What was Carefree thinking?

What were they (our elected Carefree town council members) thinking when they quietly bought an overpriced, small piece of commercial land to build a firehouse across from what was quickly becoming a high‑end residential area?

How can they believe they are adhering to the Carefree General Plan to preserve the tranquility and property values of the town’s residential areas, and having a minimal adverse impact upon surrounding residential land uses? Inasmuch as the property for the firehouse is currently zoned ‘commercial’ not ‘special land use,’ wouldn’t it be much more profitable to have it utilized according to the Carefree General Plan for the Town Center as a ‘specialty commercial’ area such as the mini‑Kierland to be built just a couple of blocks away?

I also question the adequacy of the Site Plan Review Process, since I, along with the rest of the Montacino Community had no knowledge of the town council’s intent until about three weeks ago.

At the last town meeting on May 2, Mayor Morgan and the other council members graciously listened to nearby residents’ concerns, but it was certainly very clear that the firehouse was still going to be built, as planned, across the street from peaceful residential communities. We, the residents of the Montacino community, are certainly wondering why. We also question the following:

Why is the firehouse costing the town $2.3 million instead of the approximate $1 million that the same size has cost other communities? Is it because the area is not large enough to allow the fire truck to turn around and back into the firehouse; therefore the need for separate entrance and exit doors, as well as separate streets leading to these doors? Or, does the site need extensive prep work because it is not easy to build on the topography of this piece of land? Or, is an ‘overly contemporary’ exterior more expensive to build than the softer Southwestern style more in keeping with the rest of Carefree?

Why hasn’t a traffic study of the area been completed, the noise factor taken into consideration, as well as the property devaluation of the surrounding residential communities?

Why is this proposed project being quietly railroaded through by the council? I say quietly, because certainly, proper notification was not given to the communities most affected by a neighborhood firehouse. Since signage has never been placed on the designated parcel, indicating that a firehouse is to be built on the site, there are probably many residents of Carefree who still have no knowledge of the plan.

If the town council refuses to consider other sites, as well as less costly alternative designs for a firehouse, our tranquil existence will soon be history; and to add insult to injury, our taxes will most assuredly increase to cover the cost of building this “eclectic‑looking” (Mayor Morgan’s words) building.

Jenny Pradler
Carefree