I guess I will have to repeat again, the “ideas” you seem to think are mine are, in fact, are an amalgamation of the business models currently employed by the most successful small town resorts in the United States. Would you please, or somebody out there, just get in your car and drive over to Palm Desert, CA. There you will find the most colossal small resort town success in America to whom God gave no natural beauty whatsoever. They figured out how to attract private benefactor money in unfathomable amounts from wealthy private and commercial benefactors who partnered with the City. Sheri, for crying out loud, we had such a benefactor by the name of Georgia Frontiere in Sedona, a billionairess who put up her own money to build Sedona’s Amphitheater at the Cultural Park without asking for anything in return, then offered a veritable greater fortune to rebuild it after we squandered it, only to have our then Council insult her when she finally asked for some very fair concessions. How stupid can this town get?

I took your advice and went back through your article and the comments that followed and was actually kind of dumbstruck by your comment (in your article) of “Have you read the multitude of comments that are coming to my articles?’.

It’s not about the multitude of comments – it’s about the realistic approach to solve a huge financial problem with a council who only wants to tax us and our tourists in order to pay their bills.

Unfortunately, so many people are not tuned in to the financial ramifications of any projects the City takes on. Nor are they cognoscente of the idea of – if you do this – what will it cost? And most of your respondents love the pie in the sky ideals…realistic or not. There is no yin to their yang.

Council is certainly not “implicating” a raise in taxes. They are In fact actually Pushing for and Agreeing with that concept and the revenue it will generate for their plans.

While I appreciate your creative approach and do understand your concepts of a good business plan, I still do not understand your Point.

Additional taxes will not cause a business to go out of business; a business will absorb those new taxes and will add that amount into their prices. Business’s, unfortunately have great ideas without backup. They have bad or no business plans and lack a savings account to get them through the bad times. Or those business’s that are still here have a savings account and a good business plan and really do understand that if they buy more inventory it will be Them (not the taxpayers) who will pay the bill.

Oddly enough – this Council has never really had to madtch the income to the outgo on a personal level like all the business owners do.

Again the real reality and responsibility of our elected is to cover the basics of Health, Safety and Welfare vs their bucket list.

Question to you Rick: where does the money come from to fund and finance your ideals and partnerships and municipally owned projects?

Sheri Graham

P.S. I fully agree with Jean that this or any Council should put a Tax increase, of any type, on a public election ballot. Perhaps that should be your new direction?

BTW, the .5% Wesselhoff sales tax increase could appear on the City Council agenda again. I feel certain you will agree destination marketing is not the job nor the responsibility of the City.

Furthermore, taxpayers are already contributing $450,000 next fiscal year for destination marketing via the new budget.. I oppose forcing Sedonans to pay an additional .5% sales tax that the City will turn over to the Chamber of Commerce pursuant to CEO Jennifer Wesselhoff’s marketing plan.

Let’s all make it clear to the Council that any member wanting to run for re-election in 2014 has no chance if he or she votes for the City Council to approve the probable .5% sales tax increase. Such a decision must go before the electorate. This is an option under AZ law.

I am sorry to hear about your ordeal with shingles. As a matter of fact, I really do understand since my Mother was occasionally tormented by it.
Anyway, I do appreciate your comment. Since you posted my private email to you, I will point out that I didn’t ask you to help me. Because I value your opinion, I merely asked for no more than for you to write a comment…any comment.
As for what you perceived to be my recommended fixes and plans, may I please impose upon you to scroll back up three comments to my reply to Marty L. Having read that comment I think you will see that you somewhat missed my point in the article. Thank you.

I would, especially relative to the issue argued within, be honored to have you write a comment. We all need commentary from our best and brightest…and that group definitely includes you. Thank you so much!

Rick”

Since I’ve been down and out and suffering from Shingles for the last 3 weeks I’ve been unable and unwilling to look, let alone respond to anything other than my health. Sure you will understand.

So, I wasn’t able to reply to your email beyond your initial send to me. I did, initially respond saying I had family issues going on. Those family issues were me and a grandson suffering from a life altering disease.

Now that I’m feeling better and have been trying to catch up with all web sites and posts and putting all in perspective…I’m thinking I’m strong enough to respond.

Thank you Rick for your request of me supporting your ideals…and thanks for your complements to me and how you believe my thoughts and abilities will help your cause.

Problem is I can’t agree with or muddle through the options you espouse. Don’t see any of them as a fix and rather just a list of non plausible….what did I read that was that called?…a Chinese menu?

In my mind, the only fix to our current City sinking into a dark hole is for the Council to stop all their sundry spending and just get back to the real issues….and, as someone posted or said: the very real issues of a town our size is all relative – just do the basics as required and forget the dream list….I’m paraphrasing and I am in full agreement.

