Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah!
Birthday and Special Occasions too!
Stop by and place a bid! You could be gifted!
Read www.SedonaEye.com for daily news and interactive views!
Home » Business » Free Gift Wrap at the Y West and Silent Auction
Free Gift Wrap at the Y West and Silent Auction
kinda dumb place for this & dumber idea
what happened to putting it Uptown where people shop
this is a volunteer chamber effort SUPPORT IT
Free Gift Wrap at the “Y” West, 164-F Bashas Plaza, SR 89A, Sedona, is the shop to wrap all your wonderful holiday gifts as you continue to do a good deed.
The gift wrapping proceeds benefit the Verde Valley Sanctuary, a women’s shelter for domestic violence. Donations of auction gifts, gift wrap and supplies welcome at the Twice Nice Thrift Shop, SR 89A, or at the Free Gift Wrap at the Y West suite near Bashas.
Hours are Monday through Friday, noon-7:00 p.m. and weekends 10-7:00 p.m.
Drop by each day for a special event which may be live Christmas music, a visit from Santa Claus, and join the silent auction bidding on furniture, wall hangings, gifts, decorations and more!
Tonight there is an appearance by quartet “In Accord” between 5-6 PM (maybe some wassailing) so stop in for free gift wrap at any time during our open hours! See you there! For more information, contact Kathy@ sedonacentral.com.
This isn’t to discredit in any way the importance of the Verde Valley Sanctuary, but to give credit to the Chamber of Commerce for providing the service is absurd! They do NOTHING “for free” and punish businesses that choose to not be members.
Do you know where the money came from to rent that space? My bet is City of Sedona taxes collected by struggling in-city businesses that get their reward by increased fees for businesses licenses and monthly sewer fees. The C of C clan represents takers not givers.
Who wraps gifts? Every store in town does it for free. There’s no holiday business this season anyway says a few friends of mine in uptown and west side. Besides it’s easy to buy bags, no need for big rolls. My chamber friend said it’s been poorly run for two years & that’s when (name deleted) was running the show. Good luck then. Hanukah came early & we don’t need wrap!
Congrats you chased the locals and regional visitors out of town!
It doesn’t take long for our regional visitors from phoenix to get the hint. Sedona City, chamber and lodging are about padding their pockets. Regional visitors have gone elsewhere.
But they blame it on the merchants when the city charges overpriced services, fees and rents. Oh ya you don’t like the locals either Ms Jen, SS and City as you claim the locals don’t contribute. Looks like they are doing their shopping outside the city just like our city, chamber, and lodging do.
Guess who got the big Fu?
Diane has it right on.
Diane says:
Hoppy holidays, Diane glad you could get one last poke at the chamber before year end hope you feel better now and that for all the help you have give the city of Sedona in 2015
steve
I agree with Former Resident of Sedona that “The C of C clan represents takers not givers.”
Needless to say, the City of Sedona gifts the Chamber/Lodging Council with 55% of annual Bed Tax collections now days. Sooooo, although the hotel/motel occupancy rate went up by 2.9% and Bed Tax revenue increased by $562,000 when FY 2015 is compared to FY 2014, isn’t the City losing money? 55% of $562,000 amounts to $309,100. Meanwhile, the City handout of $595,000 in FY 2014 increased to $1,248,500 in FY 2015.
For the current year (FY 2016) the budgeted handout to the Chamber/Lodging Council increased by $125,500 for Destination Marketing and $45,000 for the Visitors Center. Magical thinking or ???
Oh, by the way, City sales tax revenues for last fiscal year are not at pre-recession levels of FY 2007 and FY 2008 when adjusted for inflation.
So, no money should be spent on marketing is you answer.
Jean, over all sales in Sedona are up almost $40,0000.00 and Sedona lodging is up over another city in the state.
40 million in new taxable spending and 8000 people making a living from visitors
More people then live here full time.
Jean, look around Sedona is building and growing and that only happens what money in flowing.
Thank god got for the great marketing from the city of Sedona.
Jean, get back to stuff you is good at making up funny ratios that make no sense.
Ss
@JeanJ
When you wrote about being a taker and not a giver, that reminds me of you.
@Gretchen: This is not a Chamber event – guess you got that wrong.
@steve segner: Don’t you ever get tired of having to defend your chamber and lodging crap decisions? When will any of us ever see an Audit showing lodging/ council money in and who decides how to spend it? Do you boys on lodging coffee clutch committee actually Ask your members or do you boys just pony up with money when chamber and city needs it? Are you going to run for mayor?
@JeanJ ; As usual you have the correct information. Hold on to your backside as you know ol’ segner will fight you on this one. You are so correct in saying that sales tax revenues are not taking in any adjustment for inflation. It’s called the Shell Game they both play………there are so many ways to present numbers that it makes one just spin!
