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

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.