Home » From The Readers, Letters to the Editor » Easement or Tax Increase Question

Easement or Tax Increase Question

Dear SedonaEye.com Editor,

Just under thirty days after her stunning defeat in the SFD Recall Election, former Board member Phyllis Erick scheduled herself to speak during public forum at the June 13, 2012 meeting of the Sedona Fire District Governing Board.

The prior Board Chairman’s oft repeated admonition, “Personal attacks will not be tolerated,” evidently escaped Ms. Erick’s consciousness. Though she complained freely, publicly and with alarming regularity about vicious attacks she endured as a member of the Board, when her turn to speak was announced, her toxic tirade was unparalleled. 

Jewish Community of Sedona and the Verde Valley SR 179 site of easement question for Chapel midway station

As a former Board member who has now TWICE been informed by the voting public her voice is no longer welcome at the table, Ms. Erick should muster some dignity and refrain from expressing her opinions. Bitterness is never appealing. It completely obliterates the credibility of statements made under its ugly and immature influence. 

Ms. Erick cited a memorized statistic, “only 3% of all SFD calls are in the Chapel area.” She failed to share that SFD’s need for a midway station is less about calls to the Chapel area and more about equitable response times to ALL areas of our district. Had there been a medical emergency in any development between the location of the proposed midway station and I-17 during that tragic fire consuming two homes in the Village of Oak Creek, it would have taken over 20 minutes for first responders to arrive. No one needs a medical degree to understand the consequences of that interval. 

For the record: Ms. Erick’s property backs onto what may become the easement through the Jewish Community Center parking lot, allowing safe and efficient ingress of fire equipment to the midway station. 

And therein lies her REAL motivation.

For all of her fear mongering threats of tax increases, it turns out Ms. Erick is left baring her own self-concerned agenda. The value of her property may be affected when our midway station is built. There it is, folks, in the stark light of day — draw your own conclusions. 

One person’s concern over property value must not override the potentially life-saving / property saving benefits of a sorely needed midway station. This proposed station is a far cry from the condescending statement “…We cannot build a fire station every three blocks just to make the public feel safe.” Such cavalier dismissals of legitimate public concerns may be why, as a result of an Arizona history-making recall and subsequent recall election, a new Board has been seated. 

Wendy V. Tanzer
VOC
Sedona AZ
 

For the best Sedona Arizona News and Views? Subscribe to SedonaEye.com.

14 Comments

  1. Dick Heguy says:

    Excellent letter describing why it was so important to recall Ms. Erick and her comrades. In spite of numerous factual presentations of the need for the mid-way Fire Station and how it helps improve protection to the whole District, she continues to hold her foolish positions. The safety of the whole District is the primary responsibility of the Fire Board, not what is in the best interest of one individual. Thanks, Wendy Tanzer, for keeping us informed.

  2. I saw it then and I see it now, the only reason that Ms Erick keeps twisting the facts about the Mid-way fire station is because she doesn’t want it in her back yard. It was the only reason she originally ran for the SFD governing board to begin with.

  3. Think I am missing something here. We have a fire station in the village of Oak Creek so how does the one in the Chapel area better serve to I-17. Yes we could build a fire station every 2 miles and could really give excellent service. Problem is there is a limit to what one can afford. Every time spending money freely comes up it is always a scare tactic to convince the public crazy spending is needed. You want emergency vehicles really close move to Phoenix. Mrs. Erick is right about the spending but for the non believers you will be in the near future convinced. What Wendy failed to mention is our fire department went off to fight a Forrest fire leaving the area protected by only one responder. Try and cover all the facts not just the slanted BS you people continue to write.

  4. Tom Longo says:

    As a resident who lives in the VOC, I can vouch for the fact that in many cases SFD’s response has been slower than usual because some of their units were on 179 near I-17. In some cases the residents of the VOC need to wait for units from the Verde Valley Fire District located on Springs Rd off Cornville Rd. which are able to get here sooner than SFD’s from Station 1 and 4. The new Chapel will cover far more than the Chapel area. We need it for the residents of VOC.

    Have you ever considered the fact that whatever you and your cohorts write might be slanted? Because many people Do feel that way!

  5. Mr. Longo perhaps you weren’t listening or are just so intent on spreading disinformation. I believe it was the new Fire Chief that was hired by Ms. Erik who has been providing the FACTS about the needs for a new fire station.
    Mrs. Tanzer was just doing what she has always done in the past, talk about those FACTS that were given to us by the professionals.

    I guess Ms. Erik and Mr. Blauert just don’t get it now or before, THEY GOOFED BIG TIME because they hired a REAL fire chief as opposed to a hatchet man. If you really cared enough, you would be watching the SFD videos like I do every month, this Chief, like the last Chief and the former Business Director have always provided documented FACTS for an additional fire station. All you have to do is watch and listen to the professionals to understand but I guess that wouldn’t help your agenda, would it?

  6. Mr. Shannon….

    PER YOUR REQUEST: In my attempt to “..cover all the facts not just the slanted BS…” as you so graciously and eloquently stated, I urge everyone to confirm the veracity of my information at http://www.sedonafire.org. At exactly 62:00 minutes into the Part 2 video of SFD’s June 13, 2012 regular business meeting, Fire Chief Kris Kazian describes – in complete detail – the equipment and personnel responding to the VOC fire to which I referred in my letter above. You will note, units (plural) from STATION #3 (VOC) arrived on scene in exactly 5 minutes and 12 seconds. These unbiased facts directly contradict your erroneous assertions. Therefore, as to slant, Mr. Shannon, take a look in the mirror.

