This is how the city of Scottsdale operates. Often in the list of the best run cities in America, I’ll let you make the call.
For years private small businesses have operated jeep tours into the desert. A guide takes a jeep load of tourists into the desert and explains the local flora and fauna. Thousands of tourists, including my wife and me 25 years ago, went out with a cowboy Dan(our guide) and learned first-hand the beauty of the Sonoran Desert. The City of Scottsdale decided to pass a law making tours illegal.
Next they decided to build a domed enclosure at the McDowell Mountain preserve gateway to show the same things the tourists saw on the jeep tours. But, under a dome at the cost of several million dollars. Now, there is a debate with the city fathers about where to locate the dome.
Locals and tourists alike have flocked to a place called Greasewood Flat. In the shadow of Pinnacle Peak, it’s a collection of original ranch outbuildings over a hundred years old. They build campfires, have live music, and sell cowboy food and drinks. On a weekend over a thousand may visit Greasewood.
The original owner recently died. Because of estate taxes and the numbers of heirs, the heirs have determined they might have to sell the property.
Guess who may buy it for another several millions of dollars? Right, the City of Scottsdale. Why? To build the dome there.
So, here’s the plan. Stop people from going into the desert and seeing the real desert. Next, build an artificial desert under an unsightly dome. Then destroy another natural tourist attraction that has welcomed thousands, if not a million over the years. Buildings that have stood for over a hundred years with a true cowboy flavor. An outdoor nightclub that welcomes those who choose to eat, drink and dance by campfire. And, build a dome over the carcass of Greasewood.
This is how your tax dollars get spent in what is supposed to be one of the best run cities in the country. This defines government stupidity.
