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

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.