana boat full of bullcrap is going.

Hmm, 11 "lender owned" parcels and how many were designed for the site?

I even noted 3 of the units with a whole 1 bed and one bath that have been on the market for some time and trying to go for over 600K.

I told you Optima already has 3 foreclosures and a rental and you can see how well the WaterView project is going.

This week in the Activist you can read the history of downtown and why if you keep allowing what is happening to continue, the bottom will fall out and we will have been able to create a new world for expensive property turning into common work force housing.

Problem is, no-one ever paid attention to those of us who pointed out the underlying problems how the plan was being implemented and that you needed to fix this before you started that and here we are with one big ass problem that some of you never got a grasp on. This also can be associated with your first council meeting back when you had to deal with the flooding, another little issue our great city planning and our career politician mayor never listened to anyone about.

Advanced planning and PUD's, the 3rd Reich manning the information going out, staff ignoring the real written and approved intent to policy, guidelines and process not to mention enforcement being subverted, all while the majority of you sit on the Dais.

Yep, the public is always wrong and the staff has so much more knowledge as to what is right and Scottsdale consist of a bunch of people with no common sense huh?

Yeah what do we know, these properties are only 3 years old, give it time huh?

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I have written this letter to expose the bare truth again that the city has closed all the doors and circled the wagons to being questioned about issues they have every responsibility to reply to.

The latest gimmick of the city is to now ask to speak to you by phone or to ask you to meet with them as opposed to responding by the technology of the present and future. Our Mayor has touted how we need to expand on technology and that we have to move into the new age of how things are done. We have given contracts for Wi-Fi services to be placed in downtown and at city buildings for wireless capabilities.

We have spent millions subsidizing the ideal of being a technology oriented city and have even heard the lunacy of trying to get business’s in the city to make new hours, encouraged business to teleconference and have people who work by computer to be able to do it from home.

Now of course under the present problems that citizens have with how the city is being run and the atrocities that have been taking place in the way of development issues across the entire city, transportation issues of the entire city, and the many other issues that are failing the taxpayers of the city under the present "day to day " operations, the city staff is afraid to respond to people by e-mail as they have to write down what they say and that once it gets written down, there can be no mistake in what was said as opposed to being able to claim they never said such a thing if the conversation is over the phone or by making you drive to city hall to speak to them.

It was funny to hear from friend of mine up North who I visited Saturday , tell me that the city no longer wants to discuss their issue with them by e-mail and asked to either talk to them by phone or to set up a meeting. I told my friend this was old news to me as we now have to have friends write to the city with questions in order to get an answer that can be verified as to what we were told by the city.

The city has gone into overdrive in keeping the doors closed to explanations they try to pass off on residents and taxpayers whom they are responsible to answer to, much the same as the council is. The city does not want to respond to select individuals of the city because they also know the codes, ordinances, and policies as well as the staff does and the way they are interpreted.

The thing that bothered me the most was when my friend told me that they were being questioned about why they posted their problems with the city in the Scottsdale Activist or why they have involved the council in the issues.

Here is a note to our council members, like you on the council are responsible to respond to the public as elected officials and in most cases you are un-aware of the issue and request a answer from staff. "Staff" are employees of the city in which we pay the salaries and expect the same response from them as we do from you on issues. So what is up with the latest round of the closed government fiasco going on or do you even know that these things are taking place?

Lets face it council members, people citywide are not happy with this new line of action being taken by staff and we are also betting that as usual, you have no clue that this is being done, but hey, do you think that maybe if we e-mailed you all the blank responses from staff you would have a clue?

Michael Merrill
Scottsdale

It's really not surprising that both of the main issues concerning the retail provisions of the Horseshoe Falls property were never addressed during a recent hearing. Not one word on Frank Gray's statement of record in both a council and DRB meeting to quote "I met with Richard Funke and he is opposed to retail on this site". A bold face lie which, in my mind, establishes the character of Frank Gray, and are a very far stretch from the truth which was his one time scheme that that city of Scottsdale would build a coffee shop on the retail portion.

Excuse me, but I doubt the City Charter allows the city to be a commercial real estate developer and owner/operator.

