Ashfork, Arizona - Water Situation? (Phoenix, Flagstaff: sale, crime, home)

[wyliecoyot]

Interesting discussion re Ash Fork growing. I tell you why I don't think it will happen for a long time. Water is a real problem, but that could be resolved over the years. Your main problem is location. Those "rich retirees" that were mentioned want LOTS of restraunts, stores, and other ameniyies, They NEED hospitals and doctors, etc.

I LIKE Ash Fork (and Seligman). I LIKE small town life, and don't mind driving to find things I need. I live in what USED to be a small town - now 60,000+ people - We have a lake here, and STILL have water problems. I don't mind long wait times for services that aren't needed much (read fire & sheriff) I was a deputy and am still fairly self sufficient. I suppose I am onr of the "rich retirees". How far will my $650. social security check stretch in Ash Fork/Seligman??
Developers have destroyed where I live now, so I am looking around. Enjoy what you have, because it can't be replaced very easily.

[rambrush]

Ok I take the bait what lake are you talking about? Steel dam was empty last month when I was there, Stone Dam lake was very low and very mucky along the shoreline. Have I missed a lake/pond?

Originally Posted by wyliecoyot

Interesting discussion re Ash Fork growing. I tell you why I don't think it will happen for a long time. Water is a real problem, but that could be resolved over the years. Your main problem is location. Those "rich retirees" that were mentioned want LOTS of restraunts, stores, and other ameniyies, They NEED hospitals and doctors, etc.

I LIKE Ash Fork (and Seligman). I LIKE small town life, and don't mind driving to find things I need. I live in what USED to be a small town - now 60,000+ people - We have a lake here, and STILL have water problems. I don't mind long wait times for services that aren't needed much (read fire & sheriff) I was a deputy and am still fairly self sufficient. I suppose I am onr of the "rich retirees". How far will my $650. social security check stretch in Ash Fork/Seligman??
Developers have destroyed where I live now, so I am looking around. Enjoy what you have, because it can't be replaced very easily.

[FunkyPioneer]

Originally Posted by abubbasgirl

I own land in Ashfork and purchased it as an investment. How long do you think it will take to appreciate? I heard about the theme park in Williams, but from what I'm reading and have heard, its still a pipe dream and Mike Morgan is now non-existent.

Ashfork and investment? Have you ever actually been there? I think many people were sold rattlesnake land as investment properties. Rattlesnake land= Land thats only good for snakes.

[wyliecoyot]

Rambrush -
Lake doesn't have to be way low to have probs. I'm in Lake Arrowhead - a pretty good sized lake and mostly full. The problems come from five agencies fighting over the water. The State trying to stop water removal, and what is now a huge infrastructure charging us a fortune. When I first came here, water was a flat $11.00/mo - billed quarterly. Sewer (if you had it) was 60/yr. They combined water & sewer companies to save us money. It now costs 68/MO for sewer and water runs from 150/MO for a small user to 800/mo for big houses. Water meters were free, but for some strange reason it now costs $11,000 to get one. The golf course still gets a 92% discount, even though they use 78% of our limited water. The County is now trying to take over all the water companies in the area (there are 7). That equals no local control and huge increases anytime they feel like it. The last one they took over, water bills TRIPLED the first month and are still climbing. It's only fair isn't it - somebody has to pay for the eighty people that are doing the work that used to be done by 6.
WATER IS POWER, and more valuable than gold. I suspect the same in your area. Suppose somebody hooked into a good well, and piped all the houses in Ash Fork? They get ALL the water rights, the right to run pipe across YOUR property, but you just turn a tap - better than hauling.
Jump forward a few years and you have new houses/developments because water (& power & soon natural gas) is right there.
When they up the rates for no reason you no longer have a recourse. THEY own the water rights, not you, so you can't drill a well. There is no longer a community well to haul from. You just get to pay. If you move, they next guy pays. Thats progress.

I'm looking to get "off the grid". Solar/wind power, a well & septic, maybe propane. At kease I will be in control.

Is this what you you want for your area?

Sorry to be so long winded, but this is a sore spot with me after watching what has happened here.

[rambrush]

Just be careful getting off the grid because it is expensive. Not many rebates to assist in the expense.

I guess when I stop in next week at the historical society/ADOT facility I will bring this topic up and see what response I get.

[dwallphx]

WYLIECOYOT -

Your problem isn't enviormental, it's political. And we in Arizona should learn from your plight. I see the same type of insane regulations cropping-up in the more rural sections of the Phoenix Valley (Wittmann, Cave Creek, etc.) and no one seems to be complaining or trying to stop it.

[humble101]

Where do you think you could be that would be ideal? For those who want to get away from the nuts of Phoenix and Mesa, Ash Fork can be ideal. It is a pioneer life but the life there is in Mesa is not anything to look forward to. Your comments about Ash Frok land being rattlesnake land is ridiculous. They have been hauling water in Ash Fork for ages. There are people who want to get away from places such as Fee Nicks and have become isolationists simply because of too many people and the BS here.

A tradeoff of inconveniences in one area is not such a bad deal when you have to put up with all the garbage in Mesa like I do. If I leave for work past 2:30 PM, when I hit 32nd St. on the 202 there is a backup. Heaven forbid an accident. The 101 slows down to a crawl every morning from 7:00 AM till past 9:00AM. The 101 is under construction going North and it further slows down to a crawl. A ridiculous way to live.

You have to remember also that if development keeps up here also, this land won't be worth a pint of pee. People won't move here if developers keep on ruining everything. You have to prove there is a hundred year supply of water. They build anyway. Who in the hell can prove that?

I didn't buy in Ash Fork as an investment. Before you call Ash Fork land "rattlesnake" land, think that people have different priorities. What's the difference in a water problem up there and a water problem here along with all the traffic, road rage, insane traffic congestion, and so forth. At least I will be able to breathe up there.

Many people don't like gated communities and such.

[ArizonaBear]

I have visited both Ashfork and Seligman.

Of the two; for me at least; it would be Seligman hands down.........it actually has some infrastructure as in a mom and pop grocery store, restuarants, etc. Hell; it even has a hardware store if memory holds me correctly

[dsmiles]

They'll get water there eventually. Maybe sooner than we all think. They alway's find a new way to make money in a new place. Just think of the money the contractor or govt. will make running all those pipelines. They'll take water from another state if they have to.

[Ashfork]

I have found this tread amusing, thanks to all. The last time I was in Ashfork there was running water, with a meter from the town water company, no tanks, electricity from a pole, cable from the Cable Company and natural gas with a meter. Am I missing something? And maybe there are a few people who enjoy getting away from the rat race you get in a major town: traffic, smog, crowds, light pollution, people with short fuses, and ungrateful and unhappy individuals. Yes Ashfork is a bit rustic now, but I hope it progresses much slower than what I know it will. As far as the 1 hour drive to get to Prescott or Flagstaff, where I come from a 1 hour drive is a party. So keep up this nonsense, it will just keep Ashfork a secret a little longer, Thanks.