Opinion by Tommy Acosta
Sedona AZ (February 14, 2012) – The die is cast. The fight was won. The lights are on. The deed is done.
There are always unintended consequences to every conquest and in the aftermath of the ADOT victory in the S.R. 89A lighting battle it will be the businesses in West Sedona that will pay the price.
Sales tax receipts don’t lie and in the recent dismal showing of sales-tax collections, a sad tale is told.
This is one of woe and hardship for the small-business people that make their living in stores along the 89A corridor and for the city that depends on those sales.
The tearing up of the sidewalks in West Sedona to lay the power lines for the lights is like a giant wave heading towards us.
Just look at the fiasco at the Giant intersection. The construction has been going on for months due to the “unforeseen” underground obstacles encountered.
The same hindrances have to exist for the laying of the lines. There will be rocks, other power lines, pipes, silt and all kinds of pitfalls to contend with.
Putting up those lights could mean more than a year of misery for the 89A businesses and commuters navigating the construction chaos if such impediments are encountered.
Watching the pre-construction crews spray paint the sidewalks and intersections with bright green, orange, white lines and cryptic symbols, we can see the wave in the horizon.
This city council and the coming city council better prepare to ease the impact on 89A and do everything they can to mitigate the chaos the lights’ construction will bring to the community.
Extra police keeping traffic moving safely at crossings, at affected intersections and at driveways into businesses is a no brainer.
Also, the Chamber of Commerce needs to be ready to counter any negative publicity in the Arizona press reporting bad traffic or congestion conditions in Sedona affecting tourists.
Remember how the Arizona Republic and certain travel guides reported it was a pain trying to get into Sedona because of the S.R. 179 construction project?
The next time a media outlet does that to us, the City and Chamber have to jump down their throats and demand positive press…or just take an ad out in their publication.
The hassles people will encounter trying to shop and dine in West Sedona will drive them to Uptown Sedona. The city has to be ready to handle the extra traffic and ensure parking.
The City must maintain constant vigilance over the project and be ready to direct ADOT to correct any problems uncovered right from jump street, by not allowing construction to continue until they are corrected and then approved by City engineers.
We don’t need a repeat of the Giant fiasco.
Barring a TRO initiated by private citizens postponing the erection of the lights, the city needs to be proactive in this matter and be prepared.
Perhaps we cannot avoid being hit by the construction tsunami heading our way.
But we could at least take the high ground and mitigate its impact.
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3 Comments
Such negativity Mr. Acosta. We have a capable leader in our Mayor who will surely be out on 89A serving coffee to the workers and lighting their cigarettes on their hourly breaks. No one is running against him in this election so he has no accoutability. He has plenty of time on his hands so who cares how long it takes to install the lights. He has to line his pockets with the fruits of his efforts. That”s the perk of being Mayor. You don”t think he is Mayor for the $650 per month salary do you? That would be an hourly rate of less than $5 per hour. I bet 4 years ago you thought just like everyone did that he was against lights. How wrong you were. He became the champion of lights. It”s so easy to manipulate the leaders in small town Sedona. We flipped him like a pancake. He just said those things to beat ol Pud.
This shouldn”t be painful except to the trees which are going to die in the process. Who cares? We have plenty of trees in Sedona. Notice you don”t hear a peep from Sierra Club about the trees. They don”t care. No one cares about these businesses who are going to die either. Certainly not the Chamber. They only protect their own, their members. If the businesses die they weren”t meant to be alive and there will be cheap real estate on the market.
Once the election takes place next month the real estate interests will be in charge again. Those people are going to swoop into those empty locations, buy up the property from distressed property holders CHEAP. That”s America. That”s the system. Don”t hate the player. Hate the game.
The old guard is back and we are taking control of the economy of this town for our benefit. That”s America baby.
Where is Perez that no good hippie?
Hi boys, do you mind if a little ol girl like Me jumps into the conversation. Gosh, poor little Sedona would just drop her basket of apples right there in the library parking lot if she knew what people in this town were up to from those cracks in the rocks. And sweet Tommy don’t you waste much of your time feeling sorry for those businesses along the highway now. A friend told me that just about all of them voted for the lights because they believe they will get those jet setter night life people. The one I feel sorry for is poor Miss Mable up the street who makes her weekly trip to the bank and market and to pay her bills. The poor dear isn’t what she used to be and one detour sign could send her into a tizzy, not to mention if she’s swayed from her routine we just might not ever see her again.
Now I don’t know much about politics, but I’m sure I also heard that mayor fella say he was against the lights when he was running for office. Now he comes on with his pro-lights (will probably cut the ribbon), boots and jeans like he’s a real cowboy, but we all know that real cowboys keep their word, so I’m thinking he might just be one of those hollywood types. Anyway I bet he’s thinking he’s going to make some big money from those lights and make a lot of people happy, but my friend Billy, Joe’s first son from his second marriage, tells me that mayor doesn’t know much more about politics then I do. And finding out that he doesn’t stand an apples chance with a javalina of getting that dark sky thingy makes me think that Billy is probably right.
I’ve said enough for now so I’m going to go, but before I do I have a word for you Mr. “that’s America baby” Boch, when you start making the man on the dollar bill more important than that man who lives next door you should just shuffle on back to Pheonix or Los Angeles or wherever you came from.
And to you Tommy, god bless.
Sincerely and best wishes,
Miss Sally
Thank you Sally, God knows I need blessing. As for you Mr. Bach, you are a heartless and mean creature.kicking sand in the face of the wounded and trodden.
There is still time to fight those lights. Tommy is a defeatest. The only intelligent point he makes is our being there looking over the construction crew shoulders to stop them the second they screw up.
And just wait till the election. Problem is I don’t which candidates are on which side. It’s hard to tell the old guard from the new. It’s like watching he presidential Republican candidates…different heads on the same body.
Get those handcuffs out boys and girls and get ready to chain ourselves in the way of the construction equipment. Call the major news media and let them know we mean business.
And I don’t believe our mayor sold out to the lights just to run un-opposed. He is trying to make the best out of a really bad situation. ADOT and supporters simply outwitted the opposition. The 89A takeover ruse was a Trojan Horse.
Don’t listen to Tommy Acosta. He is old and tired and stopped fighting for justice now that he is too-big a national news correspondent to concern himself with city politics and issues.
He let us down by letting the Sedona Times down. He’s an aging rock musician who forgot his roots.
It’s up to us now to lead the charge for truth and what is best for Sedona.