It’s probably safe to say that 2020 did not shape up in a way that anyone could have predicted about a year ago. A pandemic reared its ugly head early on, completely upending every aspect of day-to-day life and continuing to have an impact heading into 2021.

Despite that fact, the community managed to roll slowly forward. Projects still got done, events were altered so that they may continue and local businesses, schools, churches, clubs and organizations figured out creative ways to meet a unique year of challenges.

Following is a rundown of the year’s top 10 news items. Some are laser-focused while others tackle broader topics. Based on engagement from our readers and analytics gathered from online readership, these are the stories that captured the attention of our readers in 2020.

COVID-19

While the remainder of this list will feature items in no particular order, we’d be remiss if we did not kick things off by addressing the elephant in the room, which turned out to be more akin to a Blue Whale.

The Times first reported on COVID-19 on March 11, as the nation and world was beginning to get its first real inkling for how serious the matter was becoming. It was announced that week that U.S. Representative Paul Gosar had attended a local event the week prior, and then entered a self-imposed quarantine after testing positive for the virus. Mayor Ginny Dickey offered an update on various methods the community was approaching the virus the following week, with the Town Council discussing further action the week after that.

Governor Doug Ducey’s initial COVID-19 order encouraging social distancing was printed on April 1, with additional updates offered on the local, state and national level through the weeks that followed. The first tally of local cases was provided by the Arizona Department of Health Services for the week of April 15, with Fountain Hills at 21 total cases for that tally.

Trying to recount the full impact of COVID-19 (even limited to a local level) would be a Herculean task, so suffice to say that the story only grew from there, including a temporary quarantine of all non-essential workers, school closures, the cancellation of just about every event and activity under the sun and schools/church services moving online.

As of this writing, a number of vaccines have begun circulating around the country and experts hope to see the virus under control by the summer.

There was a spike of local cases over the summer and, throughout the fall, Fountain Hills’ tally has grown by large margins. As of this writing, Fountain Hills has reported 685 cases, about half of which were reported since mid-November.

Daybreak

While local development will be tackled later in this retrospective, perhaps the biggest story in that category is actually a project that never got off the ground.

The proposed Daybreak development on Palisades Blvd. was a controversial matter from day one. It was planned to include 400 apartment units, 130 of which would be age-restricted for seniors. The project required zoning changes due to the fact that the parcel of land was approved for a resort, not residential apartments.

Following approval for those changes from the Town Council in late 2019, a group of citizens circulated petitions to have the development’s General Plan and PAD zoning plan referred to a public vote for authorization. The council set the referendum election for May 19, where both of the items pertaining to the Daybreak project were rejected by a little over 70 percent of the vote.

Local march

Fountain Hills hosted a march in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in late June, but not before the event could garner wide attention due to the initial march’s cancellation due to threats of violence.

The original march was billed by organizers as a “peaceful demonstration including a march starting at Fountain Park.” Plans were posted on social media, which drew responses from those both for and against the event. Some feared the march would draw outside parties to town, possibly with the intent to loot or damage local businesses or public property, according to comments. Organizers, on the other hand, received threatening comments in the forums and through direct messages, causing the event to be rescheduled to due concerns for the safety of participants.

The rescheduled event still met with much resistance online, but it took place several weeks later at Fountain Park without incident.

Elections

Fountain Hills played host to four elections throughout 2020, having an impact on everything from local development to national representation.

The first opportunity to cast a ballot was the Democratic Presidential Preference Election on March 17, where Arizonans selected Joe Biden to challenge President Trump in the fall.

A local election took place on May 19, boasting a pair of referendums pertaining to the potential Daybreak development on Palisades Blvd., as well as an item looking to shift the mayoral term from two to four years. In the end, all measures received a “no” vote from Fountain Hills residents.

The primary election rolled around this past August and, on the local level, residents were asked to vote for three town council seats, as well as the mayor. In the end, all seats were unopposed, with Ginny Dickey winning a second term as Mayor of Fountain Hills alongside new councilmembers Peggy McMahon, Gerry Friedel and Sharron Grzybowski. All four took the oath of office on Dec. 1.

Finally, on Nov. 3, Fountain Hills voters joined the rest of the county in the General Election. Along with Biden’s win in the state, Incumbent U.S. Representative and Fountain Hills resident David Schweikert won re-election. Incumbent State Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita and newcomer Mark Kelly also found victories. Fountain Hills resident John Kavanagh was elected to return to the Arizona House of Representatives alongside fellow Republican Joseph Chaplik.

While former Sheriff Joe Arpaio lost the primary election to Jerry Sheridan, both Fountain Hills residents, incumbent Paul Penzone retained his position following the Nov. 3 election.

