[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6624179,"mediaKeyId","2766665-8ffac95ee0f4295fb5ccb9f8b1d83622","parentId",2766665,"title","Fountain Hills council gives staff broad go‑ahead on capital projects, flags two items for follow‑up","audioSeconds",7131,"startMs",129000,"endMs",7260000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2766665-8ffac95ee0f4295fb5ccb9f8b1d83622&start=129&end=7260","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2766665-8ffac95ee0f4295fb5ccb9f8b1d83622/thumbnail_129000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6624179/Fountain-Hills/Maricopa-County/Arizona/Fountain-Hills-council-gives-staff-broad-goahead-on-capital-projects-flags-two-items-for-followup","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6624179-4a0be31495eb65f40523f47dd6df1404/orig.mp4?Expires=1771184091&Signature=gRN8UWlDYGshuRwFB07MeG0hJIeFSRcDe45yFqCgaCsYjHbE~GV-WdiTTeSZFttUexgh6f-7BhEv6D-g2L2kZIoT37p2Onoa6QmpTTfxu9MD6sLOKdjnjLgBPErqGZOHH3dewWNTGYPGkA3Ip7g1QVyd3oa9d6wkMyZCkn4-VEAxcjkTZtoL~ubQ43aYEnjE5nZt~UyxY6iqfjh2J47FfRJ-9aacxofbHMoYWtkfDLV5hy~NaVMejKcA44~jCKXO8aysfktlzJAUQS49NNJOiIxCFJ5XwY6mN69LfaTi3XDdn9nRZRfIbp9RYh99zMJwPPHXlXUIHM8-jFuA9tDVSQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Town of Fountain Hills","date","2025-03-25T23:02:06.467Z","article","Fountain Hills — The Town Council broadly approved staff’s proposed capital improvement program (CIP) direction Tuesday, green‑lighting most parks and public‑works projects presented and placing two items — Golden Eagle impoundment work and unspecified community‑center improvements — on a “yellow” list for more detail before final budget adoption.

The council’s work session was framed by Paul, the town’s finance lead, who outlined available funding sources and told the council that proposed projects fit within the town’s current fiscal plan. Paul said the town expects about $8.5 million in the capital projects fund at the start of fiscal 2026 and noted the town will transfer general‑fund excess reserves into that fund “as required by policy.”

Parks and community‑services projects presented by Kevin and Director Snipes included lighting for the Centennial Pavilion, shade structures and event electrical receptacles for the Avenue of the Fountains, turf and irrigation improvements at Desert Vista Park (including dog‑park work and a pump enclosure), replacement of deteriorating ramadas at Fountain Park, and playground and shade improvements at Golden Eagle Park. Director Weldy presented public‑works projects including the Palomino roadway reconstruction, a Shea Boulevard widening, McDowell Mountain Road guardrail upgrades, marked crosswalks, sidewalk infill and multi‑year dam maintenance work.

Council members used a red/yellow/green framework staff presented: green means staff may proceed with procurement and construction authority at the start of the new fiscal year; yellow means the project remains in the budget but staff should return with more information on scope or cost; red means remove from the budget. By consensus the council assigned green status to the bulk of the projects; it put Golden Eagle impoundment and the placeholder community‑center allotment into yellow so staff can return with details before final adoption. Council also confirmed it wanted the sidewalk infill project in front of Bashes to proceed in the coming fiscal year.

On downtown streetscape planning, council discussion produced direction for staff to pursue design work for streetscape improvements outside the Avenue of the Fountains — specifically Verde River Drive and Parkview Drive — while keeping avenue options under consideration. Staff presented three options and said a majority of council members favored pursuing design work on the two side streets as the next step.

Funding approach and constraints were discussed at length. Paul told the council the staff plan uses a combination of the streets fund, capital projects fund, development impact fees and expected grant reimbursements. He cautioned that the town’s expansion‑limitation calculations (the town’s revenue/expenditure policy) and the availability of one‑time exclusions such as HEERF funds and investment earnings shape how much capital work can be accelerated in any single year.

Council members asked staff to continue to seek grants where possible and to return to council with updates on grant applications and bid results. Staff said many projects will begin July 1 if green‑lit so contractors can be scheduled for the preferred seasonal windows.

