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Thomasson: Response to Jerry Glauser commentary

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Dear Mr. Glauser,

Thank you for your Nov. 5, opinion about the Ritz-Carlton residences. First off — welcome to our community.

We were founded 60 years ago by residents wanting to preserve their rural, quiet lifestyle. For six decades we have fought to protect our open spaces and mountain views while managing a fiscally responsible town with very little government overhead.

Our residents pay no town property tax and enjoy one of the lowest crime rates in Arizona. As you get to know our town you will meet many residents who truly believe this is paradise.

All members of our committees, boards, commissions and the Town Council are volunteers. As Town Councilmembers, we receive not one dime of salary, stipend, expense or mileage reimbursement.

Our sole compensation is salad and pizza during our semi-monthly, six to eight hour council meetings. We are not politicians, but rather long-time residents who have successful careers as lawyers, bankers, builders, consultants and businesspeople. We serve a few terms and move on with our lives.

To suggest we have hidden personal agendas or imply we would engage in extortion is inaccurate and disrespects those who volunteer hundreds of hours a year to serve their neighbors. You may have experienced that in the other places you have lived, but I assure you, Paradise Valley is better than that.

In regard to your concerns about the town issuing the certificates of occupancy for the Villas — that provision of the Five Star Development Agreement was included to protect all residents of the town, including new residents such as you and your wife.

Our Town Council and staff have worked diligently to follow all provisions of that development agreement; one that Five Star drafted together with the town and can be found on the town’s website. Additionally, Five Star’s CFO at the time, Chris Klecka, conveyed emphatically their understanding that the certificates of occupancy for the Villas were not to be issued until the hotel was substantially complete, as stated in the development agreement.

A recording of the Dec. 21, 2015 Town Council meeting is available on the website. (Thanks to Councilmember Dembow’s research, you can find the CFO’s comments beginning 21 minutes into the recording.) Mr. Klecka could not be more clear on this point.

This is not a matter of petty politics or a bureaucratic power play. Both Town Council and staff have been working diligently to protect the best interests of all our residents and to abide by the agreements we have in place to bring this project to fruition.

Feel free to call 480-348-3666 or email me athomasson@paradisevalleyaz.gov at any time or reach out to Mayor Bien-Willner or our Town Manager, Jill Keimach.

We sincerely look forward to welcoming you as a new resident of Paradise Valley very soon.

Editor’s Note: Anna Thomasson is a member of the Paradise Valley Town Council.