The town of Carefree town council held its monthly regular meeting Oct. 6 to provide the latest on its facade program, appoint a staffer to a permanent position and give residents important election information, among other business.
In 2025, the town council initiated its facade program to “motivate landlords and building owners in the town core to invest in their buildings,” according to Carefree Mayor John Crane.
It recently had two applicants: The Hampton Inn, 2 Easy Street, and English Rose Tea Room, 201 Easy Street.
The Hampton Inn put forward a proposal to install two electric vehicle chargers in its parking lot. The project will cost $53,000 and the town is investing $15,000 to have the first two EV chargers in the community. The hotel will be responsible for maintaining and operating the chargers.
The cafe is going to replace its awnings for around $1,533.
“Basically two extremes,” Crane said. “One which is max cost and a pretty complicated project. And one which is much simpler.”
Crane added that the council wants to “tweak” the program to improve it. The committee which screens the applicants will present recommendations to enhance the program during November’s meeting.
Councilmember Colleen Rose-Scurti thinks one of those changes should be to allow business owners, not just property owners, to give them a chance to be part of the program.
“I think it’s great that we finally have these two businesses that have come forward,” Rose-Scurti said. “They’re going to improve the town and, with the EV charger, that’s going to be shared. So people who come here to tourist and go to restaurants and go shopping are going to be able to utilize those.”
She added that she thinks the new awnings are going to give that corner “a nice uplift.”
Kristen Krey, the town’s administrator, then presented why she believes Samantha Gesell, who has been serving as the town’s interim clerk and treasurer for roughly six months, should be given a permanent position.
“During this period, she’s successfully transitioned into the responsibilities of the office, completed the applicable training, gained practical experience in the clerk and treasurer functions and demonstrated the ability to perform the duties of the position which was ultimately the purpose of the interim assignment,” Krey said.
She added Gesell has “made progress” in records management and completed the treasure training. Because of this, Krey recommended to the council to remove the interim tag and name Gesell the town’s permanent town clerk and treasurer.
“It’s hard to believe it’s been six months,” Crane said. “You’ve done a great job. There’s been some significant challenges in those six months and you’ve done fantastic, so thank you.”
Councilmember Clint Miller echoed this sentiment.
“I’ve worked with Samantha when she was doing site reviews and I thought her technical know-how and her social skills were great,” he said. “I think she’ll do an excellent job.”
The motion to remove Gesell’s interim tag passed the council unanimously.
The council also revisited plans for its upcoming meeting schedule.
Maricopa County election officials will take over the Carefree Town Council Chambers, 33 Easy Street Thursday, Oct. 22–Thursday, Nov. 5, for its election.
As a result, the town council will be unable to use the room for its monthly meeting. So, the next meeting has been moved to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov 10 in the Carefree Town Council Chambers, 33 Easy Street.
Reporter Zev Black can be reached at zblack@iniusa.org. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.
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