Last week’s report on the Capital Plan was complete and included much of the Council’s commentary.

The price tag is significant; but by and large representative of what the Town needs to do in order to maintain what we have and create some needed improvements. The fact that the council has managed with limited funding for so long, is also a factor in both what needs to be done and how much it will cost now. Public safety and traffic control are also factors.

Upgrading lighting at the sports fields at Golden Eagle Park is a real need, along with finishing the runoff water handling project there. The existing lights are well past their design life and are costly to operate and maintain. These fields generate some offsetting revenues and need to be up to date for safety for the players and costs to operate and maintain.

The intersection of Palisades and La Montana is overdue for consideration of a traffic signal and, in my opinion, so is Palisades and Palomino. I am a fan of well-designed and implemented roundabouts and the proposal for Saguaro and Avenue of the Fountains looks like a good solution. For some reason, people run that stop with alarming regularity and making a left turn onto the Avenue can be exciting at times.

Now is a good time to pay for the study and design for both safety and improving access to Fountain Park via the planned overlook. We need park access that complies with the Americans with Disability Act. Our world-famous Fountain is the centerpiece of our town. We need to improve parking and access to attract more visitors with money in their pockets. Putting these projects aside now will only make the cost higher later, when we no longer have a choice.