Yet there is one correct and clear way to present numbers and that is with an outside and independent Audit for both Chamber and Lodging boys. City should pay for it and then get out of the way and not induce any results and just let audit rock and roll and see what the results are.
@Sharlett, an outside audit will never happen! If you watched the most recent council meeting when Jennifer W. gave her annual report to council, she briefly mentioned towards the end of the meeting that “they” (Chamber?) were in the process of preparing the audit and it would be presented “soon?” – whatever that means. There was NO discussion about an “outside” audit that has previously been discussed ever since this cockeyed idea of allowing the C of C to control Sedona was placed on the table. How quickly they forget about “transparency” and being fiscally responsible.
A legitimate professional outside audit would obviously be the worse nightmare for both City staff and Chamber. Otherwise why wouldn’t they do it?
Sharlett says:
You are so correct in saying that sales tax revenues are not taking in any adjustment for inflation.
Sorry, last 8 years we have not had any inflation, hotels are just now getting back to pre 2007 pricing, sorry Jean… and we are able to charge more now because of the Sedona city marketing is helping fill rooms.
ss
Apparently steve Segner doesn’t shop for groceries. No inflation? Very funny. NOT!
INFLATION
US Inflation in September Falls; Annual Inflation Rate Flat
OCTOBER 15, 2015 LEAVE A COMMENT
2015 -0.1 0.0 -0.1 -0.2 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.2
please do you home work
the $40,000,000 growth in new sales and hotel booking did not come from Inflation as you can see, it came from hard work in marketing,
http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/historical-inflation-rates/
what is Sedona up 14% and inflations in almost 0%
more bad Jan math,
ss
@Sharlett
I don’t agree with you about needing an audit but if you think that one is needed why not pony up the bucks and pay for it yourself? Youre quick to give opinions that only a few on this site agree with and since you don’t like whats going on, put up the bucks!
Room rates are UP.
Steve you are one sickie. Sedona city employees are soooo lazy they don’t want to be bothered. So rather than do the job they are handsomely paid for the enable the whiners direct them how to steal taxpayers money just to shut them up. They still get paid higher than any city this size and they do half the work.
Yep rooms rates are up and Jean is correct.
No inflation? Thinking best tell our 2016 budget shaker maker the stats you’ve got don’t represent stats we’ve been given to work with. Life must be damn good in AZ.
Funny says: Sedona city employees are soon lazy
Why would you say something like that? You don’t know all the city employees you do don’t work with them, please show us how Sedona city employees get paid more and do less work… please. And why should people that work in smaller cities make less the people in larger cities? Should everyone that work for small business makes less the people that work for large companies like Wal-Mart?
Work is work big city or small same goes for the school District.
The city of Sedona Pays what it need to pay to get great people to come and work in. Sedona.
ss
@Funny your right room rates are up. Sedona does not attract the wealthy anymore. With all the time share hawkers and traffic they have lost them.
They can go to many beautiful places that don’t have this.
The visitors attracted are the budget ones. Cheap brings more cheaper visitors and bargain hunters. All the free stuff drives business out.
I have noticed the City does not want to be bother with us residents. City council and staff direct us to communicate to a chamber. So you are correct they are not doing the job they are suppose to do. By masking the issues they have created more. Look at Cottonwood, they have more money, pay less and have maintained integrity with the job of the city. Employees and Residents are happy.
@ Steve S
Pay no attention to @FUNNY. She was once employed by government around here and she got fired( not an easy thing to do..congrats for the JP)
Sour grapes
Of course you would say that, steve Segner, because the city employees are working for YOU!
You and the Chamber of Commerce have wheedled yourselves into city hall like a pack of rats and pull all financial strings.
Why have you and city staff reneged on the professional outside audit that was discussed and even committed to have happened but has been now swept under the rug (or should we say red rocks)? If you had nothing to hide – any of you – it would be a top priority if for no other reason than to shut up those of us who continue to question this sleazy process.
In a word that “sleazy process” is more commonly known as CORRUPTION.
All of you are a disgrace to Sedona but no one in the system has the integrity and grit to call it what it is and put an end to it. Have you now sucked in the new city manager and city attorney since you admit you spend most of your time at city hall and you live in Oak Creek Canyon.
The following information is from Assistant City Manager Karen Daines, and it’s with her permission that it’s being offered to readers of Sedona Eye.
Specifically Ms. Daines states: “The City isn’t holding the lease for that facility. My understanding is that Verde Valley Sanctuary is the one who leased the space to use the present wrapping as a fundraiser for their non-profit. This is not part of Holiday Central or the City’s holiday events/activities.”
