Carefree Town Council
Eight Questions were sent to this year’s candidates for the Carefree Town Council. Three candidates have returned responses to us, and those responses are reprinted below for your reference. Though our deadline has passed, we plan to incorporate responses from other candidates as we receive them.
Carefree Unity
1. Briefly describe your qualifications and reasons for seeking office. How have your past actions improved Carefree?
Stephen Hatcher: My academic qualifications include a BS in Mechanical engineering and an MBA in Finance. I spent my first twelve years as an aerospace engineer designing fighter aircraft. Then in 1993, I made a career switch to the financial services industry. Currently, I work as an asset manager for a private investment firm in Scottsdale. I believe the work we did in bringing the 520 homes into the Carefree water system, the issuance of the $18.5M bond for all the repairs and upgrades we did to the town’s water system, gaining complete control of our water supply to control our economic development are issues we have successfully completed over the last few years. All of these achievements have helped our residents and the town for the long-term.
Colleen Rose-Scurti: I have over 30 years’ experience in real estate, development, and executive leadership. Creating systems, building teams and working with management to make them more financially and organizationally productive is how I built my career. I am a dedicated, hardworking, problem solver. I have been very involved in the community, attending all Council, Budget, P & Z, EDAB and General Plan meetings. I read all the underlying documents, so I fully understand the issues. I meet with residents, Town Staff, and Government officials quite often. I want the decisions for the town to be made based on facts. No one can be an expert in everything, but I work very hard to be educated in all aspects of the town. I will be very involved with the town residents, business owners, visitors, and current town government. Bringing all sides together for the betterment of our town is my goal.
I am running for Town Council because I want to preserve our small rural town with its values, charm and unique character. I want to work to keep residents and neighborhoods safe while building a successful and thriving community. I also want to bring the residents and the Town Staff and Government together. I feel it has become quite divisive and we cannot grow and be successful if we are not working together. We can have differing opinions but still be respectful to each other.
Vince D’Aliesio:
A. I campaigned my first term on the promise that I would work with my fellow councilmembers to ensure quality water service (and representation) for all Carefree Residents. We kept that promise.
B. As president of the Cave Creek Museum (2020-2021), I worked with the town of Carefree (while simultaneously serving on council) to establish a proclamation that March 6, 2021 would be recognized as “Gerry Jones Day,” honoring our town’s oldest living pioneer, also renaming the Sundial Circle as “The Gerry Jones Sundial Circle.” A boulder from Mr. Jones’ property was placed adjacent to the Sundial and a plaque (paid for by the Cave Creek Museum) was dedicated to honor the occasion. I had the pleasure of emceeing the event. See here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTzXlCS9Rk0
C. I worked with our council (and the residents near the NE corner of Cave Creek Rd/Carefree Hwy) to rezone the corner with development restrictions to protect the image of our community and draw the right type of commerce.
D. I helped advocate for our continued participation in the Salt River/Bartlett Dam water project, so that our community will have a continued water source, even if C.A.P allocation or our own water table drops during this 25 year drought.
2. The General Plan process has been underway since November 2022 and could still be referred to the November ballot as late as the July Town Council meeting. What is your position on this issue?
Colleen Rose-Scurti: I was involved in the General Plan process as were a lot of Carefree Residents. The General Plan is our vision for the next 10 years, so it is important that it reflects what the citizens want for their town. I attended all the workshops, reviewed all the drafts and filled out the lengthy surveys with what was important to me. I think a lot of time, work and effort went into what we currently have. While I may not agree with everything that is in the final product, it is a representation of all the residents, not just myself and so I do think that it should be on the ballot in November.
Vince D’Aliesio: I am in favor of the General plan amendment, as written. Studies have been done, consultants brought in, we are best positioned to complete the general plan as written.
Stephen Hatcher: The General Plan (GP) has been quite an undertaking; however, I feel the plan is very good except for the SPA. A supporting vote was cast by me to remove the SPA from the GP at this time. There are two specific paragraphs written in the SPA that are at the heart of all the consternation voiced by the community. First, there is specific language recommending a Casita style resort to be developed. Second, there are nine specific construction guidelines listed which really are the core of the SPA.
I am going to recommend we remove the Casita-style resort language and rely on the nine specific construction guidelines. In addition, I am going to request to have a citizen-based group to oversee all construction proposals. Allow the citizens to review and offer recommendations for the council to consider. This will give the community the chance to fully participate in how that corner is developed. This approach may require additional construction guidelines. Hopefully, this approach will be accepted by all, and we can complete the passage of the General Plan.
3. Do you support the fiscal year 2025 budget that was approved on June 4? Are there areas in which you believe spending should be increased or decreased?
Vince D’Aliesio: Our town staff and council are lock-step in fiscal responsibility. I support the recommendations from our town administrator and staff.
Stephen Hatcher: Yes, I approve of the 2025 budget. Fortunately, the town manager has diligently contributed funds to the capital improvement account so we can complete our much needed road repairs.
Colleen Rose-Scurti: I do approve of the budget. I attended all the meetings and reviewed the drafts and final budget. I have also had several communications with Gary Neiss to get further clarification on some items. I am happy the budget came in at 7.3% less than the previous year, especially in light of the current economy. Some of the areas that did have increases have logical explanations for the increases, so I understand that. There are a few areas where I might not see the need for the expense but as a resident, I am not the deciding factor alone. I think the Town has presented a very comprehensive budget and I do appreciate that.
4. Do you believe the Town’s fiscal balance sheet is sound? If not, what changes need to be made to bring it into balance?
Stephen Hatcher: Yes, I am good with the fiscal balance sheet.
