Looking back, 2021 was a relatively quiet year.

There were a few big headlines along the way and steady progress throughout but, when compared to the past handful of years, 2021 was tame by comparison.

While COVID-19 marked its second year impacting everyday life, development around Fountain Hills continued, a new medical center opened its doors and a few renovation projects have enhanced some of the community’s biggest amenities. And who could forget 2021’s monsoon season, which felt like it was working overtime to make up for an especially dry 2020?

Following are The Fountain Hills Times’ biggest stories from the past 12 months. Some were big moments for the community, others were evolving stories that required coverage across multiple months, and still others simply created the most buzz around town and in our letters to the editor.

For more details on many of the items that made our list, look for additional reporting in this week and next week’s paper. Additional retrospectives can also be found on the Schools, Sports and Verdes pages tackling those specific areas of interest.

Monsoon

While 2020 was labeled a “nonsoon” year due to an almost complete lack of activity, 2021 turned out to be a record-breaking year for seasonal rainfall.

The Times began coverage in mid-June, offering the usual reminders of what readers should do to prepare for heavy rainfall, as well as what to do in the event of a dust storm or flash flood. When it became clear this year’s monsoon season was going to be rough, the Town began work to prepare, taking steps to reduce dangerous debris flows and attempting to cut down on the amount of cleanup that would be necessary after the upcoming storms.

After a few flash floods and even a 10-day streak (Aug. 10-19) boasting measurable rainfall around town, the “official” monsoon season came to a close on Sept. 30 with more than 10 inches of precipitation recorded in Fountain Hills.

Sign ordinance

Outside of the ongoing pandemic, the news item to receive the most headlines in 2021 was the recently settled sign ordinance.

While temporary sign regulations have been a talking point for Fountain Hills Town Council members for more than a decade, this year marked what will potentially be the end of the discussion.

The ball got rolling in late January, with Town Manager Grady Miller calling for council discussion to help guide updates to the zoning ordinance pertaining to A-frame, T-frame and other types of temporary signs including everything from marking businesses to real estate and yard sales.

The conversation ballooned in the following months, with council members, staff, the Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce, local business owners, realtors and community members adding their own perspective for consideration.

In the end, a unanimous vote from the Council approved amendments to the sign ordinance in November, creating a (potentially) final set of guidelines concerning temporary signs and their use throughout the community.

Renovations

With communities restricting or limiting access to civic centers during the pandemic, 2021 turned out to be a good year to take care of renovations, remodels and expansions. That was true for Fountain Hills, as well as the Verdes.

While the Tonto Verde golf course and clubhouse received some upgrades this past year, Rio Verde completed a major expansion and various other improvements within its own community center.

As for Fountain Hills, the library got a fresh coat of interior paint, the L. Alan Cruikshank River of Time Museum was completely overhauled and the Community Center saw a million-dollar upgrade including new flooring, paint, bathrooms, audio/visual equipment, a fully-furnished front lobby, new desks and more.

Fountain upgrade

Fountain Park received a major upgrade at the tail-end of 2020 with the addition of new, multi-colored lights to illuminate the iconic water feature at night.

That was only the beginning of upgrades to the Fountain, however, with a handful of projects taking place in 2021 to address additional needs.

An assessment presented to Town Council in October of 2020 recommended the replacement of pump valves, as those currently in operation were on their last leg. A manufacturing backlog of the needed parts, though, pushed that project well into 2021, and the Fountain shifted to operating on just a single pump in January of this year.

In May, the Council received a report from Black & Veatch Engineering, completing a year-long evaluation of the Fountain, lake and associated equipment.

While it was determined there was no immediate concern for the lake liner, the pump check valves were highlighted for replacement, as was repair for the pumphouse intake screen and installation of arc flash labels on electrical equipment.

By late June, the pump repairs were completed and tested, and the pumphouse pairs were wrapped shortly after.

Medical Center

While the bulk of construction was carried out through 2020, the Fountain Hills Medical Center did not open its doors to the community until April 5 of this year.

Designed to meet the emergency and primary care needs of Fountain Hills, Rio Verde, Fort McDowell and the surrounding areas, FHMC is located at 9700 N. Saguaro Blvd. and treats about 20 patients per day, according to a report in Nov. 2021.