So, how about we give credit where credit is due? Here we have a very worthwhile cause, Verde Valley Sanctuary and, based on its own merit and creativity, is making a concerted effort to provide a public service which at the same time will assist in funding their non-profit.
Maybe it’s time to return to “old” Sedona methods and, when given the opportunity, encourage this type of charitable fund-raising versus the new trend of enlisting public funds at council meetings to be used for special interests.
Is it possible for support to be rallied to encourage more non-profits to create public participation in similar events? Just a thought.
Mr. Segner:
Do you pay your housekeepers the going rate for housekeepers in in New York City? Doubt it. Blah…blah….blah.
Any chance of you moving away sometime soon?
@Long time resident
Novel concept you espouse but one making no sense at all. Not my job to pay for any outside audit as I already pay enough taxes. Don’t you get it? Neither the Regional Chamber, Lodging Council nor the City want a real audit……and that is scary to say the least! If they have nothing to hide then they can combine their monies and do the right thing.
@West Sedona Resident: Are you referencing “Funny” as being Jessica Williamson who got fired from City of Sedona?
@steve Segner: if you are correct on what the City pays its employees – than how come we are so short on police officers who leave here to get paid much better? Oh, Damn, I forgot! City pays for Regional Chamber, transforming the teen center at $20K/month over to a new entity, pays for almost every handout group asking for money……….and doesn’t pay our police enough to keep them here. Hummm How do you answer that one?
The lodging group has been raising rates with zero concept of attracting more than a night or two guest…that means repeat guest are not even considered….just your getting away with a rate scam and daily numbers.
And, yes, Mr segner just what do you pay your housekeepers?
You also said a small town payroll (for city) should be the same for a big city. What are you talking about? A small town has many less issues, etc, than a large city and there is NO connection at all! You said: “The city of Sedona Pays what it need to pay to get great people to come and work in. Sedona”. So why are we short of the needed cops?
@Peter – one can always wish for a Christmas Wish to come true! One can always wish for our “leaders” (?) to get real and transparent and discontinue their excessively close behavior and resistant to outside influence, other than those they have chosen….. which translates to their incestuous behavior. .
Thanks again ms maddock for writing facts
Mr. Segner:
Do you pay your housekeepers the going rate for housekeepers in in New York City? Doubt it. Blah…blah….blah.
Any chance of you moving away sometime soon? no
Actually a little more $40,000 + but you will just say that is bull…. Because you have no a idea
ss
Thanks to Ms. Maddock it’s clearly not a Chamber project. Saw on Sedonaeye calendar of events Mayor Moriarty is coming to help them out on Dec 18 from 3-5. Be nice if people turned out and told Sandy hello and help out this good cause.
@ Gail:
What a great idea, how about all of us get out from behind our keyboards this holiday season and go help some charity in Sedona. It will make someone less fortunate feel loved and wanted. I was up at the tree lighting in Uptown and it felt so great to see those little kids faces light up when Santa showed up. Since my grand kids are so much older, I sort of forgot what those darling faces can look like at that age. Since I enjoyed the little kids so much, I’m going to give my time to meals on wheels for a few weeks and help out the “older” kids. To me, a smiling face is a smiling face.
@Gail .. and why would Mayor Moriarty be a positive attraction for the Verde Valley Sanctuary considering she was elected by the chamber of commerce, which association tainted the location of this year’s gift wrapping event in the first place? Seems if anything her presence muddies the waters and raises the question once again whether or not the “chamber” is really involved with this project? You just convinced me – good cause or not – I’ll wrap my own gifts.
This is about VVS. Support it. Other stuff doesn’t matter. Nobody gets paid to do this, it’s called charity.
Wow! How sad it is to see such childish bickering in this Season of Goodwill.
“Wrap It At The Y West” has NOTHING to do with the Chamber of Commerce and NOTHING to do with the Sedona City Council.
The Verde Valley Sanctuary is a local Charity, which provides refuge for women and children fleeing domestic violence. The event currently running in Bashas Plaza is an annual fund raiser. Just about everything is generously donated, the premises, the paper and ribbon, and most of all the time of the volunteers, who wrap presents for free for those wishing to make a donation to the Verde Valley Sanctuary.
You would also the opportunity to buy items from the Twice Nice Gift Store. The money from that goes directly to support the Verde Valley Sanctuary.
Sadly this year there are a number of young children at the Sanctuary, so there is a Diaper Drive. Please feel free to drop something, any size, in at the venue.
So, ignore the petty Sedona politics. Drop in and have a present wrapped. No presents to wrap, then just drop in and make a donation. Perhaps drop some diapers by, or, if none of that appeals to you, then why not just pop your head in the door and thank the volunteers for their effort.
Goodwill to all.