Votes at a glance (direction given by consensus; no formal roll‑call votes recorded):
- Palomino roadway reconstruction — est. $5.4 million: green (proceed; design/survey work to be released to on‑call firms).
- Centennial Pavilion shade‑structure lighting — $50,000: green; Council asked staff to pursue grants and noted a grant application would be on a forthcoming agenda.
- Avenue event electrical receptacles / avenue multi‑year improvements — multiyear: green (East half in FY26, West half FY27).
- Desert Vista Park pump enclosure and turf/fertigation upgrades / dog‑park improvements — combined funding in CIP: green; staff said turf improvements will be park‑wide.
- Fountain Park ramada replacement (multiyear): green; staff described structural deterioration and said replacement is preferable to repeated patch repairs.
- Golden Eagle Park playground replacement — carryover request of $50,000 if needed: green (carryover requested).
- Golden Eagle impoundment (phase 2, grant‑assisted) — approx. $90,000 estimate; status: yellow (staff to return with design/bid and grant reconciliation).
- Community center placeholder (doors/fans/design work) — $300,000 placeholder: yellow (staff to return with specific scope and recommendation).
- Sidewalk infill at Bashes (begin June; split across FY26/FY27) — green (majority direction to proceed now to minimize business disruption).
- Marked crosswalk program — green.
- Shea Boulevard widening (Palisades to Fountain Hills Blvd.) — green (staff to return with procurement schedule; multi‑fund financing).

What happens next: staff will return to council at the April 8 proposed‑budget work session with the formal proposed budget book and supporting backup. Several council members asked staff to circulate budget materials in advance and to flag items that remain tentative pending grant awards or final bids.

By consensus the council also directed staff to continue developing design documents and procurement steps for downtown streetscape options, with initial design work on Verde River Drive and Parkview Drive identified as the near‑term priority.

Ending: Town staff said they will publish the proposed budget and provide quarterly project updates on progress, grant status and schedule. Council members emphasized safety and minimizing business disruption as work moves from design into construction.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","March 25 2025 Town Council CIP Work Session","oneSentenceSummary","Fountain Hills — The Town Council broadly approved staff’s proposed capital improvement program direction Tuesday, green‑lighting most projects and asking staff to return with more detail on two items: Golden Eagle impoundment work and community center improvements.","taxTitle","Fountain Hills, Maricopa County, Arizona","taxId",58389,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6624170,"Council directs design for Verde River and Parkview streetscape options while keeping Avenue alternatives under study",1740,5100000,6840000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2766665-8ffac95ee0f4295fb5ccb9f8b1d83622&start=5100&end=6840","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2766665-8ffac95ee0f4295fb5ccb9f8b1d83622/thumbnail_5100000.jpg","/articles/6624170/Fountain-Hills/Maricopa-County/Arizona/Council-directs-design-for-Verde-River-and-Parkview-streetscape-options-while-keeping-Avenue-alternatives-under-study","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6624170-ead5805641b1620af08f1fa0922b4e4e/orig.mp4?Expires=1771184091&Signature=C3NCVJbBpavNnAdlEuwaqJOEDrvCz9mM8ERCU5CtT-ba1AMheSKqkAx1Sg0Z83W5YZVd7PMgD~ASHkhrfCKIe1qtUWmOiZ0cOYgB7KZaGPa1qNzgmYckGF6xJOOFOtN-3nCFjdQ38BJivOkAalH8ToGy8KhK0Y91Dk7WufZ6CHmZI9HI0NtKUCfKz8R6xp97Pwys-tpxxHN4Hze7HQZGK7uU7A~ldlhXNnUh7o-CBRBa-KoYy0FNPo1yj6w8kkV3SJw2-LAMdGduN8IRJcsVAGXCuRIBbIRUqOrrKoXgExay4mXfcZKwM3SRnztRN9ITuYRygaaJyy6ax5KYqkBXCw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Fountain Hills — Council members gave staff direction to pursue design work for streetscape improvements on Verde River Drive and Parkview Drive and to continue public engagement on Avenue of the Fountains concepts presented during the capital improvement work session.

Economic‑development and planning staff told the council they completed roughly a year of public outreach, including focus groups, surveys and an open house, and presented three options for sequencing streetscape work. The options ranged from focusing on the Avenue of the Fountains to starting with adjacent streets (Verde River and Parkview) and varying phasing and budget profiles. Staff said grants and a MAG design grant are available to offset design costs and that businesses and residents provided mixed feedback at a meeting held last week.