    Your not-so-subtle attempt at redirection is completely ineffectual. This is not about Phoenix. This is about industry standard, reasonable and equitable response times. The mil levy rate on my property tax bill is exactly the same as that on a residence in uptown Sedona. Response time should be comparable, as well.

    Oh…and for the record: Forest has one “r” – not two. And unless you are using the word in its proper noun form, capitalization is unnecessary. Nevertheless, if – “our fire department went off to fight a Forrest fire…” – the costs of their labor would have been reimbursed by the Forest Service.

    If there are any other issues on which you require clarfication, please don’t hesitate to respond.

  7. Tom who are you referring to as slanted. If it is me I have no reason to slant what I say as am just a tax payer with no special interest like many of the others that are posting. I state the facts as I see them and from a money standpoint can back them with facts. It seems though that Wendy can’t let it die even though she got her high spenders back into power. The real problem I find is there seems to be no real structure such as fire departments in cities like Phx. have. If you want a promotion just go to classes and get one. In Phx. there has to be an opening to advance. Like I said before soon there will be more chiefs than Indians.

  8. Tom Longo says:

    Mrs. Thomas, I don’t know where you got the idea that I am not supportive of the additional fire station, as well as past and present SFD staff….perhaps, you confused me with Glenn Shannon. All of my past postings have been consistently pro a need for an additional fire station that would service the area near the Chapel, uptown and the VOC.

    I also agree with you that we need to rely on FACTS being presented by the Chief and his staff. I also felt that way when the recalled board tried to micromanage the former Chief, as well as his staff.

    Glenn, you need to re-read your entry to see if you are NOT slanted. You stated: ” We have a fire station in the village of Oak Creek so how does the one in the Chapel area better serve to I-17. Yes we could build a fire station every 2 miles and could really give excellent service.” Don’t you see that the new station will better serve the ENTIRE community and NOT only the Chapel area.

    You said: “Every time spending money freely comes up it is always a scare tactic to convince the public crazy spending is needed.” You seem to forget that the taxpayers have been paying their SFD share of the bill with the understanding that someday an additional fire station was going to be built in the Chapel area. Money has been set aside for years to build such a station and the recalled board members purposely used that money so that such a station would NOT be built.Those taxpayers EXPECT and DESERVE such a station (even though it will be located right next to where Phyllis Erick lives).

    Get your FACTS straight and stop drinking the cool-aid!

  9. Mr. Longo, YOU ARE RIGHT, I did confuse your name for that of Mr. Shannon.

  10. Mr. Shannon…
    Why would you presume my interest is “special?” In what arena is reasonable concern for the safety and well-being of all citizens considered a “special interest?” I am not a lobbyist. I represent no commercial (or otherwise) entities seeking special consideration. I am a tax-paying citizen with enough intellect to comprehend reason.

    So…what are your interests? Fear of a tax increase on property you only use seasonally – if at all? Your health and well-being not at stake here 100% of the time, so you’re against that of my own? How ’bout “I don’t have children in school so why is the highest percentage of my property tax bill devoted to public education?” Why don’t you jump on THAT bandwagon for a nice, refreshing change of pace?

  11. Justin Brown says:

    time for p. erick and c. christensen keeping quiet after telling them we don’t want to hear ideas from them when unelected from the board

    same for d. blauert

    read article about the atty gen saying those three are lucky they got off easy, they should move outatown & never ever run for public office. whaddaya not get sedona?

  12. Wendy the fire station taxes a few years ago were a lot higher than the school taxes. Only after the previous board reduced them did they become lower. I don’t mine paying for fire protection but when they abuse the system don’t like it. A while ago two of the board members that did the big spending were wives of the firemen now if that isn’t conflict of interest what is. Spending a million dollars of overtime for the year and only going to 11 fires is way out of line.

  13. I’m sorry Mr. Shannon, even a VOC new comer like I realize how out of whack your comments are.

    It wasn’t the previous Board that reduced taxes; it was done before they even took their seats by Chief Hazime and Ms. Daines. Instead of the former recalled and convicted Board members taking the glory for Hazime and Danes’ hard work, they pushed them out the door.

    Yes, PRIOR Board members wasted big money BUT, they’ve been out the door for MANY years. What in G-D’s name does what they did have anything to do with what’s being done NOW in 2012? Bring your head back into reality.

    As for whatever we spend for overtime, how many fires do we need to have before YOU feel overtime is warranted? As far as I’m concerned, we pay our fire fighters for what they MAY have to do instead of what they do each day.

    Mr. Shannon, instead of talking out of our butt why not go to the next big fire and watch our fire fighters at work. Watch them walk INTO the flames, watch them pull hundreds of feet of fire hose in 100° temperatures. I did just that at one of the VOC fires last month. Watching brave people at work is truly humbling.

    It’s so easy to sit at your computer, safe and sound, disparaging others while brave individuals perform a real service.

  14. Roger what do we pay wages for if they are pulling this type of overtime.

    I don’t see this problem in Phx. or any or Arizona’s big cities. If they charged like this in the big cities for the calls they run no one could afford them. Time is on my side and you will see the bill for the fire department go sky high. You are totally wrong on who reduced the budget as the board controls the spending and the fired chief uses the money allot ed. The board also stopped the new fire station which will be another huge spending program.

Leave a Reply

Copyright © 2008-2017 · Sedona Eye · All Rights Reserved · Posts · Comments · Facebook · Twitter ·