If you attended or watched the May 4 Town Council meeting, you may have noticed a few things that caught your attention and raised the question, “What are our priorities?”

One of the discussion items was a contribution by the Town for expansion of the Fountain Park Veteran’s Memorial, adding an extension to the wall to acknowledge and rightfully honor those who served/are serving in the war on terror. Prior Council agreement had apparently designated a donation of $14,000 by the Town toward the project. At last week’s meeting, Councilmember Peggy McMahon proposed dropping the amount to $5,000, a 64 percent decrease.

Other councilmembers properly disagreed. Please note that, in contrast, Councilmember McMahon had recently supported a 100 percent increase in Town spending (from $25,000 to $50,000) for homeless assistance outside of Fountain Hills. I’m all for compassionately helping those in true need, but don’t our veterans deserve the priority for their service and sacrifice?

The meeting also included a discussion of proposed capital spending. While I understand that capital spending represents another part of the budget, it included Item S6069 – $120,000 for a study of a roundabout at Saguaro Blvd. and Avenue of the Fountains, and item T5005 – $95,000 for a study of a new traffic signal at Palisades and Palomino/Eagle Ridge. That’s $215,000 for studies for things which I consider solutions in search of a problem.

Exactly what is the practical problem at those intersections that warrants spending that much money? Recent improvements with the crosswalk design at Saguaro/Avenue of the Fountains appear to have addressed safety concerns. I drive through the Palisades/Palomino intersection pretty much every day and at different times of the day. The current stop signs seem to be doing their job very well and very inexpensively.