During a special virtual meeting on Aug. 24, the Town Council voted 7-0 to approve the necessary actions to allow the donation and construction of a Mini-Pitch System soccer field to be installed at Desert Vista Park.

Musco Lighting, an international outdoor lighting vendor, offered to partner with the Town of Fountain Hills to install the modular, hard-surface structure with the company donating the components for the field as well as lighting.

Musco had bid on the previously approved lighting installation for the skate park at Desert Vista. The company also offered to donate the mini-pitch field. Musco is working with US Soccer Association to develop the modular structure. It will promote the field and sport, as well as recognize the Town of Fountain Hills as a National Parks and Recreation Association Gold Medal Finalist this year.

Musco will install the lighting for the field, valued at $65,000 and an additional $35,000 for installation of the facility. The town will be responsible for the surfacing at an approximate cost of $18,000 and post-tensioned concrete slab for $60,000, a total of $78,000 related to the pitch.

The surfacing will also be designed to accommodate multiple activities including roller hockey, lacrosse and Futsal. The lighting system will be an on-demand button operation similar to the town’s basketball and tennis courts.

As the mini-pitch will be located in close proximity to the skate park, Musco will install lighting at the same time for both facilities. The skate park lighting will provide for the facility to remain open after dark, increasing the usability of the park during summer months, as well as the shorter winter days. Musco is discounting the cost of the skate park lighting by 25 percent for a total of $118,000 installed.

The project will take 10 to 12 weeks and is slated to be a focal point for the Arizona Parks and Recreation Conference social sponsored by Musco at Desert Vista Park on Nov. 1.

The Fountain Hills Soccer Club, which uses Desert Vista Park for much of its soccer play, has endorsed the project.

Vice Mayor Alan Magazine asked how the reallocation of funding from the CIP would impact other projects approved by the council for this year’s budget. He said he would like to have had that laid out in advance.

“What else might come up within the timeframe that we might be looking at changing,” Magazine asked.

He asked if the town might be looking at sacrificing other priorities.

The council action did reallocate $165,000 in CIP funding slated for work regarding Sunridge Canyon Park (Sunridge and Desert Canyon drives) which included possible trail access into the McDowell Mountain Preserve.

Staff indicated this was not a high priority project and early action on that plan has encountered some difficulties. Deferring the project is not considered an issue.

“We are substituting a project of higher value,” Mayor Ginny Dickey said. “We are simply trading projects.

“This is for something that was not going forward in an easy way.”

Councilman David Spelich said he has been an advocate for improving the facilities at Desert Vista Park from the beginning of his term.

“I think this is a great project and we have someone willing to post a significant amount,” Spelich said.

Councilman Gerry Friedel agreed.

“This is a statement piece for the town and will attract people to use the park,” Friedel said. “This is a fantastic opportunity to take advantage of discounts.”

“I’m excited about this project,” Councilwoman Sharron Grzybowski said. “Kudos to Community Services. I’m all in on this.”

In response to a question from Magazine, Community Services Director Rachael Goodwin said Musco has a full 10-year warranty on lighting and the structure. The surface has a five-year warranty.

“This is not a complicated system,” Goodwin said. “I think we are looking at a solid decade with little maintenance.”

Construction is projected to begin within a week or two to meet the Nov. 1 deadline.