Sanitized outside the final report is Frank Gray saying I had sketches with the city placing retail on the site. That is another lie. I never saw sketches but was told verbally that Vern Swaback was hired to design a coffee shop on the site!

Any wonder I objected?? This is a far cry from his quoted statement, plain and simple.

Next is the site plan. From the get go, the need for the Water Booster Station being 4250 s/f (which was never a part of the original Council approved plan) and the remainder of over 2,000 s/f, was to be for retail. Given the present direction, this retail area is now gone. It only proves this was a totally phony site plan to serve only one purpose. The city condemned my land and that of others to create a retail corridor. Gray knew I had a very valid argument in that the retail use should not be destroyed.

His plan was a sham site plan that he never had any intention of honoring. Every detail was bogus, including showing the required parking on a neighbor’s private property whose permission for use was never asked for or given. Interesting how the city’s top planner and zoning administrator cannot even play that part straight. Again this is the heart of my ethics complaint.

The heart and sole of my complaint has been ignored but at the same time I have been proven correct. Why would he ignore negotiations to see this area developed to bring both life and tax revenue to the site? Why, because he or Jan Dolan never intended to let it happen from the get go.

Why would he waste maybe ^$100,000 covering that area with a non revenue use as he now plans?

Please tell me. Please explain. This from the top Scottsdale land planner and zoning administrator??

This brings into question possible fraud. The sole purpose on my and other taking of our property was only for alignment of Marshall Way and for the creation of retail pedestrian traffic. It was not for a rest stop or two hours of a guitar player on Art Walk Night. I have had several legal opinions of late that this brings up an interesting question on the taking.

Why Frank Gray or Jan Dolan want to kill the proper use of this site is a question everyone should be asking them. They cannot even leave a token amount of land to salvage the sites proper use? What kind of planner and zoning administrator are we dealing with here??? What caliber of city treats a citizen who made a major sacrifice for a specific use be treated this way? I am very close to having zero respect for a city I once loved based on the actions of a few for which they couldn't care less.

Bottom line: We have an on going serious ethics issue here and it has not been even close to being addressed, just whitewashed and hidden under the rug of the current administration to date. Since the true issues have been ignored I feel it is necessary to file it over once again and with an impartial investigator, not by one under the influence of the power structure currently in place.

I might point out that not one interview or question was asked of me while it appears that the report was practically written by Frank Gray, a proven liar according to the documentation in my personal possession!!!

These types of things need to be addressed now and at the next election. We need Scottsdale back on the track of unquestionable ethics, direct honesty, and an open responsible/responsive city government.

Richard A. Funke
Scottsdale

Well Ozites here we go again with gunfire in Downtown and the reason that I am writing to you all again on the issues of the Bar industry in downtown and the Southern section of our fair city.

Lets face it folks, the reason for all of this is from what the city government has allowed to happen to downtown in the name of tax revenues and nothing more. The truth is they could not give a rats ass about the issue, of course if you ask the Wicked Witch she will give you her famous speech of how the liquor industry is a "tricky" business and is why she has collected money from bar owners during her campaigns for re-election.

Don’t believe me? Then look at her campaign contributions as they are a matter of public record and I have them on disc.

Let’s take a short trip down memory lane as to how we got here and in this mess.

It all started when the city decided in all of its infinite wisdom (??) to classify areas of downtown as "redevelopment areas" and even allowed some people to intentionally blight areas with the hope of condemning the land.

What, you think I am kidding? Then look at how Scottsdale Healthcare obtained all that land for their medical campus and the numerous stories in the papers about people fighting the city condemnation efforts.

What result did this have on the Downtown over the years?

Well, it depressed the hell out of the area which is what the intent was for redevelopment areas and the city plans. Sales revenues took even harsher drops for downtown merchants who tried to withstand the onslaught of people no longer coming downtown.

The city realized that they had to do something to bring sales revenues back up and the grand plan was to create their rendition of an entertainment district and even though the city had no clue what they were doing or what an entertainment district really was, they began to approve what they thought were going to be restaurants only to find out that since no-one went downtown any more because of their past plan, these establishments quickly fell under the ax by the state because they could not sell enough food.

