The Fountain Hills Community Guide is intended to provide all the information you need to get settled in the town – whether you are a part-time resident or live here throughout the year. This guide has the basics, as well as specifics about the Town of Fountain Hills and all it has to offer.

Fountain Hills is in Maricopa County. ZIP Codes are 85268 for houses and businesses and 85269 for post office boxes. The telephone area code, which is shared with most of the east Valley, is (480). There are two other area codes in the Valley: (602) generally belongs to central Phoenix telephone customers, while (623) is the prefix for Westside communities. The area code for northern, northeastern and western Arizona communities outside the Valley is (928). If you make a call to Tucson and southeastern Arizona, dial area code (520).

The Fountain Hills Chamber of Commerce is one of the best sources of community information available

The Chamber, located at 16837 E. Palisades Blvd., has staff members who can answer questions about businesses, shopping, special events, clubs and services. The Chamber is open Monday through Friday. Call (480) 837-1654.

Other sources for local information include:
Town Hall, (480) 816-5100;
Fountain Hills Library, (602) 652-3000+3+3;
Fountain Hills Times, (480) 837-1925;
Fountain Hills Unified School District administration, (480) 664-5000; and the
Fountain Hills Community Center, (480) 816-5200.

Community Information & Referral Services is a primary source of integrated information for those interested in services for Central and Northern Arizona. CIRS makes referrals in health care, emergency food, housing and clothing needs; drug and alcohol treatment; adult/child protective services; counseling; employment; training; senior services; pet services; utility assistance; and legal assistance.

The Valley wide service provided by Community Information & Referral Services is free of charge and is available 24 hours a day by calling (602) 263-8856. The website is http://www.cir.org.

Additional information about relocating to Fountain Hills and related services follow. Many of these categories are included elsewhere in this Community Guide with additional details.

• Animals -- Fountain Hills dog licenses, (480) 816-5100; barking dogs, (480) 816-5143; Maricopa County Animal Care and Control: rabies, animal control, loose dogs, lost animals with or without identification, animal control officers, (602) 506-7387.
• Architectural Control -- Neighborhood Property Owners Association, operated by residents and property owners in certain neighborhoods, (480) 837-5317; or check with your individual homeowners association, if applicable.
• Auto License Plates, Driver’s License, Titles and Registration -- All County Motor Vehicle Department offices are open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Phone number for all offices is (602) 255-0072. Locations: East Mesa, 7631 E. Main St.; Mesa, 1840 S. Mesa Drive. (Mesa Drive and the Superstition Freeway); north Scottsdale office, 7339 E. Paradise Lane (south of Frank Lloyd Wright Blvd.). Services include transfers for those buying vehicles, registrations for new residents, permits, replacement of plates, registrations and titles and other auto, truck and trailer licensing functions. . Visit www.dot.state.az.us and www.servicearizona.com.
• Chaparral City Water Co. -- Water utility; 12021 N. Panorama Drive; toll free, (877) 669-3434; or for emergencies, call (480) 837-9522.
• Code Enforcement concerns -- Town Hall, 16705 E. Avenue of the Fountains; (480) 816-5193.
• Community Center -- Located at 13001 N. La Montana Drive. This versatile facility is owned and operated by the Town of Fountain Hills, (480) 816-5200.
• Cox Communications -- Private cable television provider in Fountain Hills, telephone, high speed Internet service, (602) 277-1000.
• Fire Department -- Emergency, 9-1-1; Palisades fire station and administration, 16246 E. Palisades Blvd., (480) 837-9820; Saguaro fire station, 16821 N. Saguaro Blvd., (480) 837-0804.
• Food Bank -- Extended Hands Food Bank, 16524 E. Laser Drive, Suite 9. Call (480) 837-0303 for hours and services. Food boxes, clothing, household items, etc.
• Garbage Collection -- Fountain Hills is served by a number of individual garbage collection services. The complete listing of collectors can be found on FILL IN PAGE NUMBER
• Goodwill -- Non-profit thrift store, 16716 E. Palisades Blvd.; (480) 816-9493.
• Library, 12901 N. La Montana Drive. Books, CDs, DVDs, audio recordings, periodicals and more. Call (602) 652-3350 for hours and services.
• Post Office -- Fountain Hills U.S. Post Office, 16605 E. Avenue of the Fountains. Fountain Hills has post office boxes available for rent, as well as residential and business delivery service. Mail delivered to post office boxes goes to the 85269 ZIP Code; mail delivered to street addresses goes to 85268. The post office provides counter service Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays. Regular postal services, as well as passports by appointment. The lobby is open 24 hours daily for mailbox pickup. An Automated Postal Center (APC) machine also is located in the lobby for 24-hour service. Call (480) 837-4812 for local services, or (800) 275-8777, for general postal information.

