Hay "Girl Friend",

Boring is good, especially when it means a lack of fighting and the stress that comes along with it!

Actually, you all in Carefree have exciting times ahead. Attention to quality of life and growing a positive nurturing community makes you all winners!

Smiles,

Shea Stanfield

 

 

 

Hi Lyn,

It's a measure of how you care about your town by getting involved writing an unbiased news letter like the Carefree Truth. Bravo Lyn! You're a role model for citizens who cares about Democracy and it's importance in our towns. The only other person I know who has these values is Anna Marsolo and her involvement in Cave Creek and other challenges she met with the same enthusiasm and determination. When I came to town, she was the one who got me involved in Cave Creek government and it's politics. It was a trying but great experience.

Herbie Natker

 

 

I believe we have an excellent Town Council and P & Z that will work together to continually improve our town for both the merchants and the residents.

Al Mascha

 

 

 

Council Members and Citizens,

Estate Sales, Auctions, and Garage/Yard Sales are very common these days with so many individuals in distress financially, but they are also part of our heritage. There is a clear difference, on many levels between an Estate Sale, Auction and a Garage/Yard Sale.

The differences are these:

The purpose of an Estate State, is to liquidate remaining articles of a personal or family Estate. A true Estate Sale, is usually held at the residence of the Estate holder and is operated by a licensed Estate Liquidation company. The actual event is usually held throughout the residence and on the property grounds, sometimes front and back. Every item in the liquidation is reviewed, researched for current pricing and value, ticketed with a sale price and displayed for highest profit. Average sale price of items can range from $1.00 - several thousand dollars, with sales tax paid by each buyer. Preparation can take several weeks or even months. This type of sale will be held open to the public anywhere from 1- 4 days, the most popular days being Thurs/Fri/Sat/Sun or Fri/Sat/Sun. The usual hours of operation can start early in the morning and run for 6 - 8 hours, each day of the sale. The size of the estate, the selection and value of the items, and the location are factors for sale dates and times. Also, there is often a pre-sale between the Liquidation company and their top buyers so that they can insure high ticket items don't linger. Numbers are sometimes given out to buyers waiting to enter the sale. Therefore, lines of buyers may be present outside a sale for a few hours, especially at the daily start of the sale. Understanding this, you can envision the length of time there will be action (i.e., cars, people, trailers, returns for large item pick-up) around a residence is extremely high and can last over several days. Preparation, traffic flow, signage, notification, and publication of the pending sale is much more involved than a simple Garage/Yard sale due to the anticipated revenue. This is usually a one time event in a life.

An Auction is the disposal of property for a business or personal possessions. Sometimes for the same reasons as an estate sale, however dealers or businesses may choose this route to reduce slow moving inventory of get out of business completely. Individuals may choose this option for quick guaranteed sale of an item. Auctions are operated by a licensed Auction House. Buyers must obtain bidder numbers in order to be authorized to bid at the sale. An average Auction will usually run one day, at a special facility or the address of the seller. Item pricing is variable based on the item value or box lots combining high/med/low value items to move them. This type of sale would normally be used to gain a profit in the thousands of dollars and taxes would be paid by each buyer + a premium upwards of 10% per item. Average sale time may vary but will usually take approximately 4 - 6 hours. During this time there can be a large convergence of vehicles and people in one location for the period of the sale and for a few hours after, for removal of items. Auctions are not something an individual will do more than a couple times in a life, if that.

Garage/Yard Sales, are a normal part of life. We live in a disposable environment. Current attempts to make our planet more "green" calls for the reuse of common every-day items. For example, child care & safety devices are items which are used for short periods of time and are easily recyclable for use by others. These items are costly when purchased new and take up a great deal of storage space when not needed. Storage space is something in Arizona there seems to be limited amounts of in an average home. While Carefree has some high end homes it also has many average homes and non-HOA areas. The resale of items such as these afford the owner cash to continue upgrading items for family needs. Of course, child care items are not the only thing sold at garage/yard sales, this is just an example. However, Garage/Yard Sale items tend to be smaller and more portable than those in auctions and estate sales. These types of sales are usually run on a weekend for one or two days and the average duration is approximately 4 - 6 hours each day. The average sale price of items can range from 10¢ - $100, where no sales tax is collected. This is a more casual sale, operated by the individual owner vs. a licensed company. It is normal for two sales of this type per years as families grow and their needs change.

In consideration of this knowledge of sale types, and the differences in what each brings in revenue and activity; it is my personal opinion to charge a fee of any amount to an individual or community for a simple Garage/Yard Sale held under the described perimeters is unreasonable. This is NOT a unique or high dollar sale and profits from the sale do not usually average over a few hundred dollars. To charge a resident $100 dollars to hold a garage/yard sale on their property, when their entire profit maybe $100, is clearly sending a declaration to the community that these types of sales are not welcome. A sad statement, by any community, in this day and age when world financial markets are in such disarray with many homeowners out of a job while trying to keep their home and family stable and their property maintained. To charge a fee for a Garage/Yard Sale is just NOT very neighborly or "gracious"(1).

On the other hand, charging a reasonable fee for an Estate Sale or Auction is logical, do to the possible revenue and high volume of traffic or disruption, not normal to the area effected. However, the fact that taxes are collected for each sale made at this event, should also be considered. If a fee is charged then some assistance by the community, such as traffic control plan and/or support, emergency access action plan, etc., should be supplied for the fee. This will ease the movement of vehicles and persons in limited spaces, provide prepared action plans in the event of accidents or emergencies while giving neighbors some order to the less than normal flow. To simply charge $100 or more, while reaping sales tax from the event, "because you can" seems greedy, without purpose and again not neighborly or "gracious"(1) as the "Carefree experience"(1) is suppose to be for all citizens.

Clarification and separation of sale type ordinances need to be indicated and addressed individually rather than bundled as one for a vote. There are clear differences. Thanks for the opportunity to be heard.

Sincerely,

Anita Bakke

Antique Dealer for over 30 years

Reference: (1) www.carefree.org; opening statement on home page.