End result? Convert to a full blown bar license where they did not have to comply with serving food and the state laws pertaining to food sales over liquor sales and the city started seeing more revenue based on booze sales. Oz government response was "this is good, we need more of this and the entertainment district is working. Problem was that the government of Oz never declared boundaries for such a district and the crap hit the fan because no one was paying attention to anything other than the money.

Fast forward to 5 or 6 years ago and what do we have?

Well, for one, you cannot walk into any area of downtown that does not have between 60 to 100 liquor licenses in any half mile radius. Some disguised as a dining establishment and others that have converted from a dining establishment to a full blown bar.

Surely you would say that all "that" does not go on but if you paid attention to the papers over the years, and not many of them anymore, you would have noted things like the drug stings not that many years ago that took place in the downtown bars by our own Oz police force. What? You thought it was all gone?

Do you remember just a few short years back when the city of Oz was "cracking down" on prostitutes? What? You thought that was over now too?

Over the last couple of years have you not read about how many times shots have been fired in Downtown and the South where sometimes people never survived or were injured with many of this all happening either at a bar in downtown or a bar in the south or started there?

Our great leaders of present day actually denied a conditional use permit for a downtown bar and the owner filed suit. The end result of this is that even though the applicant brought his request back recently and then removed it due to some opposition, is still operating in the city illegally without a CUP and the city has never gotten the time to take him to court or even close him down.

Directly after his CUP was denied the first time there was a gun fight in front of his establishment that left holes in cars and shops and required many officers many hours to deal with it while they could not do community patrols for the Southern community.

But I forget we live in Oz and we would rather spend ^$50K of taxpayer’s money to defend a self evaluation of the wizard than to take the guy to court and close him down.

Have you not read the newspaper to find out that downtown Oz is the place you will most likely get assaulted in? That was from the press folk’s, not just gibberish from someone who keeps his eye on things like this.

For a number of years I have reviewed the applications of some of these people that the city and state gives licenses to and just die in amazement that when they come up for a CUP because the dining establishment fails to serve 40% food, like a bunch of morons we approve them with glee and happiness to have them there.

Don’t get me wrong fellow Ozites, we have many good establishments to eat and drink and feel safe downtown, (as long as we get to park near them and don’t hang out past sunset for to long) but the bad ones far outweigh the good and bring in an element better left for the Phoenix area.

Oz jump to present day and where are we now?

Honestly we are no farther along in realistic and common sense planning that by the way takes a plan.

The city lifted the Redevelopment zones and claim success in revitalizing downtown Oz by trying to create a new Urban Core and falling into the developers hands of how the downtown would look placing vast amounts of housing there quickly and unplanned with absolutely no ideal of the underlying problems with their actions.

One of the city’s biggest blunders regarding downtown was to think they really had an entertainment district. They approved so many bars in the past and placed so many supposed dining establishments in such a small area and allowed them to do so with no venue of creating a real entertainment district that would coincide with all this new big dollar condo craze that the entire bottom is going to drop out when people realize what they bought into.

Recently I heard rumor that there has already been 2 foreclosures at Optima and we already know there is a rental there.

Recently I noted that there have been a few new blinds go up in the windows at the Waterfront, I also noted that they were the paper ones from Wal-Mart or other such entities.

Yeah, I am going to pay a cool million for a condo smaller than my house and then hang up paper blinds.

It is also noted that many of the projects in the downtown have never reached full occupancy and that people thinking they were going to make a quick flip got stuck in the market glut of the city approval spree.

While free market is good, you better learn how to control it and plan it in issues like this.

A couple people are aware of my past in volunteering for a non profit research group who studied redevelopment and development in other states and how they worked out and in this instance of Oz, it reminds me of a city on the east coast that had an empty meat packing district.

The city solution back then was to transform it into an "entertainment district" and it did well as it attracted many people and the elements that tend to go to those areas for easy pickings. The area quickly became a place that carried all the same characteristics that our downtown and southern communities now see.

Their economic development department came up with a grand plan that they should introduce housing on sections that were not transformed and the high end condos rose from the ground and there was talk of making it a 24/7 community of the eclectic and rich, just like our downtown.

