Comments on: First Legal Battle for Stop Sedona Take Back of 89A

By: Marv

Marv — Sun, 27 Mar 2011 02:37:28 +0000

Baker and P. Revere, are you saying that within Sedona City Limits there are 1300 members of the Chamber of Commerce who are validated registered voters, qualified to make up this list of signatures for the Referendum? I don’t think so!

Get a grip. The signatures at some point in time (probably after they’ve been officially validated by both Yavapai and Coconino Counties) will become public information, so maybe for a small fee you will be able to purchase the names and then dine on crow. As, perhaps, will the new “Fabulous Four” who might be forced to witness just how many of their election supporters are no longer!

Of course, instead of facing reality, all of you brilliant folks will remain in denial, continue to pursue your scare tactics of ADOT either dumping SR89A on Sedona and/or filing a law suit against the city. Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest, stand by. Your work is cut out for you while, in the meantime, four little people with inflated egos continue to sever and mutilate any hope of unification for once beautiful Sedona.

Shameful! Hope you sleep well at night for betraying all but a handful of your supporters.

By: P. Revere

P. Revere — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 18:09:05 +0000

All of this is a result of:

1. The totally biased newspaper who refuses to print both sides of any question,
2. The small nucleus of people who are afraid of losing power and are willing to work against the City’s best interest,
3. The purposeful spread of misinformation and fear,
4, The Chamber (whose members are mainly located in uptown or along the SR 179 corridor), Main Street, etc. all groups who receive City subsidies without submitting any hard evidence of measurable goals and any results achieved,
5. Businesses that fail to recognize that; competition is a necessary component to being successful and that collaboration among businesses makes every business stronger.

By: Baker

Baker — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 08:19:39 +0000

1300 SIGNERS OF THE ANTI DARK SKIES, ANTI EVERYTHING BUT THE SAME OLD CHAMBER MEMBERS WHO WILL RAT OUT THE RESIDENTS WHILE POCKETING THE $$$$ WE PAY IN TAXES

WHAT A DISGUSTING GROUP OF MALCONTENTS LED BY AN EVEN MORE DISHONEST CHAMBER OF COMMERCE THAT WANTS LIGHTS & DON’T MAKE US LAUGH OVER YOUR “SAFETY REASONS” BECAUSE THE SAFETY STUDY PROVED THAT IT DOESN’T DO SQUAT FOR SAFETY & THAT WAS ADOTS OWN STUDY,,,,,IT’S NEVER BEEN ABOUT SAFETY YOU FOOLS!!!!! WE VOTED YOU OUT ONCE &WE WON’T HAVE YOU BACK AGAIN

STOP BEING LED BY THE NOSE BY ANTI SEDONA CADRE & KEEP YOUR $$$$ OUT OF THEIR GREEDY HANDS & HIT THEM WHERE IT HURTS IN THE CASH REGISTERS & NO MORE $$$$$ FOR THE CHAMBER & ORGANIZATIONS THAT SUPPORT THE LIGHTS AND ADOT

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!NO MAS NO MAS NO MAS!!!!!!!!!!!!POST YOUR NAMES IF YOU BELIEVE SO MUCH IN WHAT YOU SIGNED!!!!!!!!!!

By: Iolanda

Iolanda — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 06:06:07 +0000

good job getting all the facts to the public

By: m allen

m allen — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 05:31:20 +0000

Jerry,
Sedona incorporated 22 years ago. Please get over it. Yes the sewer was poorly handled, once again get over it. You don’t like the Red Rock News, don’t buy it.
Ms. Le Fevre did not directly cause any of the issues you have decided to clump together in another one of your rants. Her point was well made and stuck to one issue. You should take a lesson.

By: Jerry Reynolds...Opinion

Jerry Reynolds...Opinion — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 23:47:11 +0000

Angela LeFevre, DORR President says: (above)
“……. It is sad that a Club which is a vibrant contributor to the community…..”

OK Ms LeFevre, as the President of DORR (“a vibrant contributor to the community”), lets see if you can answer my simple question as stated in my reply above and repeated for you below.

“Could someone (anyone) please list 22 good things (one per year) that the city council, planning commission and city staff (including city managers) have accomplished in that time which can be considered a benefit to the citizens of Sedona? Just 22. One per year of our incorporated history. Surely there must be some justification for incorporating besides the incomplete sewer system, which cost over 6 times the estimated cost (so far).”

