It’s going to be a long day of celebrations on Saturday, but also a unique opportunity for residents to get involved and learn a little bit more about our businesses, organizations and town government itself.

Appropriately enough, the “new and improved” and newly-named Avenue of the Fountains Plaza will be unveiled and fully opened to the public on Saturday. Many of the events later in the afternoon and on Saturday evening will be staged on the Avenue and its plaza.

The Town of Fountain Hills took advantage of the timing and the annual Stroll in the Glow to throw its own birthday party on Saturday – ringing in 25 years of being an incorporated town.

Prior to incorporation, Fountain Hills was a hodge-podge community consisting of many special government districts and loosely tied to Maricopa County for such things as law enforcement, building safety and the like. It took three elections during the 1980s to get incorporation approved, but it finally happened in December 1989 by a vote of 2100 to 1662.

We were in favor of incorporation back then, and we still maintain it was the best thing to ever happen to this community. Sure, just like the decision to “re-do” the Avenue of the Fountains median this year and then rename it a “plaza,” there have been controversies over the years and naysayers who like to pick on any level of government.

But the bottom line is this – our local government stands as a testimony to what can happen when citizens band together for the common good. Incorporation has given us many capital improvements the past 25 years, many new programs and services and an improved status in the state of Arizona. Our quality of life has improved because of incorporation.

As we wrote five years ago: “There is no perfect Utopia, of course, but the Town of Fountain Hills is a shining example of citizens working together to improve their respective community. Congratulations on the first 20 years…and may the future be as bright and productive as the past two decades.”

Now the town has achieved the 25-year mark. The Great Recession is behind mostly behind us, and many good things are happening once again in the Town of Fountain Hills. Congratulations – and keep up the work of doing what’s best for the citizens of our great town.