Fountain Hills Town Hall was taken somewhat by surprise when Town Manager Ken Buchanan announced he would be retiring effective with the end of the fiscal year June 30.

Buchanan spent 40 years in municipal and county government, all in Arizona, and was named Fountain Hills town manager early in 2012.

He oversaw the effort to get funding via voter- approved bonds for the reconstruction of Saguaro Boulevard and saw the project through design, bidding and the beginning of construction.

Buchanan hired the man who ultimately replaced him. Grady Miller came on staff as director of administrative services in the summer of 2014 and moved up to town manager almost exactly one year later.

Miller has more than 20 years in public administration with time in Peoria, Ariz. and as city manager for a Rhode Island city.

New fee

After the Town Council decided in late 2014 to move forward with a $3 per parcel fee to cover the cost of storm water and environmental mandates, staff worked through 2015 developing an implementation plan.

That included determining the best way to collect the fee, in this case a private contractor was decided upon.

By the end of the year residents had been notified of the fee and its purpose. Parcel owners will receive one bill each year for $36; the first one is to arrive in January 2016.

Fire station

After several years of consideration and discussion a site was selected and the council gave staff the go ahead to move on the relocation of the secondary fire station in Fountain Hills.

The new station will be constructed on a parcel the town acquired through a land swap with MCO Properties. It is on Fountain Hills Boulevard just north of Shea Boulevard across from Muskrat Drive.

That decision was made late in the year and the process is just under way to select an architect to design the facility, which is expected to cost about $3.5 million.

Staff has heard from neighbors who have raised concerns about the noise and potential impact on the neighborhood and property value. The council, however, appears committed to working with the site and staff has promised to work with neighbors to address their concerns.

The fire station is being relocated from the current site on Saguaro Boulevard south of Shea. That facility was built 20 years ago, and staff says it no longer serves the community adequately for response times and call balance. The new site was selected to address those issues.

Dog park

Late in 2014 residents living in a nearby neighborhood went to the town with complaints about noise at the off-leash facility in Desert Vista Park.

The newly-seated Community Services Advisory Commission took up the issue and recommended a visual screen between sections of the park designated to separate larger dogs from smaller ones. The determination was that the smaller dogs began barking as larger dogs came into the park, and there was racing and barking back and forth along the fence line.

Working with the local dog owners group, ADOG, the town had screening installed by late summer.

Fountain Park

The town completed a long-term improvement project at Fountain Park during the past year.

The $700,000 Phase VI work included the installation of walkway lights along the interior sidewalk around Fountain Lake, expansion and upgrade of the parking lot on the north side of the park and construction of concrete monument signs on three corners of the park.

Also, there were upgrades and repairs made to electrical equipment surrounding the amphitheater.

MADD Grant

The town received a $10,000 grant from USA Today in recognition of the community’s volunteer efforts for Make a Difference Day.

The town was one of just 14 grant winners across the U.S.

It was stipulated that the town work with a non-profit group to develop a plan for the use of the grant funding.

Staff worked with the Fountain Hills Noon Kiwanis Club on a project to purchase and install new children’s playground equipment at Golden Eagle Park. The joint effort marked the 100th anniversary of Kiwanis International and the 40th anniversary of the local group.

The new playground replaced equipment that was more than 20 years old.