Have Mr. Sommer and Mr. Finocchio filed paperwork to run as candidates for board seats at the Fountain Hills Sanitary District or Town Council seats? It seems the latter.

Mr. Sommer states in The Times that as a candidate for a board seat, it is his position that more needs to be done to improve the conditions at Fountain Park. What elected position are you running for, Mr. Sommer? The FHSD has nothing to do with the conditions of the park. The conditions of the park are 100 percent the purview of our Town Council and the town manager.

The town is the owner of the park and pays for its operation. The District provides free Class A water for use in their lake and that is the extent of the district’s involvement.

Mr. Finocchio states in The Times that the FHSD needs to work with the town to improve the water quality in the Fountain Lake. As past chairman and current vice chairman of the FHSD board, I can tell you that the FHSD board has met on numerous occasions with the town, including a joint town council/FHSD board meeting to offer suggestions to the town on how to improve their water.

Conditioning of the lake water is the responsibility of our town council, city manager and his staff, not the FHSD. I myself have provided pro bono engineering services to the town on how to improve the fountain operations, which were implemented just last week.

As a Maricopa County district, it is our responsibility and charter to process and treat effluent from our residents and businesses, not to significantly increase the monthly and annual rates our customers would pay to improve the conditions of the park, lake water or Art’s lagoon for the town.