Wow, of interest. I passed this on to my neighbors to the north of me who all have giant telescopes.

Anna Marsolo

 

 

This is a valuable issue with important information. Thanks.

Allen Nohre

 

 

Again-great article!!

Loraine Simons

(Lyn's note: The above refer to the issue about the telescope lens that started a fire.)

 

 

Dear Lyn,

We love your Carefree Truth, it is so TRUE. Thank you for sharing it with all of us.

Nancy Totten

 

 

Dear Lyn,

I am a member of both the American Legion and the Veterans Of Foreign Wars. I had to tell them both a couple weeks ago that I was in no condition to attend. However, I would love to fly my flag, but first I need to find a way to get it up on the flag holder. Grace is recovering from her broken hip and Martha is in very bad condition, and you know my condition. As an old Marine, I'll find a way to get our flag up, even if I have to call my old friend Glenn Miller. Thanks for the reminder.

Love You,

Blaine F. Keith

(Lyn's note: I had sent COINS to Blaine, which was the reminder he mentioned. I called Glenn, and he was happy to go over the same day to hang their flag.)

 

Thanks Lyn for sending Glenn Miller up to hang up my flag since I don't dare climb ladders anymore. My flag is up, well lighted and all thanks to you and Glenn. I liked Glenn from the first time I met him and his wife. While he was here he even took our trash can to the bottom of the driveway. Grace was so happy she gave him a piece of a cake she just made.

Blaine

Sounds good!

Marilyn Maloney

(Lyn's note: Marilyn is referring to the Town marketing plan.)

Lyn:

A good summary, but missing was the fact that there was a committee that did a ton of work. Joining me on that committee were the following:

Council Member Mike Farrar

Business owner and Carefree property owner, Holly Bergman

Carefree resident and retired business executive, Roger Grabske

Town Administrator, Gary Neiss

Town Clerk and Treasurer, Betsy Wise

FYI, plans are also underway to schedule monthly update meetings to monitor progress to ensure we remain "nimble".

Arthur Gimson

(Lyn's note: All the members of the committee were not specified at the meeting. Many thanks to the committee members who put in so much time and effort, and thanks, Arthur, for letting us all know who to thank!

P.S. I did include the fact that there would be monthly meetings with Owens Harkey and the Council to assure the maximum positive effects of the marketing program.)

 

 

Lyn, we have to make sure the Gardens are used in the marketing of Carefree; they make Carefree a destination. And so will the photo contest.

Be Well,

Joe Corpora

(Lyn's note: Joe and I were, and will continue to be, co-chairs of the Town sponsored annual Desert Gardens Photo Contest, so bring your cameras to the Gardens, take some great shots, and enter next year's contest. Winners are given Carefree restaurant gift certificates as prizes and their photos are used in a calendar. The 2013 calendar with the gorgeous winning photos from this year's contest will be available for purchase ($15 each) in the early fall. Proceeds go into the Town's marketing fund.)

Lyn:

Attached, please find a scan of a document prepared for the Town by Chief John Kraetz of Rural Metro. It is public information.

Under “Projects”, he has stated the completion of the fire hydrant testing. This included testing of all fire hydrants in Carefree, including those hooked up to Cave Creek Water Company’s lines.

I think that it is very reassuring to know that there were 18 additional firefighters responding to the structure fire. That is 3 times the number of firefighters normally staffing the Town’s only fire station.

It is a very clear example that the Town’s residents have a super-great deal with the Fire Service contract, paid for out of funds received from sales tax revenues. As you know, I am a proponent of a “fire service fee” estimated to be $250 per property per year, which would raise $375,000 (based on 1,500 properties). This amount would cover the shortfall between the money raised from the 1% increase in sales tax and the amount of the contract. This shortfall is coming out of the reserves. $375,000 per year, for the 5-year fire service contract, equals $1.87 million; a nice piece of change to put back into reserves, or to do what is needed in Town. Most of us can recall subscribing to Rural Metro; I think I paid over $500 per year, after getting a discount because my house has its own fire suppression (sprinkler) system. In addition, I save another $200 per year on my homeowners property insurance, thanks to the lower rating from ISO.

Arthur Gimson

PS It may also be a good reminder that there is a Community Room that can be used by the Town’s residents, HOAs, etc. The Fire Station, including the Community Room is owned by the Town and is another ‘paid-in-full’ asset, just like the fire engine and the Town Hall!

Rural/Metro~Fire Department

Carefree Fire Department

Monthly Report

May 2012

Compiled By Chief John Kraetz

Major Incidents: In May, our units responded in a mutual aid capacity to a structure fire in Cave Creek, and a serious vehicle accident in Scottsdale. We also had what turned out to be a difficult brush fire due to access on the NE side of Black Mtn.

Apparatus: No issues of note.

Community Events: The community room was used 9 times this month.

Training: The crews averaged 47.8 hours of training in May. We still have folks in the

Paramedic program. We also held specialized training in basement fires. These types of fires are notoriously difficult to deal with. New studies have changed some of the

techniques we have used to deal with these types of fires in the past.

Projects: The fire hydrant project has been completed. The project packet has been

forwarded to the Town Administrator. 34 Safety Surveys were completed this month,

along with 1 Pre Emergency Plan, and 2 district updates.

Fire loss/ potential: There was no fire loss for the month.

Fire Prevention: Nothing of note.

Misc.: As noted at Council, we have a robust mutual aid agreement with our surrounding fire departments. In May we responded 11 times outside of Carefree for emergency calls. At the same time, we had outside agencies respond 12 times into town for calls as simple as a snake removal, up to a large response to a brush fire on the NE side of Black Mtn. Most of our responses out of town were to the eastern edge of Cave Creek, because our station is much closer to those calls than the fire station in Cave Creek. In return when we need help in those areas of Carefree that are closer to the Cave Creek fire station, they respond. This is of great benefit to both communities, and without this arrangement, Carefree citizens living on the west side of Black Mtn. would see much longer response.