Vince D’Aliesio: Our balance sheet is sound at this time, but we must be vigilant to plan ahead for continued revenue generation for our town so that we can fund special projects when needed, such as street maintenance and equipment replacement.
Colleen Rose-Scurti: I do think the current balance sheet is fiscally sound. I appreciate Peter Burns’ work on the budget forecast. I am not a budget expert, so my thoughts are based on my own personal thoughts regarding finances. I am conservative financially and so I think Peter’s pessimistic budget is probably more realistic, and I think there is a very good chance of a recession over his nine-year forecast. When times are tough, families buckle down and don’t spend and that is what our town should do as well. Though we have certain expenses that we do not have control over, we should be very conservative and try and build up our reserves. New or replacement development would do much to help increase our sales tax revenue. I am hopeful that we will develop the NE corner soon as there is much progress that has occurred over the last several months. Replacing closed or relocating businesses should be a priority. We need to focus on redevelopment of the CVS space and soon will need a new tenant for the ACE Hardware location. As a new Town Council member, I would strongly focus on growth opportunities both in and outside Town Center.
5. Does the Town currently provide appropriate levels and types of services to residents? If not, what services should be added or eliminated?
Vince D’Aliesio: Our current services are adequate to suit the town’s needs at this time. In the future, we must consider expanding police and fire presence.
Colleen Rose-Scurti: For the most part, I think the town offers appropriate levels of services to the residents. I do think we need more of a police presence and so I am happy that is in the current budget. They do not have the staffing at this time, but we have it budgeted for as soon as they do. I know there are residents and visitors that would like an EV charging station and Steve Prokopek has been working on getting a grant that would cover almost the entire cost of the project.
Stephen Hatcher: The town provides all the traditional services such as water, sewer, zoning, construction permits, and code enforcement. I wish we could convince the residents that we would save money and reduce the damage to our roads if we had just one trash collection company.
6. Do you support the Economic Development Plan as amended and approved on 1/4/22? Are you satisfied with the activity taken in support of that plan by the Economic Development Director and other Carefree officials?
Colleen Rose-Scurti: I would have to answer this in conjunction with the Economic Development Workplan that was approved for the 2023-24 years as well. I am definitely in favor of actions that can help our revenue streams. I think there were lots of ideas in the 2021-22 plan and a few of them were achieved but several were not. I know things take time but if I were on Town Council I would be very diligent in accomplishing more in a quicker timeframe if possible. We cannot just keep talking about the same things and hope to get different outcomes, if we are not more action oriented. I have been meeting and speaking with the Economic Development Director frequently in hopes of making some headway with the projects that need to be completed focusing on those that generate the most income for the Town.
Stephen Hatcher: I do support the economic development plan. We must recognize that land development or securing a new tenant is a long process with many factors to be considered.
Vince D’Aliesio: We are extremely fortunate to employe a very fiscally responsible and hardworking town administrator, clerk, planner, and economic development director. Our Economic development director has an extensive background in the cities of Peoria and Phoenix and will continue to work with existing (and future) businesses to find ways to build on our “Carefree lifestyle.”
7. Fire Department & Emergency Services contracts will expire in 2027. We currently have no renewal option and both costs and provider availability are current risks to the Town. How would you propose the Town manage this risk?
Stephen Hatcher: This is big our biggest challenge in 2027. We don’t know if Rural Metro will still be an option or not. The cost to establish our own fire and emergency services department is probably as expensive as Automatic Aid. Too many unknowns at this point. What we can do is to do our best to grow strong financially so when tough decisions need to be made, we can make them from a position of strength. We need to fill any empty buildings with quality tenants and successfully secure a good tenant on the NE corner of Carefree Highway and Cave Creek Road.
Vince D’Aliesio: This issue will need to be revisited. Costs for fire protection will only continue to increase. Rural Metro may not be a viable option at that time, as their presence in the Desert Foothills has decreased with Daisy Mtn assuming control in Cave Creek. Now more than ever, commercial development on our two-three remaining parcels will be the best option in order for Carefree to avoid a town-property tax.
Colleen Rose-Scurti: Our current contract expires in July of 2027, renewal discussions will start in January of 2027. I am sure the costs will go up as everything has gone up but hopefully they will be in line with something that works for the budget of Carefree. Mutual Aid is expensive but Automatic Aid would be even more expensive and not something our budget could handle without additional revenue like a property tax. The budget forecast is taking into account a very large increase in the fees to the Rural Metro contract, so it has been accounted for but I would still like us to work on all avenues to increase our revenue so that we are able to stay in a fiscally strong position.
8. What issues do you see as most urgent? If elected, what would you try to accomplish in your first 100 days?
Vince D’Aliesio: Our first order of business will be to work with our residents to find the best way to complete our General Plan. Other urgent issues include continued economic development, and water. I am proud to represent our residents. I have served three terms and have been the most involved of all candidates in projects affecting our town’s prosperity, image, and development.
I have the desire to serve one more term as a councilmember, and I would appreciate your vote.
Colleen Rose-Scurti: There are 3 things I would want to start working on right away. The first would be to create an action plan in reference to the Economic Development Plan so that we can start to get the needed things done, especially in Town Center. I have already started coming up with ideas and processes as I want to help Carefree with this endeavor whether I am elected to Town Council or not. It is important for the health and quality of life in Carefree. The second thing would be to start improving the relationship between the Town and the residents. There has been a lot of friction and lack of trust and to be successful in endeavors for the town we need to be working together not against each other. Third would be to promote the General Plan should it be on the ballot in November, which I hope it will be.
Stephen Hatcher: I see the immediate goal is to find new tenants to replace CVS drug store, ACE Hardware, and other buildings to insure a consistent flow of income to the town.
Carefree Unity 