January 22, 2014 •
• Anthem
Vol. 12, No.10
• Black Canyon City
Cactus Shadows projects generate more debate Eric Quade Editor
At their Jan. 14 meeting, members of the Cave Creek Unified School District’s governing board took part in more heated debate about the cafeteria expansion and stadium turf projects at Cactus Shadows High School. Dennis Roehler and Kent Frison from the school district’s administration staff briefed board members on each project, going into even more detail than what was discussed at the board’s late November meeting. Roehler, director of facilities and construction at CCUSD, said that the proposed expansion of the Cactus Shadows cafeteria would roughly double its square footage with extra tables inside, plus eating space under an extended eave. Depending on which—if any— proposal the board chose to pursue, the expansion could take the cafeteria’s seating capacity from an existing 255 to either 443 or 490. Roehler admitted that the seating component of the $1.4 million cafeteria renovation proposal had a fairly drastic swing in price, depending on which option was ultimately chosen. The more extravagant proposal, featuring about 50 more seats, was estimated at about $304,000, whereas the projected price tag on a scaled back version was about $180,000.
CCUSD
continued on page 4
Inside: Clock Doc................ 2 Events.......................5 Obituary...................9 Bluhm..................... 12 Editorial.............. 16 Services................. 17 Crossword......... 20 Classifieds.......... 21
Postal Patron Cave Creek
• Carefree
• Cave Creek
ECRWSS Carrier Route PreSorted Standard U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 371 Cave Creek, AZ
• Desert Hills
• New River
• North Phoenix
• Tramonto
Zoning mess upsets New River couple Eric Quade Editor
If anyone is glad that 2013 is over and done with, then it’s probably Andrea and Daniel May. The New River couple said that their experience dealing with Maricopa County zoning officials over several months last year was an exercise in frustration that cost them not only a lot of time and effort, but also a sizable chunk of money. Andrea said it actually began in September 2012 after a complaint about flooding had been made to Maricopa County. It was alleged that a round pen used for horses had caused flooding next door. “County came out, wrote us up violations—one which was accurate. We had added a roof connecting up to our stalls,” she said. “They wrote us up for diverting water, which wasn’t true. They wrote us up for having too many horses, which wasn’t true. Another phony infraction the May family said they were hit with claimed that structures on their property had to be 40 feet away from their neighbors. Then they were told that no outbuilding can be any closer than 15 feet to another building on their property. The alleged violations cost the Mays thousands of dollars—in addition to sweat equity—to try to rectify. After tearing down some structures and moving
Embattled equestrians — Daniel and Andrea May at their New River home.
others to be in compliance with purported zoning rules, the New River couple got another surprise. “Well, then we find out that in 2011 the 15-foot requirement was taken away,” Andrea said. Email records confirm that a county code enforcement officer had contacted the Mays
in September of 2013 to say that this particular “violation has been closed. The zoning ordinance was recently changed and the distance between buildings is no longer a requirement.” But the change hadn’t occurred after the Mays had been hit with a notice of violation. It had
Eric Quade photo
taken place approximately a full year before hand, and they had apparently been cited under outdated rules. As a result, Andrea and Daniel May have both expressed their fr ustration with how their
ZONING
continued on page 6
Parkside election underway, candidate search The 2014 election season is underway for the Parkside Community Association. T he cal l for candidates began on Jan. 20 and will wrap up Feb. 7. There is one open Parkside seat on the Anthem Community Council—currently held by Tim Fyke—and there are three open seats on the Parkside Community Association Boards of Directors, which are currently held by K risten Rensmeyer, Loren Linscott and Jim Lasky. All three of the open Parkside board seats are 2-year terms, while the ACC position is a 3-year term. Parkside officials said that a list of candidate requirements will be available on the Parkside page at www.OnlineAtAnthem.com.
The timeline for prospective candidates includes: • Feb. 7, candidacy filing deadline • Fe b. 19, “ Me e t t h e
Candidates Night” • Feb. 21, ballots mailed out and electronic voting begins • March 14, ballots due by 5 p.m. at the HOA office; electronic
voting closes at midnight • M a r c h 18 , r e s u l t s announced • April, newly elected board members are installed