Cave Creek Voter Questions
Recently a Cave Creek resident reached out to me on social media with a few questions. Here are my answers.
Brian Hardy, candidate for Cave Creek Mayor.
Question: Where do you plan to have the ‘town square’? How do you plan to pay for it?
There is land available in Town but not for long. The larger question is whether it would benefit to our Town. I think it would benefit Cave Creek greatly.
Raising money for a town Square would be fairly simple. I have met with a prominent non-profit in town and they are interested in being the custodian of the donations after taking a small percentage for administration. There are plenty of citizens in Cave Creek interested in leaving a Legacy. A donation scale could look something like this:
| Donation Level | Recognition Name |
|---|---|
| $1,000,000+ | Founders Circle |
| $500,000+ | Legacy Circle |
| $250,000+ | Trailblazers |
| $100,000+ | Visionaries |
| $50,000+ | Patrons |
| $25,000+ | Stewards |
| $10,000+ | Pioneers |
| $5,000+ | Wranglers |
| $2,500+ | Trail Bosses |
| $1,000+ | Neighbors |
| $500+ | Friends of the Square |
| Any Gift | Community Supporter |
The plan would be to turn the project over to the town to operate and maintain. It could also be turned into a conservancy that maintains and operates it. Projected revenue from the Square should be somewhere between 1-2 million dollars per year.
Question: Do you feel that lush medians cause more accidents due to blocked vision?
I don’t think the medians need to be lush. They need to be maintained. We should let the experts tell us what plants and trees work best. The question is does leadership have the desire to keep our medians looking nice?
Question: How do you plan to handle the future water issues?
Cave Creek has been dangerously over reliant on one source for most of its water, the Colorado River, a vulnerability known for decades. The town must aggressively acquire new sources from alternative regional buckets besides CAP, specifically the Bureau of Reclamation and SRP’s Verde River storage expansion.
Furthermore, by keeping its independent water company, Cave Creek is forced to compete against institutional whales in volatile water markets. Currently, these entities only offer short term, two to three year contracts, trapping the town in continuous negotiations. A partnership with Phoenix is viable if Cave Creek provides a high value asset in return. Otherwise, selling the utility assets becomes necessary. Lacking regional economies of scale, Cave Creek faces skyrocketing operational costs and the pressure of rising water rates, challenges a major water provider would structurally stabilize.
Question: How do you plan to build a better relationship with the business community?
Having started my own businesses large and small, I know what entrepreneurs face on a daily basis. I already have a great relationship with a lot of the businesses in Town. Last week I met with numerous business owners to discuss the congestion issue during bike week. We discussed a plan that could potentially solve the problem. The businesses that are most important to our way of life are the ones in our town core. Having Wal-Mart is great but no one has ever traveled across the state to see our Wal-Mart.
Question: What are your thoughts on preserving what’s left of Cave Creek’s Western Heritage?
The Town Square would be pivotal to ensure our Western Heritage for future generations. It’s open for discussion but a mining and western theme would be best. It would also be an opportunity for Cave Creek to display its history and tell the stories.
Leadership needs to work with developers to persuade them into reflecting our western Heritage as much as possible.
Question: Do you intend on implementing a property tax to fund your plans? Speaking of which, you have stated that you have plans but must be elected before telling people those plans, why? Why not tell people now?
I would never support a property tax.
I have not stated that I need to be elected first before discussing my plans. I am always open and accessible to genuine questions. I hope these answers are satisfactory. Thank you Marc.
