Presidio in the Pines is another Chainsaw Massacre about to happen

Received May 12, 2004 

If you think the clear cutting of 300 trees was bad, just wait. Do you know that the city council approved and rubber stamped the execution of 91 acres of ponderosa forest? And for what? For the planned experiment of high-density housing. Presidio in the Pines developers asked for and will recieve the permission to wipe out 85 percent of what is left of the trees after they have cut down trees for streets, infrasturcture and housing footprints. This project has been endorsed and pushed through by our own city council and city manager. 

Are you concerned yet? Do you see the hypocrisy? This project is also endorsed by Friends of Flagstaff's Future. I think the city council should be nominated for the Golden Chainsaw Award, for their crime against nature. The public should be invited to witness the city council approved execution of thousands of our beautiful Ponderosa Pines. What happened on the Nackard property is a slap on the wrist compared what is about to happen. I hope this stirs some interest.

James Baker

Comments from Candidate Rick Lopez 

Received May 8, 2004

(Lopez is responding here to letters by Dan Frazier and Lisa Rayner.)

I just took a look at your web site.  Interesting to say the least.  I would like, however, to mention just a few things. 

 

Regarding Lisa's letter to the editor...although she makes a few good points why is it that she omits the FACT that the city included THE COMPLETION OF THE FUTS SYSTEM in the 2000 transportation bond.  If you read the Flagstaff City Scape of January 2000 it promotes the 2000 transportation bond with 16 million dollars for "safe to schools', pedesrian underpasses & overpasses, and completion of the FUTS trail system.  You will notice that it specifically states COMPLETION OF not addition to or extension of or something else.  I remember this very important detail because I challenged staff on this language because they had promised the same thing in the 1996 recreation bond. They assured me that the money being requested in the 2000 transportation bond would be sufficient to complete the system. Why is it that everyone seems to be ignoring that?  Are we supposed to continue to pour money into this black hole just because?  If you are as interested in digging into the truth as you claim...why are you ignoring this fact?

 

Regarding your letter regarding your support of Joe Donaldson because he represents the better of 2 evils (kind of what you are saying), let me just say that the fact that I am a realtor does not mean that I have given up my citizenship...nor should I.  I have absolutely no interest in promoting urban sprawl...in fact if I could wave a magic wand and accomplish anything I wanted I would go back to the Flagstaff I knew as a young boy.  This means I would be playing in my tree house which was removed to build the townhouse you now own.  Believe me when I say that.  We failed to close the gates back then, why should we do so now?  I only care about the people that are here now.  I don't really care about those people who are yet to come...and come they will.  I care about our current families, and their ability to prosper, to own their own homes, and to see their children grow up and choose to stay here because there is an abundance of good paying jobs and homeownership opportunities.  Incidentally, you say nothing of Joe Donaldson taking $350 dollars from Shawn Campbell (a local Real Estate Broker), which may be because he supported her project "the Presidio in the Pines".

 

I have lived where I live now for the better part of 50 years.  It took me less than 5 minutes to get into the woods when I was a child, and it now takes me less than 10 minutes (most of which I attribute to the fact that I am now 54 instead of 6).  I see your commitment to open space as a method to keep people from moving here.  If we buy up all the land, so no one can develop it, then no one else can move here.  That I believe is your agenda. 

 

None of this is intended to change your mind, I just found your web site (someone told me about it) and felt like saying what is on my mind.  When I think of Joe Donaldson being mayor I just get chills running through me.  Here is a guy who believed that Canyon Forest Village was a private property rights issue (this is exactly what he told me when answering the question "why did you support canyon forest village?"), here is a guy who when asked the question on the Ruskin land exchange "how is the City of Flagstaff going to pay for all that land near the airport?"...his response was "I don't know", here is a guy who never met a conference he didn't like (he spent over 10,000 dollars going to conferences last year alone), here is a guy who stated, on camera, that the youth recreation centers would just have to continue to deteriorate until a future council could fix them, here is a mayor who believes that putting $10 million dollars into the infrastructure at the mall is economic development, here is a guy that believes the city should get into the real estate and development business (by purchasing property in downtown flagstaff and 4 st. we don't need...by the way the property on 4st. is now back on the market for 50% more than what the city paid for it just a couple of years ago), here is a guy who personally bothched the entire YMCA deal, here is a mayor who has categorically stated that he would not use eminant domain to acquire the McMillan Mesa land even if approved by the voters (which raises the question, since we know that Stan Ritland isn't selling, why didn't they just strike a deal with those property owners who were interested in selling, tell us how much they needed for acquistion and put that on the ballot instead of creating all of this unneccessary turmoil...but then that would have taken leadership)...and I could go on and on and on.  None of this, of course, will make a difference to you because I am part of that evil empire.  Oh Well!  Rick Lopez

Send your comments to dan (at) CarryaBigSticker (dot) com.