During the Great Recession, the town managed to spend $2 million on a makeover of the median on Avenue of the Fountains between Saguaro and LA Montana. Council members did this without a town property tax. Our current Town Council has announced its intention of building a magnificent entryway at the intersection of Avenue of the Fountains and Saguaro Blvd.

If the council gets a town property tax, its members will have plenty of money to waste on the new entry. They could hire Swaback Partners to do a study on the design and Hunden Associates to price it. You know, the ones they used for the Crystal Lagoon. By the way, it doesn’t matter which town fund the money comes from for studies—it’s all taxpayers’ money. Maybe it could look like the Gateway Arch in St. Louis!

We could make it 631 feet high so it would be the world’s tallest arch, with a ride inside called “Journey to the Top.” Then paint it yellow like McDonald’s famous golden arches. Could this be a tourist magnet one of our council members would like?

After spending $2 million on the beautification of the Avenue’s median, the council approved the Park Place project. It included a variance for a fourth floor. I should add that most of the townspeople were against the fourth floor. So, why would you think future town councils will listen to you regarding what to spend the town property tax revenue on?

If you have seen the colors on Park Place, you may agree with my opinion: It has the army barracks look. I don’t blame the developer for wanting to make money by maximizing the project size. The town council approved the variance, building style, colors and development agreement. But the color, olive green? Really?