Lets see how astute you and your group are and if you have been paying any attention to our city actions over the past 22 years….or are you just a bunch of groupies who need to have a reason to gather for a ‘coffee klatch?

It seems to me that if, as you said above in your message…” We have many members, including myself, who feel strongly about 89A”….”and the needs of the populace in West Sedona.”… your group might have voiced an ‘opinion’ during the city hall purchase, the situation of the intersection of 89A and Rodeo, the cultural park (a failure to recognize its limited attraction), the allowance of the many hundreds of ‘time shares’ built in Sedona, the failure of the city to complete the sewer system for of ALL Sedona, not just the “favored” new developments which shows a complete distain for the residential community…the activists responsible for the ADOT change of redevelopment of Hwy 179 from their recommended 4 lanes to the 2 lane bottleneck, the list goes on and on. Not a peep from the group that considers itself “…. a vibrant contributor to the community…..”. Why? How do you”…want to see your city develop”? (Your words, not mine). What expertise does your political group have regarding the governance and development of a city? I sure hope it is better than our current administration (and for that matter the current occupant of the white house!)

There was once a time, when we had an opportunity to develop Sedona into a very desirable retirement community, a charming town to visit and explore. There is nothing charming about a line of 6 jeeps carrying sometimes as many as 8 people each down our main roads. We used to have a handful of shops which traded in authentic Indian articles to an appreciative tourist. Now we have a plethora of shops churning ‘junk’ to an unsuspecting public. Is that the image of our town you want?

Promoting the “Harmonic Convergence …come one, come all”, by the chamber of commerce was the final nail in the coffin. The future of a ‘classy’ Sedona was doomed. Now we have ‘fortune tellers’ and ‘faith healers’ at the gates of the city. Opportunists abound here. This didn’t happen overnight. It took many people with good intentions to look the other way for this to happen, and a city government asleep at the wheel while, perhaps unintentionally, driving the bus of greed and corruption.

This kind of dialogue should appear in the local newspaper. Maybe an informed community would have kept the city administration in line. Limiting the “letters to the editor” to those the editor approves is their prerogative but it also allows a ‘bias’ by the paper to inject itself into the issues concerning the city. After all, we all know that were it not for the ‘incorporation’ and the ‘central sewer system’ being installed in “uptown” most, if not all of the uptown shops and businesses would have been shut down by ADEQ because they were putting their sewerage into Oak Creek…their on-site systems didn’t work properly. Being built mostly on rock and no percolation soil present to filter the effluent the raw stuff found its way into the creek. Shutting down uptown would probably put the paper out of business…the loss of advertising revenue would have been financially hard to overcome. (Read between the lines…no pun intended).

So I say to you Ms. LeFevre, if you and your ‘group’ want to truly participate in the proper development future of Sedona, I suggest you look to the past history to see how we came to this and not sit by and watch what history will tell as the killing of the golden goose (and I am not referring to the profits to be made here). Look around. As unique as our location is it can be turned into a ‘junkyard’ if care is not taken. My opinion.

Phew! I’m done! (for now)

By: k keller

k keller — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 21:54:25 +0000

Thanks Angela, for your clear explanation and good thoughts!

By: Angela LeFevre, DORR President

Angela LeFevre, DORR President — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 03:02:12 +0000