The end result of this issue became a pissing match between the bar district, formerly advertised as an entertainment district, the high end idiots who found out they got "juked", as did the city council, back there called Alderman.

The condos took a dive and prices dropped at alarming rates with investors taking what they could, and the bar district winning as the revenue was greater.

So, how does this relate to our downtown adventure in Oz?

Come on, do I really have to point it out?

We created a bar district that does not attract tourist in reality as they go to the North and resorts to play golf and dine and look for entertainment while the downtown attracts kid’s from ASU, trash from other cities looking for a quick mark, junkies, drunks, and prostitutes as well as people who feel they can pee anywhere they like at any time. We have recently attracted the crowds that like to carry guns and don’t give a damn where they shoot them or at whom their rounds may strike.

Then "we" decided "we" would place high end housing smack dab in the middle of it and allow commissions and boards as well as our own supposed leaders to hack away at the development standards and policies. We have and are still allowing architecture and designs that do not comply with the Downtown Overlay and are still working on a plan that is over two decades old with the wicked witch and the wizard fooling the council numb-nuts that they have a clue as to what they are doing and how to fix this issue.

Wait, they say there are no issues and that everything is groovy for downtown and it will become as eclectic and 24/7 as Sky Swindle is turning out to be.

Well, the city is about to yet again approve another CUP in Downtown that the Planning Commission of Oz just recently passed and we will repeat the cycle because the staff and Mother Mary say it is so.

CityCouncil@scottsdaleaz.gov  Feel free to tell them enough stupidity is enough.

Do any of you really have faith in the majority of our supposed leaders seeing any of this as being true or that they are not wearing blinders to all the atrocities that are coming with the present plan?

Lets face it, downtown revenues have not budged and that was also in the papers and the plan we are using is screwed blue and tattooed on your wallets and the city we once knew will be gone entirely as policies are misinterpreted from there intents and architectural wonders are popping up at alarming rates that are against the downtown overlay stated purposes.

We even have pictures of the Wizard poking her head out of a bar window checking on her parking spot (phantom of course)

~Aliens Land in Downtown Oz

Well here we are again Ozites facing that same old dilemma of what in the hell the Design Review Board is thinking and who in the world made them part of the Architectural kingdom. I mean let’s face it, over the last few years this group of design standard nut cases have approved more stupidity that never seems to comply with any of the proposed standards of maintaining design consistency in downtown, or for that matter anywhere in the Land of Oz.

For those of you who are interested yet again to see how the city staff can approve such a hideous design, here is the link.

Not only did the staff give their blessing and the name Mac Cummings, the city "principal planner" or master of disaster as I like to call some of his recommendations, come into play, but they managed to let the DRB of Oz believe that there was a consistency to the surrounding architecture.

Honestly Ozites, you have to download this file and look at what is being proposed to the Northern downtown entry of Oz. This thing looks like one of the Star Cruisers from Star Wars and someone welded a couple of Winnebago’s to the bottom of it.

The applicant even goes as far as to admit that this is a prominent corner in the entry to downtown by their words of "The 4333 represents a prominent entrance into downtown Scottsdale, creating a design intended to serve as a focal feature to the residents and visitors of the community"

Then they go on to exclaim that "the 4333 has been designed to offer a quality example of an option for a variation in the dichotomy of building types commonly found in the city of Scottsdale’s "historic" downtown area"

Wait a minute! Back up the freaking boat here Ozites, or in this case the Star Cruiser!

According to the Downtown Overlay Section 6.1201 under purposes, section G it states very clearly the following. Assure consistent regulation of design and architecture in the downtown area.

End of story to this issue? Not hardly and the city response when this was brought forward as the main objection to the project came from a person named Kim Chafin who stated this to merchant objections. "The context for this area was established by the Galleria building, which features a contemporary design.  The proposed project's contemporary design is contextually compatible, and staff is recommending approval."

Well first of all the Umpa Lumpa’s were placed on alert to deliver a lot of "spread" to cover over this fallacy as even the old pink elephant of downtown farted when it heard that it was being compared to such a hideous design. As a matter of fact, the pink elephant is more in line with the purposes of section G of the downtown overlay than this building could ever be and truth be told, this building design being proposed sticks out like the Wicked Witch having the Pink Taco plate while getting a lap dance!