  A contract post office is located in Card$mart, 12645 N. Saguaro Blvd., at Plaza Fountainside. All services except passports and money orders are available at the contract station. Hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Hours may vary in the summer. Call (480) 837-4908 for information.

• Public Schools -- Fountain Hills Unified School District: Administrative Office, 664-5000; High School (9-12), (480) 664-5500; Middle School (6-8), (480) 664-5400; Four Peaks Elementary School (3-5), (480) 664-5100; McDowell Mountain Elementary School (K-2), (480) 664-5200; Maintenance and Transportation building, (480) 664-5300; Fountain Hills Charter School (Public Montessori Schools, K-8), (480) 837-0046; East Valley Institute of Technology, (480) 461-4000.
• Salt River Project -- Electric utility. General information, (602) 236-8888; emergency (24 hr.), (602) 236-8811.
• Sanitary District -- Handles disposal and treatment of sewage wastewater; 16941 E. Pepperwood Circle; office, (480) 837-9444; after-hours emergency (answering service), (480) 837-9444.
• Senior Center -- The Fountain Hills Senior Activity Center, located in the Community Center, offers daily programs, trips and theater outings, and many other activities for the active adults in Fountain Hills. Programs vary from cultural and social activities to fitness and social services. (480) 816-5888.
• Sheriff's Office -- Provides police protection for the community. Emergency, 9-1-1; Fountain Hills station, (480) 837-2047; non-emergency dispatch, (602) 252-7840; Crime Stop, to report a crime (602) 876-1011; and Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office downtown switchboard, (602) 876-1000.
• Southwest Gas -- Natural gas utility. Only some neighborhoods in Fountain Hills have access to natural gas for heating and other household and commercial uses; call (602) 861-1999. To report a gas odor or damage to natural gas facility, in emergencies call (602) 271-4277.
• Time & Weather -- Call (602) 265-5550.
• Qwest Communications -- Telephone service, Internet service. Business office and billing questions, (800) 244-1111; repair (24 hours) for residential customers, (800) 573-1311; for business customers, (800) 954-1211. Listing information, 4-1-1.
• Vehicle Inspection & Emissions -- Mesa locations, 1851 W. First Ave. (near Main Street & Dobson Road) and 4442 E. Ivy St. (near Greenfield and McKellips roads); Scottsdale, 8448 E. Evans (off Northsight Drive between Hayden & Pima roads in Scottsdale Airpark); Phoenix locations, 15439 N. 40th St. (40th Street and Greenway Road) and 4949 E. Madison (48th Street and Washington, off the Hohokam Expressway); hours for all locations, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays; Car Care Hotline, (877) 692-9227. www.azdeq.gov.
• Voter Registration -- Fountain Hills Town Hall, (480) 816-5100; Democratic Maricopa County Headquarters, (602) 298-4200; Republican Party of Maricopa County, (602) 957-3999; Maricopa County Recorder's and Elections Office, (602) 506-3535. www.servicearizona.com.

Utilities

It’s natural to walk in to a room, flip a switch and on comes a light.

Turning on a faucet results in water flowing through the spigot.

Infrastructure is something we take for granted. Cables, pipes and transmitters are in place, affording Fountain Hills residents the expected comforts of everyday life.

Various utility companies provide and maintain that infrastructure locally.

Electricity
Salt River Project, a quasi-governmental entity formed more than 100 years ago, provides electricity in Fountain Hills.