Dear Sedona Eye and fellow citizens of Sedona:
I have tried to read all the comments on the ongoing conflict regarding 89A, its future, and who owns it.
As President of Democrats of the Red Rocks (DORR), I am amazed that our Club is being cited as having any influence on this issue. I just want to set the record straight here. We have many members, including myself, who feel strongly about 89A, about the lights, the issue of safety and the needs of the populace in West Sedona. We encourage our members and base to be active and educated on issues. For that reason, we welcomed the invitation from the City to come and give DORR members a presentation of what is entailed in the route transfer. That happened many weeks ago. The same presentation was shown to the Chamber, the Realtors Association, KSB and others. It was a determined effort by the Council and City staff to enable folks in Sedona to educate themselves on what was involved in the ADOT offer (lights or route transfer). There was no voting at this meeting, but a chance was given for members to educate themselves. Subsequent to this, the DORR Board felt that a poll of our members and base might be of use. To that end, a poll was placed on the DORR website and the findings were present to the City Council. The Poll was not “rigged”, its questions (four of them) were very fair. Basically, it asked whether respondents were in favor of a take back, of lights or whether they needed more information. What was interesting was that most of our members were against continuous lighting, but less (though a majority) were in favor of the transfer. Many requested more information! DORR HAS NOT TAKEN A POSITION EITHER ON THE LIGHTS OR THE ROUTE TRANSFER. This has been left to invidual members to decide for themselves. We have encouraged members to educate themselves and voice their own opinions. This is the basis of a democratic society. Personally, I have pointed out to the Council that polls are very much a reflection on how the questions are asked and whom they are presented to. There were many flaws in the Council’s poll….I think we can all agree with that. Bottom-line, we are a representative democracy. We have many, many issues which confront us on a daily basis. We look to our elected representatives to represent us and make those decisions. Yes, we should be able to voice our opinions and let our representatives know how we feel. They, in turn, should do all they can to educate themselves, listen to the people, and come to an informed opinion. That is how our City Councilors should be conducting themselves. I have seen many councils and many elected officials who do not do this. What happens? They lose in the next elections. Yes! That is our true referendum. If we were to revert to referendums every time we did not like the result, we would end up never doing anything. Sad. Right now, we should be working together, as our Mayor has indicated, and make this work. I personally feel that there are so many advantages in a route transfer. However, this IS a personal opinion. I am concerned about such simple things as safety….sorry, but continuous lighting is not going to do it. But that is a personal opinion. DORR has NEVER expressed an opinion and I am amused at the charge that DORR was responsible for the election of the 4 councilors who voted for the take back. HMMMM. I would really like to know more about that! Mnay of our members supported Mayor Adams, who voted against the route transfer. Cliff Hamilton, a member of the “Famour Four”, was not on the ballot last year. Councilor Dan McIlroy voted against the transfer, and he was on the same slate as Barbara Litrell! This does not make sense. Councilor Mike Ward was very, very clear as to his reasoning and how he made his decisions. Read his reasons – all 53 of them! I doubt if DORR was mentioned! And then there is Councilor DiNuncio, who was not even elected. It is sad that a Club which is a vibrant contributor to the community here should be vilified this way. I would urge everyone who gets involved in this debate first get their facts right and please do not politicize this. This is not a question of Democrats or Republicans. this is a questions of how folks want to see their city develop, how they want to see the 89A corridor develop and who they want to ensure safety for the citizens who live here.

By: Jerry Reynolds

Jerry Reynolds — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 23:22:19 +0000

To All: Not a single comment regarding my request to name one good thing that resulted from the actions of incorporating, the city council, the planning commission or the city manager and his staff?

To: You Bet I vote in Sedona,
I can’t figure our which side you have taken up with…can you clarify your statement so it will mean something?

Chris S. says…”the chamber spent $220,000. to promote Sedona..”
I say “the remaining $280,000. of the $500,000 given to them by the city of Sedona went to pay the high salaries of your friends.”
The chamber promotes Sedona as what? A jeep tour paradise? I hear all the arab cabbies in New York City are thinking of moving to Sedona…a more lucrative source of income and a chamber of commerce who will use taxpayers money (not donations and fees from the local merchants) to generate more business for them!

To Matt: Your comment is incoherent.

To: Former Chamber Member,
Your last sentence says it all!!!

I (am) waiting for someone to come up with “just one good thing….”

By: Former Chamber Member

Former Chamber Member — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 17:02:20 +0000

The Chamber is a big problem. They take taxpayer dollars and work against the new city council. They are angling for a bigger percentage of bed tax. The Chamber the Chamber is corrupt and bloated with huge salaries and no success. The City should take the $500k given to the Chamber every year and set up a legit Convention and Visitors Bureau. One that represents all Sedona businesses not just the elite few Tourism members. Taxpayer dollars are being used for only those who are part of the elite chamber. The Chamber will claim “trickle” down economics. I feel the chamber trickling down on non member businesses. Or are they peeing on me using tax dollars to fund it. Funding the Chamber to do work they are not capable of doing is outrageous.