By Scott Gaertner

As of the writing of this blurb – two weeks after the Scottsdale Bond election – there still are no official results to the bond vote, but the Scottsdaleaz.gov/elections website shows that the bond passed overwhelmingly in the unofficial results. Assuming the recorder’s office can work their way through boxes of hanging chads (note the clever reference to the 2000 presidential election), what are the next steps?

Expect Delays
The passing brings up loads of complicated decisions on how the city will spend this windfall of cash. Without our collective voices, the Scottsdale North community should expect that the monies will be allocated towards pressing and important issues in central and south Scottsdale. Remember the adage, “Out of Sight, Out of Mind.” Most of our city leaders do not live in our community and were very surprised at how far we are from city center when they drove up for the recent open meeting pertaining to the bond issue. If we want to be included in the allocation of these funds, then we need to take part in what is happening and change the conversation from “out of sight, out of mind” to “the squeaky wheel gets the oil.”

Want a Dog Park?
For those not in attendance at the meetings, the city made it clear that they were open to ideas on what to include in the park. But they were equally clear that while they thought Pickleball was a great fit and very doable, the dog park was not so much. They were concerned about whether there was enough room and about the maintenance costs of a dog park. If you like the idea of a dog park, you should be prepared to mobilize and engage. Stay tuned here too…

Another Park thought
There was a recent Marketwatch article detailing how the main Scottsdale North zip code was the top zip code in the US for Baby Boomers. It said that one in three residents was a baby boomer in 85266. If that is true, shouldn’t this park favor that age group? There is a new trend in park equipment being built to be used by the young and the older (not the young and the old because baby boomers are not old!)

Lastly, in keeping with the front-page article in this paper on Connecting Scottsdale North, what about choosing the name Scottsdale North Park for this wonderful new amenity. It will be the only park in the area and people ought to be able to know where it is!