Multiple council members said they preferred designs that prioritized Verde River and Parkview in the near term while leaving the avenue under consideration. Council members cited concerns about construction impacts on businesses and a desire to see how investments in side streets affect downtown activity before pursuing larger investments on the Avenue of the Fountains.

Council direction was to proceed with design of Verde River and Parkview (staff labeled this as option 3 in the presentation) and to plan procurement and public‑input steps so design documents can be ready for possible summer procurement windows next year. Staff said a MAG grant (design assistance) would reduce town design costs and that they plan to map procurement timelines and stakeholder outreach to limit business disruption.

Ending: Staff will proceed with the design procurement plan for Verde River and Parkview, use available MAG funding to reduce design costs where eligible, and return to council with procurement and schedule details.

","After months of public outreach and a recent community meeting, council members directed staff to move forward with design work on Verde River Drive and Parkview Drive streetscape improvements and to continue engagement about the Avenue of the Fountains.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6624174,"Council hears $5.4 million estimate to rebuild Palomino; staff flags drainage, curb and landscaping challenges",319,2997000,3316000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2766665-8ffac95ee0f4295fb5ccb9f8b1d83622&start=2997&end=3316","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2766665-8ffac95ee0f4295fb5ccb9f8b1d83622/thumbnail_2997000.jpg","/articles/6624174/Fountain-Hills/Maricopa-County/Arizona/Council-hears-54-million-estimate-to-rebuild-Palomino-staff-flags-drainage-curb-and-landscaping-challenges","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6624174-9a2f21f3b530c7f6ea2f97b4c46e9b22/orig.mp4?Expires=1771184091&Signature=nxU899cU2XIQmQKyCMR2pUc~np~In53WbFMPraL2p8Vl4qRtcqxQWJd32xveAZ7WFcsVnMJscwumTarpRT8gv~H0O03L4TaIURny8bhXE8UF-e2BIc8aoDxNZeroS8NOMqLKtmv4cu7o4tKvznGwzD0aszvRYs7tmaACMLqF-GA04GUYkvyoNGfhP08~A7Wc3c50~7KXce4m35wHNcsx6rDbeE~WOvXP7VlEA9BR0-FD2-inqHZVBUe6nCbqhxBJ9AKcJMq5Tn8-ntesuOwIPTGLD~szjPCEK390KkjphS7~YdQTMEudtWL-CxnQFoDbngO-~njo5sss1m5Z3aoGCw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Fountain Hills — Public‑works staff told the Town Council that reconstructing Palomino Road will require a detailed survey and an estimated $5.4 million to address safety and long‑term drainage needs.

Director Weldy said the estimate reflects the scope needed to replace aging curb and correct roadside geometry to control flows that now run down the hill into driveways. “The original estimate for this is about $5,400,000,” he said during the session. Weldy told council members the project is complicated by steep slopes and mature landscaping; construction will likely require digging into existing planting areas and could raise project costs.

Weldy said the current curb in much of the corridor is a thin pre‑incorporation curb “approximately 4 to 6 inches thick” that sits on top of pavement, while the town will need a structural curb section of roughly 18 inches to hold the rebuilt pavement in place. Staff therefore proposed replacing curb to a structural section and completing a full survey to set control points and grades before issuing design and construction tasks to on‑call engineering firms.

Weldy and staff cautioned work could change local drainage patterns temporarily during construction and that residents may see water overtopping curbs during nearby work; staff emphasized the need for careful grading and survey control to reduce that risk and for clear communication with affected homeowners. Staff said the reconstruction work could be staged over more than one fiscal year depending on final scope and bids.

The council asked staff for clarifications about driveway counts and staging; staff said the corridor serves many private driveways and called the work a high‑priority safety and lifecycle project. Council members did not take a formal roll‑call vote during the work session but directed staff to proceed with design and surveying preparations that will inform final bids and timeline.

Ending: Staff will publish the survey solicitation and return to council with design recommendations and a refined construction estimate derived from completed survey work and engineering analysis.

","Public‑works staff told the council that reconstructing Palomino Road will likely cost about $5.4 million and requires detailed surveying to address drainage, curb upgrades and impacts to mature landscaping.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Fountain Hills council gives staff broad go‑ahead on capital projects, flags two items for follow‑up

Council directs design for Verde River and Parkview streetscape options while keeping Avenue alternatives under study

Council hears $5.4 million estimate to rebuild Palomino; staff flags drainage, curb and landscaping challenges