As Governor Doug Ducey lifted the Stay at Home Executive Order last week, Town of Fountain Hills staff is working in a deliberate fashion to reopen town park facilities and amenities.

“Our parks have been very active throughout the pandemic and have been an essential community resource,” Community Services Director Rachael Goodwin said. “Though some features were closed, our parks remained a place where our residents could find respite and peruse healthy outlets during uncertain times.

“With guidance from our mayor and town manager, we have begun to slowly reopen a number of amenities. A few weeks ago we reopened drinking fountains and last week we opened the dog park, skate parks and sport courts, including basketball, tennis, etc. [Last] week we reopened restrooms in all parks.”

Goodwin said the park playgrounds, the splash pad and musical instrument amenity all remain closed at this time. She said they will continue to monitor guidance from the Governor’s Office and other health experts on possible reopening recommendations.

Also, ball fields at Golden Eagle Park are set to reopen Memorial Day weekend for tournament use, according to Goodwin.

“Tournament organizers are being held to strict adherence to social distancing and agreeing to prohibit spectator gatherings,” Goodwin said. “They are signing written agreements acknowledging that in exchange for utilizing the baseball facilities for tournament play, they agree to abide by CDC social distancing guidelines and not allowing spectator gatherings.”

Goodwin said those who have used the parks during the stay at home order have been gracious and cooperative.

“The Community Services team is very grateful for the support and positive feedback we have received from our park users,” Goodwin said.

The parks crew has been able to make significant progress on a number of projects during this downtime for use. Those include the completion of the basketball court at 4 Peaks Park, turf improvements at various locations around Fountain Park, and a major renovation of ball field 1 at Golden Eagle Park.

“As park usership returns and our many amenities become available for our residents, we ask for continued support and patience,” Goodwin said. “We will be implementing extra sanitation efforts throughout our parks and this may take additional time or impact access to certain features from time to time. These efforts are to help keep our parks safe and operational for all residents.”