Mike Ward
I have received many emails regarding my vote on the SR 89A transfer issue. I appreciate that some of you were disappointed that your point of view regarding the transfer of SR 89A did not prevail with the Council. I assure you that I did not take this decision lightly. There were many compelling arguments on each side of the issue and a few that were completely ungrounded. There were also a large number of unknowns which I carefully weighed against the probability of those fears coming to pass.
I trust that had you been in my place, that each of you would have thoroughly researched the issue and have left the meeting, as I did, knowing that you had acted in the best interests of our city. I found that the benefits for assuming responsibility for controlling the SR 89A corridor far outweighed the risk. I do fear, however, that our community could become polarized over this issue to the point of paralysis.
There is a political faction in our community that is obsessed with the need to circulate a petition to recall those Councilors who voted for the transfer. Think about this. Do you really want a Council that blindly follows opinion polls or do you want Councilors elected as your representatives, dedicated to the City of Sedona and committed to listening, learning and doing the best we can for our community? That was my commitment to you when I ran for office, and I am proud to say that I continue to stand by that commitment.
Now that the highway transfer commitment has been made we each now have now a choice to make. We can gnash our teeth, thump our breasts, and take questionable actions to try to undermine the work of our Council and our community, or we can learn more about the facts behind the transfer and join together with our neighbors to plan and implement the full potential that local control of the West Sedona Corridor can bring to us.
The real work now begins. We have control over our main street and we must begin the process of taking control over our future to improve our businesses and our community. We have $10.65 million in cash that needs to be invested wisely in the development and future maintenance of our main street through West Sedona. I hope you will join with our community to positively contribute with that process.
It is all about choice and after a great deal of research and deliberation, I made mine, now you must make yours.
Please remember that any opinions that may be read into this article can only be attributed to me and should not be construed as representing the position or opinion of the City Council.
Mike Ward
Sedona City Councilor
Councilor Ward,
Singularly well written is your article, Councilor. And your courage and integrity are unassailable. Meanwhile, since you’re a public officeholder, you have to maintain a degree of decorum. I don’t! So, I’ll say what you can’t.
The political faction you reference, who wants to effect a recall of the Councilors who voted for the SR89A turn-back, are wholly interested in a recall election that has nothing to do with the future financial stability of this town whatsoever. The only reason they want you and your fellow pro-turnback Councilors recalled is to regain the Council positions they lost in the last election. Of course, this faction’s loyal lieutenants in the local media and Chamber who also lost their power in the last election, are now striving to promote the same political faction. All these people are, simply put, just sore losers! None of these people care about this City. What they care about is their crumbling power and crumbling power base. You’ll notice that this same political faction is too cowardly to engage in orchestrated public debate with people like you and me on economics, the municipal bond market, the Series 2007 bond issue that financed the boon-doggle Chapel district sewer project, the complete mismanagement of the wastewater treatment plant and its associated Enterprise Fund, the complete mismanagement of the City’s outdated business model, the on-going failure of so many Chamber member businesses, City CAFR accounting, the unscrupulous attempts to manage local news with bogus polls and stories of which the opposing arguments are never mentioned, and…well, I could go on for hours. This political faction needs to quit playing games behind the scene and agree to moderated and orchestrated public debates. I’m laying down the gauntlet right here and now.
Mike, the one thing of which we are in agreement is your observation that Sedona has been severely polarized by this issue. However, I don’t believe for one second a political faction to recall the City Council members who made this monumental decision will be out of line if such a thing occurs. In fact, in my opinion it has been through the efforts of Sedona.biz and the Democrats of the Red Rocks and their own polls which have been more damaging to this community than any other single factor which has attempted to influence the decision regarding the route-transfer of SR89A.