Fountain Hills voters also approved the 10-year General Plan on Nov. 3, with Rio Verde approving a bond question to build a second fire station.

Road safety

Roads can be a treacherous place even in a small town, which is why it was one of the areas to receive the most attention throughout the past 12 months.

It became clear in recent years that additional steps needed to be taken to keep Fountain Hills’ streets safe, which is why the Pedestrian and Traffic Safety Committee was formed. The group specifically focuses on studying and making recommendations concerning road safety issues around town. One of the outcomes of this group, for instance, are the safety corridors which were recently established along Saguaro Blvd., warning drivers of strict enforcement in areas of particularly heavy traffic.

The widening project taking place along Fountain Hills Blvd. was also completed in 2020, allowing for better drainage and more room for a vehicle to pull off the road in case of an emergency.

Finally, a roundabout was constructed in the heart of downtown Fountain Hills, eliminating a four-way stop and creating a safer, steadier flow for pedestrian and motorist traffic.

Hospital

Construction of the Fountain Hills Medical Center broke ground in March of 2020 and is expected to open in early 2021.

Located at the corner of Saguaro Blvd. and Trevino Drive, the FHMC is the community’s first specialty internal medicine hospital with a full-service emergency department seeing pediatric and adult patients, as well as a primary care/urgent care clinic.

This 24-hour facility will offer an emergency room, an imaging center with CT, X-ray and ultrasound, as well as a laboratory, pharmacy and in-patient beds. The hospital will accept all insurance plans, including Medicare and Medicaid, and boast a hospital-based ambulance staffed by full-time EMTs.

On top of offering many medical opportunities that have thus far been unavailable in the area, it is expected the hospital will bring more than 100 jobs into Fountain Hills when it finally opens its doors.

Bush Fire

While it was deemed no threat to Fountain Hills, the Bush Fire certainly garnered a lot of attention in mid-June as it filled the sky with plenty of ominous smoke.

The fire began in the early afternoon of June 14 near the Bush Highway and SR87 (Beeline Highway), on the way to Payson. Evacuation orders were issued for areas including Sunflower, Punkin Center and Tonto Basin but, while an accidental “SET” alert went out to some local residents the following day, the community was never threatened by the blaze.

The Bush Fire went on to make national headlines, scorching hundreds of square miles and drawing around 1,000 personnel to fight the blaze.

The Bush Fire became the fifth largest in Arizona history and joined many similar blazes sparking across the Southwest and West coast during a particularly hot summer.

Adero

The Adero Canyon area was especially busy throughout 2020, with three major projects underway.

On top of the expansive subdivision buildout in the surrounding hills, the paved route to the Adero Canyon Trailhead finally opened in early November, giving bikers and hikers easier access to miles of trail including the Ridgeline Trail, Easy Access Trail, Overlook Trail, Western Loop Trail, Promenade Trail and Lower Sonoran Trail.

Paved access to a trailhead might not seem all that impressive, until you realize said road just about caps off a project that has taken 20 years of planning, land acquisition and construction.

Finally, following an extensive $100 million overhaul, ADERO Scottsdale opened its doors. Formerly CopperWynd, the new resort sports 161 rooms and 16 suites, a pair of heated pools and sundeck, an event lawn, the CIELO restaurant, boutique spa, a wellness studio, nearly 17,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space and more.

The ADERO Scottsdale grand opening took place on Oct. 1.

We-Ko-Pa Casino

Just to the east of town, the We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort celebrated its grand opening on Oct. 29.

Formerly Fort McDowell Casino, this was another massive undertaking that was several years in the making.

Billed as a “new age of gaming and entertainment in the Northeast Valley,” We-Ko-Pa is a brand-new facility built adjacent to the site of the former casino and sporting a full complement of slot machines, tables, bingo and gaming amenities. The new casino boasts several restaurants and event venues and adjoins the 246-room hotel.

Havenly

Havenly might not be much to look at right now, but early construction of this large apartment development took place throughout much of 2020 and is expected to go up pretty quickly now that the grading and infrastructure work is wrapping up.

Originally known as Keystone, the apartment complex officially broke ground in early April. Approved by the Town Council the summer prior and eventually earning a rebranding to “Havenly,” the project includes 147 detached rental units on the 16-acre parcel that surrounds the back of the Bashas’ shopping plaza.

Havenly was billed as a “non-traditional” apartment complex. While the site will consist of rentals, most of the units are single story and detached, more akin to single family home living. Units should start popping out of the ground in 2021, and, according to a September update, Havenly Fountain Hills is on schedule to begin leasing of phase one (out of five) in early summer 2021.