A heartfelt congratulations and a job well done to the Town Council and staff on the reopening of the Splash Pad as part of the renovations at Fountain Park, the busiest park in our community. There’s no greater joy than seeing the appreciative children cool off from our hot Arizona days. So many times, I am in line at Bashas’ or Fry’s and hear the children urging their parents to hurry up, as they were promised a trip to the special place called the Splash Pad of Fountain Hills.

Construction for the new Splash Pad began in the fall of 2021 and the official ribbon cutting was held on May 26, 2022. This project is a great example of spotting a project that the people rallied behind, allocated the funding and eventually building something of great value to our community. As a critic of some of what I considered wasteful spending in the past, I feel obligated to point out the good our staff and council can do to make Fountain Hills the best it can be.

Recently at a Town Council meeting we heard from Mark Graham, one of the leaders of the committee to report on the state of our roads and streets in our town. His report was sobering and called for the Town to begin repairing the 390 center line miles of streets that need attention, to prioritize repairs and to start fixing what is becoming a real problem in our community. As I speak to residents, this issue comes up time and time again. If elected, road repairs and infrastructure improvements would be on the top of my list. It’s really not that hard, you just have to listen to the people.