How in the hell could the DRB and the city be so bold as to bastardize yet again the only plan we have to use, even if it is over two decades old and which has led to the multiple hideous examples of architecture and design that fall no-where into the downtown area at all?

How can our own members of Oz who sit on this commission be so blind and stupid as to think that this was just going to go in without a fight?

Oh wait folks, the city lies get even better in this issue as the top floor is planned to be a residential unit and it complies with the downtown overlay however, the downtown overlay states that when something like this abuts a residential district, there is a minimum amount of setback requirements.

When this was brought forward because there are no setbacks being observed here, Kim Chafin fired back with this line to merchants.

Section 6.1207 does indicate there is a 50’ setback when a property is adjacent to single-family residential districts; however, there are no single-family residential districts adjacent to the subject property.

Excuse me?

The downtown overlay is classified under section VI as a supplementary "district" of the city zoning codes which allows residential; therefore it is indeed a residential district as per the city classification of a "district" of zoning.

The city is introducing a single family unit in the project and is placing the abutment against another land owner and giving him special privileges but if any other property owner abutting this new residential unit were to want to build a housing unit on their property, they would be abutting a residential district and be forced to follow the required setbacks.

Can you see why Prop 207 was formed and voted into law in this state?

Solution; either make the applicant abide by the setbacks standards for his residential unit or have him remove the residential on the top floor.

Either that or the city may end up with the first court case under prop 207 and with the rate of wins the city has when fighting the obvious losing battle, the taxpayers will pay for this arrogance of the city making special compensation to a developer that may decrease the property value of the surrounding merchants.

Thank Oz for Airport Bob who has asked for the issue to be placed on the agenda for a council review of the DRB decision in this issue but it will not go forward unless we can talk 3 other members of the council to support bringing this before the full council for review of the facts.

Again I am asking that groups such as the Scottsdale Coalition, COGS, COPP and residents and activist of the city to take 5 minutes to send an e-mail to the council supporting the council to take this matter up for review and ignore the media that will again decry the council for doing what they all know they should do, make the developer come back with a design that holds to the downtown overlay purpose and to help protect the Historic Downtown area from further bastardization of our downtown heritage and looks.

CityCouncil@scottsdaleaz.gov

No one is saying he cannot build and no one is saying he cannot have residential, what we are saying is that the design is even worse than the last time the council had to bring back a DRB decision with another downtown buildings design and location.

At the first session of the rested "leaders" of Oz the issue of homes being flooded in the North came to bear on them. During the meeting they admitted in some degree the issues that were brought forward such as.

I was happy to see for once the "leaders" of Oz sit there and talk the truth for a change and demand some solutions before the years end to the issues that were brought forward in this issue folds and drainage and on that note I can finally call them the "leaders" of Oz.

Now if we could get them to do the same thing that the South and Downtown has proven to them time and time again about the same issues the North faced that we also face regarding all of those same issues, I could stop having to refer to them as the "supposed leaders" of Oz.

If that could ever happen, the poor Umpa Lumpa’s could stop supplying us with a sweeter spread to cover the stench of what they have been doing to us in the downtown and the South.

Michael Merrill
F8713@aol.com

 Editors Note: There were so many S&S concerning the Self-Evaluations, especially Jan Dolan's, that we had to use those that said the most and also put a number together to shorten the section.

 ~ Well, SkyBox is here. Ain't it beautiful? Just what we wanted in South Scottsdale, a useless Big Box that does nothing but take up space like a leech, using up the resources without giving back one single, damned dime.

  ~ I was glad to see that it was the Activists and 2 councilmen who helped out at OrchidTree. They know how to put their money where their mouths are, can't say as much for the do-gooders who talk a good story but stay home and think up someone else to talk nasty about.

~ 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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~ Prop 13 Arizona

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~ View Past City Council Meetings

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

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

~Continuing Light Rail Information

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

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

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

     Goldwater Institute Report

     American Dream Coalition

    The Public Purpose

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

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

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 ~Are Red-Light Cameras Fair to Drivers?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

There are many other branches throughout the Valley.