Sorry I can’t help you more Rick – yet the fixes and plans you propose just don’t ring true to me….do dig deeper and see what you come up with. In my opinion the answers are pretty simple….Basic list of what a City is responsible for: Health, Safety and Welfare.

Sheri Graham

I don’t know who you are or from where you hail, but I would like to ask you if you could move here and write for one of our online publications? Colorful you are, and that’s a trait sorely needed in our community. Nobody here has a glib sense of humor. Thank you!

Colonel Travis

I will tell you what set me off relative to your comments. Re-read my article, in conjunction with the entirety of my comments to the subject article and also in conjunction with my two other articles currently posted with SedonaEye.co. Having done that I think you will realize that what you keep referring to as my suggested remedy is only the remedy that pertains to one of two choices that Sedona has to make. Our citizenry and our governance here are utterly schizophrenic in that they can’t decide whether or not we, as a city, want to be a quiet, rustic, bedroom community for retirees or a destination traveler market.

No city can be both! If we want to be the latter then the City will simply have to adopt the business model you are referring to as my suggested remedy. The remedy to which you refer is NOT suggested by me…it happens to be the business model adopted by every successful small-town destination traveler market in the country, the best examples being Palm Desert, CA, and Durango, CO.

Marty, Sedona spends a veritable fortune every year to attract destination travelers which has never produced a successful effort because we won’t do what it takes to be successful at it. And, if the City doesn’t want to be a successful destination traveler market, then so be it, but then we need to stop squandering the money we pay to the Chamber of Commerce to bring that market here when we don’t provide the demands of that particular tourist profile. And, they do demand a diverse and robust night life. We can’t have it both ways. We simply have to make a choice.

Personally, I can tell you it’s too late to adopt the plan of the other cities I mentioned. We don’t even have the cash flow to keep replenishing the CAFR Wastewater Enterprise Fund (Reserves), yet the Mayor wants Sedona to go further into debt in order to fund purchase of yet more recreational properties (including the Creek Walk) even after the City Manager publicly advised him that the City doesn’t have the money.

Why is it the town population of Sedona can’t recognize that we can never serve two masters, namely, destination traveler tourism and a no-growth commercial development plan? Make up your minds people…and that has always been my message Marty.

Don’t forget that City will always play on our fears and start by claiming “…we will have to cut back on Police and Fire Protection…” This was their main selling point when they traveled around the city asking for votes to keep the budget in the hands of the city and not the state. Remember, by the state’s calculations, our city should be running on around a $22M budget.

Sedona has to have the highest % of ‘failed businesses” of any place in the USA. What I am saying here is that whether the person has Red Rock Fever or not, people move here, open their business, pay all the fees and charges and can’t survive even 6 months.

Look at the businesses already leaving. Can the Chamber even keep a record of them all?

Please stop ‘name calling” and derogatory remarks. This is not a reality TV show. And this is not how our parents taught us to behave.

How does ending the conversation help the situation? Marty L???

JRN was trying to show us some PROVEN, winning formulas other cities have used. Are they right for us? Probably not. But what the Chamber, eh hem, the City has proposed WILL NOT WORK.

Marty, you were in agreement, but don’t like the ideas on how to proceed. Can you give us some? Do you have the same drive to do the research and come up with a plan? That is what is needed. JRN is not a totalitarian. I am sure, unlike the Council, he would listen to another person’s positive thinking.

EVERYONE:
Don’t leave this topic on this website. Talk to people you know. Ask business owners and consumers. Talk to council members. This is a small town. Use what is left of the benefits of living in a small town before they are taxed as well!

I pull up my big bowl of popcorn to watch those meetings and can’t remember the last time I saw You speaking at a Council Meeting……or did I miss it?

Please do not presume to know one thing about me because you simply do not. Because I don’t agree with all the stuff you write doesn’t mean I’m of a lessor value than you, Rick.

I’m as able to have my own opinions as you are. Wish you understood the concept of a dialogue or conversation. Obviously you do not.

You have your ideas (without costs associated – just the Chinese menu) All I’ve been asking for – versus your rainbows – is just the costs that your dream list will cost. .

I have my thoughts….as I watch the Council meetings and keep hearing of the shortfalls, as Jean correctly calls. I continue to hear that the very basic items are not being accomplished – I continue to feel grave concerns.

Seems to me your night life and quiet time fixes are a zero to fixing our biggest problems.

Hope you get all your “dreams” to come true. But I’m thinking it’s time for this little town to get back to reality and get rid of all the external/self-promoting dreams…..from both you and Council. Basics!!!
Sharlett