Prospective and current SRP customers may call (602) 236-8888 for information about electricity turn on, rates, deposits, etc. There are different classifications of service and related charges that can be explained in full by a SRP customer service representative. Complete information, including activation and bill paying is available online at www.srpnet.com.

SRP's customer information center, (602) 236-8888, is open from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. The main business office is located at 1521 N. Project Drive in Tempe. Hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. An SRP Pay Center is located in the Fry’s Food and Drug Store, 14845 E. Shea Blvd. Hours are 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

SRP has a number of programs giving customers options to save with energy conservation. The company also has a consumer "ombudsman" who represents customers in unresolved, service-related disputes. Customers can call (602) 236-2196, or get additional details online.

Natural gas
Fountain Hills receives natural gas services from Southwest Gas Corporation based in Phoenix. Only a portion of Fountain Hills has natural gas available.

Customer service information concerning connections and billing can be obtained by calling (602) 861-1999. The customer service line operates 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Citizens can report gas odor or damage to natural gas facilities by calling (800) 528-4277.

Blue Stake information to locate gas lines before digging is available by calling (800) 782-5348 at least two working days prior to excavation. Additional information is available at www.swgas.com.

Water
Chaparral City Water Company provides water service to Fountain Hills. CCWC is a subsidiary of American States Water Company, an investor-owned utility based in California that is regulated by the Arizona Corporation Commission.

The Arizona Corporation Commission governs all water rates for the company while the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality regulates water quality.

CCWC is a member of the Central Arizona Groundwater Recharge District, which helps assure long-term water supply will be available to customers.

CCWC obtains its water from two sources: Central Arizona Project (CAP) and underground wells. CAP is a federal reclamation project that brings Colorado River water into the Arizona metro areas through a canal system.

The administrative offices and maintenance warehouse for the water utility are located at 12021 N. Panorama Drive in Fountain Hills. Office hours are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. excluding major holidays. The company offers a 24-hour customer service center for all billing and emergency situations that may arise. The center may be reached at (480) 837-9522, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Customers wishing to establish or disconnect water service for their home should call the customer service center. For more information, visit www.aswater.com.

Sanitary District
The Fountain Hills Sanitary District, a government entity separate from the Town of Fountain Hills, is responsible for the collection, treatment and disposal of sewage waste water in the community.

The special district is governed by an elected five-man board, is funded through various hook-up, connection and user fees as well as property taxes and is operated on a day-to-day basis by a manager and other qualified employees.

An underground system of piping and pump stations carry sewage to the waste water treatment plant near Saguaro and Grande boulevards where it is treated.

The district has a recharge and recovery effluent disposal program that includes a series of underground wells in and around Fountain Park and an advanced water treatment facility along Kiwanis Drive, just south of Fountain Park.

The recharge and recovery system further treats and filters effluent and then injects the water, through the wells, into the underground aquifer, where the excess water is stored. During the hot summer months, when there is a demand for effluent for irrigation purposes, the excess water is pumped out of the aquifer and used on area parks and golf courses.

The district finances its operations through a combination of fees and taxes.

Owners of vacant land with sewer facilities available to it are subject to availability fees, while new homes under construction are charged various hookup and connection fees. The district also levies a property tax on vacant and improved parcels. Residences are subject to user fees as well.

The district's office and treatment plant are located at 16941 E. Pepperwood Circle; office is open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., treatment plant is manned seven days a week. The telephone number during the week, as well as after hours and emergency, is (480) 837-9444.

Communications
The means of communicating are ever-changing and ever-expanding.

“Land lines” now are accompanied by wireless cellular phones. Voice communication is supplemented with text messaging.

In any case, Fountain Hills has the full array of options.

Fountain Hills has three land line telephone prefixes. They are "836," "837" and "816" exchanges. The area code for the town is "480."

Fountain Hills homes and businesses telephone services are through Qwest or Cox Communications. For copies of the "Fountain Hills/Verde Communities Telephone Directory," stop by The Times' office at 16508 E. Laser Drive, Suite 101, or call (480) 837-1925.

