Since soon after incorporation more than 30 years ago the Town of Fountain Hills has accepted and stored donated construction materials for its own use, resulting in savings totaling in the millions of dollars, according to Town Public Works Director Justin Weldy.

“Early on the Town Engineering Department recognized the value of the materials and began the long-range planning process,” Weldy told the council in a presentation at its Aug. 22 regular meeting. In doing so, the department started preparing site plans where the materials would be stored.

“The Town has endorsed and encouraged developers and contractors to donate excess materials from private development projects to the Town for short- and long-range projects. Most of the donated material is hauled and placed by the developer at designated locations that have been identified for specific projects, such as road widening.”

The materials primarily consist of clean fill dirt, large boulders and rip-rap, also decorative rock (granite) and select fill used for road construction. The material is stockpiled on Town property for use at a later date. One such location is in Sycamore Wash just off Sycamore Drive, and some property owners have expressed concerns about issues surrounding the storage.

“You don’t have to destroy neighborhoods to store materials,” said Robert Brown, a neighbor near the Sycamore site. “I’m all for saving (the Town) money, but there are problems with these piles where dirt and asphalt blow onto private property. This is a residential area, not for (materials) storage.”

Brown noted there is a “no dumping” sign along the street by the wash. He also stated he believes the site is a designated park. While the property is zoned for single-family residential, according to Town zoning maps, it is not a park site. It is located behind the Stoneridge Dam stormwater detention site.

Glen Womberg also chimed in, saying “Sycamore is basically a dump, there have got to be other opportunities to store this material.”

Town Clerk Linda Mendenhall also told the council she had received additional messages from residents who oppose the storage, which she forwarded to each member.

How it’s used

Weldy also discussed the number of projects where such donated materials have been put to use over the years. Those include berm improvements along Shea Boulevard in anticipation of a major project to widen that throughfare. The Town has used the material to restore the banks of Ashbrook Wash where, a couple of years ago, major flooding took out portions of private property within a foot of structures and six feet deep. Donated materials were also used to install a landscaped buffer between private homes and the Panorama Drive drainage project along Panorama Drive near El Lago Boulevard.

Weldy said the donation program not only saves the Town money, but helps developers and contractors save money by not having to haul material to dumping locations that also charge for accepting such materials.

Councilman Allen Skillicorn said he received several emails and he has concerns about using Town property for storing materials in close proximity to residential homes.

“This is the nitty-gritty work of Town staff that has saved millions over the years,” Councilwoman Brenda Kalivianakis said.

Mayor Ginny Dickey told staff she appreciates any effort made to work with the neighbors to mitigate their concerns.