The full-service freestanding emergency department is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, offering observation services and access to state-of-the-art diagnostic testing including CT, X-ray, ultrasound and echocardiogram capabilities, as well as medical services, laboratory and telehealth services.

After only a month in operation, Emergency Director Dr. Scott Schleifer said the facility had surpassed expectations, with additional staffing being added to cater to the community’s needs.

In November, FHMC moved one step closer to becoming a fully certified hospital, with plans for Phase II of its construction well underway.

The second phase will expand the facility to include 10 to 15 patient beds, two operating rooms, a catheter and special procedure lab, MRI, additional administration space and more.

On completion of Phase II, expected by late 2022, FHMC will apply to the state for hospital certification and, at that time, the facility will be able to receive emergency ambulance traffic.

Development

While voters put an end to the proposed Daybreak development on Palisades Drive in 2020, residential development has continued with pockets of new homes going up elsewhere around town.

In March, Development Services Director John Wesley provided an update to Town Council on ongoing projects, including continuing work on the various parcels in Adero Canyon.

Havenly was also highlighted, a leasing community at Avenue of the Fountains and Westby Drive, wrapping around the Bashas’ shopping center. That 147-unit project has grown out of the ground over the past 12 months, with residents expected to start moving into their homes in phases throughout 2021.

Also under construction this year was the 23-unit apartment complex at El Lago Boulevard and Verde River Drive known as Casa’s del Lago, just a stone’s throw away from what is known as Gunsight Apartments, a 10-unit building under construction at Saguaro Blvd. and Gunsight Drive.

In early December, the Town Council also voted to approve a special use permit to allow for a residential housing project on property located near Shea and Saguaro boulevards. This project is described as 17 two-story residential units within six buildings on the 1.62-acre parcel.

Discovery Center

When the pandemic got into full swing in 2020, organizers of the International Dark Sky Discovery Center had to basically put a halt to funding and planning activities.

In Jan. 2021, work resumed in earnest with members of the IDSDC team launching an $18 million capital campaign to build the unique science-based facility in Fountain Hills. The site for the planned project is within the Town’s civic center, adjacent to the library and community garden.

IDSDC began privately raising capital to construct the 15,000-square-foot, non-profit facility which is planned to house the largest telescope in the Greater Phoenix area, as well as educational attractions including an observatory, Hyperspace Planetarium, Inspiration Theater and an Immersion Zone with interactive exhibits.

The IDSDC received a big shot in the arm in late June in the form of a $2.5 million allocation in the state budget. With this funding, the facility entered Phase II, which includes detailed architectural design.

The most recent IDSDC update came in early November, with two consultants holding workshops to get the design ball rolling. PGAV Destinations is involved with designing exhibits throughout the facility, with the Swaback architectural team working on the floorplan.

By early 2022, it is expected a 3D flyover of the design will be ready to show off.

Pandemic

It may be hard to believe, but the world is entering its third year of struggling against the COVID-19 pandemic as 2022 gets underway.

While it’s understandable many have grown tired of talking/hearing about the pandemic, that doesn’t make it any less a presence in Fountain Hills and beyond.

Like every other community around the world, Fountain Hills managed the pandemic in 2021 by rolling with the punches and making adjustments guided by leading health experts such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.

Following the 2020/2021 holiday season, a surge in COVID-19 cases led to safety measures being added in mid-January. These included limiting public activities to 50 participants, which resulted in various community events being either cancelled or delayed. Earlier in the month, it was announced that Fountain Hills Unified School District was delaying a full return to in-person learning until late January.

Some good news came in mid-February when vaccines for COVID-19 first arrived in the community. Vaccination events were also hosted locally in 2021, giving residents an easier way to receive their shots without having to travel out of town.

Town Council returned to open meetings in March, though not everyone was pleased with lingering safety measures around town. A protest was held before the May 11 meeting of the FHUSD Governing Board, for instance, with parents demanding mask mandates be removed for the final two weeks of school.

The most recent local vaccination stats were provided in August, with a report that nearly 70 percent of residents over the age of 18 and 92 percent of those over 65 in the community had received at least one vaccine injection.

That news was accompanied by surges in the Delta Variant, however, resulting in face coverings once again being required in Town facilities. It was announced in early December that those requirements would be lifted in the new year, though such alterations may be reconsidered in light of the ongoing Omicron Variant surge taking place around the world.