I would like to thank all the people who joined me in draining the lagoon. All of you who sent letters to The Fountain Hills Times, e-mails to the mayor and Council, and posted on Facebook, thank you for helping stop making our town a tourist magnet and destroying our park.

I also want to include the Democratic Party in Fountain Hills for voting against it, and the Tea Party for allowing Councilman Tolis and I to speak at their last meeting. When I asked for a show of hands everyone in the room opposed it. At that meeting I read a list of things not included in the designer’s drawings at a previous meeting. Art then posted a list of most of the things I mentioned, and said they would be included in the financial report for the project. What was still missing in the report was the parking lot and cost.

I contacted the Town Manager to ask him if the Lagoon were to be built, would they not have to comply with the same codes and rules as any project being built in our town. His answer: If the project were to go forward, they would need to adhere to all the town codes, parking and fire regulations that other businesses must follow.

Parking regulations (Chapter 20.55 #28) require one space for every 100 square feet of swimming area. One acre of swimming in the lagoon has 43,600 sq. ft. That means it would require over 430 parking spaces per acre. The Lagoon plan called for five acres. That’s 2,150 parking spaces. Per Chapter 20.55.030 B, a parking lot must be located within 300 feet of the nearest point of the building that such parking is required to serve. That would mean “good-bye park!”