To stigmatize Sedona, again my opinion, with such a severe polarization by using national political affiliations, be it Democrat, Republican, or Independent is unconscionable particularly during this time of excessive global and national stress. The financial hardship you and your colleagues will burden future citizens of Sedona with is beyond my comprehension. When I supported the newly elected I had no idea I was in any way, shape, or form committing to the beliefs and strategies of the national Democrat party. There is no rationale that the meager 15 million dollars the city will receive from ADOT will anywhere come near to maintaining the State Highway, especially considering that over 4 million dollars is what improvements to Uptown SR89A ended up costing, far exceeding the initial projected expense. Wasn’t this same City Council supposed to be fiscally responsible? How can that be when you’ve dumped such an extraordinary expense on future Sedona residents totally what . . . ten, twelve thousand . . . when up to now we have had the entire population of Arizona (6 million) to pay for the upkeep and improvements of the two federally subsidized State Highways going through Sedona.
I regret having supported the candidates sponsored by Responsive Sedona Leadership 2010 and, because I voted for you, must now share my own blame for having been a participant in this devastating turn of events which has befallen our once inspirational and beautiful city.
If given the opportunity to vote for either/and/or a Recall or Referendum, you bet I will.
Eddie Maddock
Resident of East Side, Coconino County Sedona
Eddie, I thought you were aware when the councilors ran that their platform was to negotiate with ADOT. That was the reason the majority of residents cast their votes for them. When ADOT refused to negotiate installation of daytime safety measures, our Councilors continued to persist. We have them and Tim Ernster, Charles Mosley and John O’Brien to thank for representing the City well and achieving a $6 million plus increase from the original ADOT offer.
Were you not aware that ADOT confirmed that they would indeed be “abandoning” the roadway with four years advance notice (per AZ statute), if the City had accepted its continued management? They would not commit to when that might occur. ADOT is under the gun from FWHA since the late 1990’s for not eliminating maintenance expenses, etc. fast enough for roadways (e.g., highways) that run through the centers of cities and towns. For all we know, FWHA could cut the ADOTs future funding. In addition, because 89A is a highway (and not a main street), it would be contrary to their mission to install safety measures.
As far as not having enough money, there are always ways to raise money. In fact, the process of the route transfer in concert with the update of the Community Plan has the potential to attract more tourists and businesses to Sedona if we capitalize on this opportunity .
You’re right, my point of view was not the outcome but while disappointed I acknowledge that my vote in the last election meant that my representative would vote as he/she thought fit after weighing all the evidence and information not available to me as a busy citizen. If I continue to feel unrepresented, I’ll change my vote in the next election. In the meantime, do the job that I elected you to do and that is to represent my best interests. Recalls are ridiculous. That’s why we don’t have kings. Keep doing the work that you were elected to do. This isn’t a popularity contest, it is democracy.
City Property Taxes, General Obligation Bonds for infrastructure (billed against property owners annually), and nasty ten year fee increases similar to the recent one for the sewer plant operations are the main ways to raise money. The name of the game is “screw the taxpayers.”
By the way, Sedona has a track record when it comes to raising money. The Cultural Park went under, and this was at a time when the economy was booming.
CORRECTION TO MY POST ABOVE. . . ADOT only said that they would for sure abandon the road if Sedona made any other choice other than yes to route tranfer or yes to lights. They could not guarantee there never would be a transfer. Also, ADOT’s board had scheduled a meeting subsequent to the February 22nd City Council meeting IF the City had made a different choice, other than the two options it had. That meeting was cancelled when Council accepted the route transfer.
this is about lights and dark skies & an arizona government agency that runs amok to justify jobs for its overstaffed bureaucrats. you can all talk about $$ now or future but starry skies keep the urbanites coming here to spend $$. nobody chooses a destination to visit an art gallery!!! it’s a nice bonus to find decent galleries but with very little discretionary $$ now or in the next decade, the boom days of galleries that passed off cowboy and desert shlock with an invented “Very Important Artists” sales pitch are over/much like timeshares, eh?
you did what elected to do, good for you and all the city members of council no matter how they voted