Qwest
Qwest, the Colorado-based telephone utility, offers a variety of services that can be individualized for home, business and home office needs. In addition to complete telephone services, Qwest has cellular phone service, High-Speed Internet service and a choice of DirecTV services, including Digital Video Recording (DVR).

New residential service, long distance service, Internet, changes, disconnection, billing questions, call (800) 244-1111, weekdays 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Residential repair, (800) 573-1311
Services for customers with disabilities, (800) 223-3131, weekdays, 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. (CST).
Business service, (800) 603-6000.
Business repair, (800) 954-1211.
Home office consulting, (800) 898-9675.
Directory assistance, 411.

Qwest accounts can be managed online at www.qwest.com.

For those who need copies of the metropolitan Qwest Direct White and Yellow Pages, call (800) 422-8793.

To pay your phone bill by mail, send it to Qwest Communications, P.O. Box 29060, Phoenix, AZ 85038-9060; customers also may choose an automatic payment plan, where your bank will automatically pay the bill and deduct the amount from your checking or savings account.

Wireless Services
There are numerous wireless service providers that offer service in Fountain Hills. Some of those have developed transmission facilities in the community to enhance service. Fountain Hills Wireless and Satellite, authorized agent for Verizon Wireless has two stores in Fountain Hills: 16858 E. Avenue of the Fountains, Suite 105, (480) 837-9400; and 16815 E. Shea Blvd., Suite 112, (480) 816-1511.

Cox Communications
Cox Communications is a provider of digital telephone service in Fountain Hills. Telephone services available include local and long distance packages and “Cox Phone Tools,” allowing customers to use the Internet for a variety of telephone services. A full line of calling features also is available, along with High Speed Internet. Call (602) 277-1000 for information.

Cable Television
Cox Communications also is the local cable TV provider. A variety of services are available.

Cox Digital Cable delivers access to more than 300 television and music channels, interactive programming guide, multiple premium channels and the capability to upgrade at any time. Cox also offers High Definition (HD) channels, as well as exclusive local channels airing local sports, the Arizona News Channel and Maricopa Colleges TV. Cox has Digital Video Recording (DVR).

Cox offers a number of cable programming packages and special programming tiers customized to fit customers’ needs. Cox launched On DEMAND, allowing customers to watch TV on their schedule.

There are three levels of High Speed Internet (HSI) service through Cox. No additional phone line is required for the service.

Fountain Hills customers can call the company at (602) 277-1000 for information on cable installation, scheduling and pricing. Additional information on all Cox services is available on the Web site, www.cox.com.

A local payment center, 13239 N. La Montana, is open 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursdays. The closest Cox Digital Store for equipment pick up, new service ordering and billing inquiries is at 7241 E. Williams Drive in Scottsdale. Hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

Garbage removal and hauling

Fountain Hills residents have several choices of garbage collection companies. While there is no municipal garbage pickup, residents can choose services from private refuse companies.

Garbage and Recycling

Hauling Services

Telephone Directories

There are local alternatives to finding Fountain Hills residential and business listings, rather than to turn to one of the large phone books that are also distributed in our community.

The community has two telephone directories that include local listings.

The Fountain Hills & Verde Communities Telephone Directory is published by Western States Publishers Inc. which also publishes this guide, Let’s Go! and The Fountain Hills Times. It has been distributed free to every home in Fountain Hills since 1977. It has a separate color-coded section for residents of The Verde Communities north of here.

The Fountain Hills & Verde Communities Telephone Directory has a comprehensive yellow page categorized listing of local businesses and those listings and accompanying ads are also accessible online.

The directory also features emergency and information numbers, Web site addresses, contacts for clubs and organizations, move-in services, government services and a map with street index of the Town of Fountain Hills.

A form can be found in this Community Guide that homeowners who recently moved here can fill out and send in to be included in the 2009 edition of the Fountain Hills & Verde Communities Telephone Directory. For information, call (480) 837-1925.

The Fountain Hills Phone Directory has been distributed in the community for five years and is published by Phone Directories Co. of Orem, Utah.

The book features a Community Information section, a government section, White Page listings, a numerical cross reference guide, a map section, Yellow Page listings with advertising and a coupon section. For information, call (800) 443-0801.