Jay Schlum
First, I encourage each resident to let their suggestions be heard. Please reach out and talk to myself or others on Town Council. Often you who are closest to a situation have suggestions to solve a particular issue or leverage an opportunity.

Public Pool: 250+ citizens spoke to this potential investment during the strategic planning process and during the weekend event the ‘Multi-Generational Aquatic Facility’ rated high. I also favor this public amenity and welcome an intelligent private/public partnership funding solution needed to consider such an improvement. The joint use facility would not only bring a pool to the High School, seniors, youth and visitors, but would also serve to bring us together.

Stop Lights: Personally, I am not a fan of the inconvenience, ambient lighting and exhaust fumes associated with traffic stop signals. I do understand the necessity of this technology to improve traffic and pedestrian safety. Like most, I too dislike waiting on a red light when traffic is clear. 

Speeding: Speeding occurs on most every street in town and of course our Sheriff’s deputies can’t cover every street at the same time. Deputies have been successful by focusing on trouble areas and they do write a large number of citations.

Fountain Lake Water Quality:  Additional steps to address the smell and color have been taken. Improving water quality further is something I am interested. By improving the quality we may be able to consider additional activities on our Fountain Lake, like paddle boating and fishing.

Trash/Recycling: Let’s work together and task a strong team of interested and talented citizens to consider the options to better address refuse removal. Our streets are being torn up by these big trucks with frequent travel up and down our roads. Several companies serving the same area most every day does not make sense.

Jerry Miles
With our Town finances in a questionable state, now is not the time to consider major new capital projects such as a public swimming pool.  We’ll bring it up again when times are better.

The issue of increased traffic in Fountain Hills will be complicated by the pending development of the former State Trust Land. The addition of several thousand new residents will generate a tremendous increase in traffic.  Dealing with that traffic will be a big challenge.

The basic premise, of course, is that the developer must pay for the cost of solving the problems generated by the development. 

But some problems do not have an easy financial solution.  For example, the development plan for this property which is currently on the table will create intolerable traffic congestion in the Boulder Drive and Richwood Avenue neighborhoods.

Their concerns can only be resolved by re-evaluating the traffic flow proposals which have been presented.   If this is not done, it will be difficult to obtain approval of a satisfactory development plan.

Trash collection is an issue which must be considered. Many residents are urging the Town Council to limit the number of companies authorized to collect trash in our community to one or perhaps two.  I feel fairly sure that this will happen.

 Our Parks and Recreation department staff has been struggling with the question of water quality control in Fountain Park for years. If there is an easy solution, I haven’t heard of it. 

It is compounded by the excessive number of water fowl which seasonally make the lake their home.  Reducing the number of these birds in a humane way is a serious challenge. But I know that our staff is aware of the problem and are working hard to keep the situation under control.

Kathie Kelly
All concerns raised by citizens are valid and important to those who express them. However, not all of these concerns can be translated into actionable solutions at all times. Even though concerns are expressed, and those who have the concerns have ideas about solutions, there are often competing concerns and solutions.

As a council member, I pledge to listen to all concerns, and to take them seriously no matter whom they come from. When a member of our community raises an issue it must be given fair consideration.

I cannot promise that all of the issues raised can be translated into action with a solution to everyone’s satisfaction. For example, one person’s traffic signal is another person’s headache; traffic restrictions on some streets impact negatively on other residents; although a pool is a desirable amenity, operating costs and liability issues need to be taken into account.

All action plans need to be based on good information and analysis of alternatives, looking at advantages and disadvantages. I would encourage citizens advocating in specific areas to provide solid information.

I would also take advantage of existing commissions and organizations to provide more data and recommendations in their areas of expertise. All of the recommendations and proposed solutions need to take into account financial impact as well as unintended consequences.

What I can promise is to always listen, take each concern seriously and use the strategic plan and our established goals to prioritize. Although we all have our wish lists, we must be sure that all implementation strategies are fiscally responsible.

Keith McMahan
These concerns, needs and desires of our citizens must be considered within the context of growth and public demand and accordingly, prioritized.

They also must fit within the parameters of our annual income. Traffic management certainly is an immediate issue and should receive immediate attention; the condition of the water in Fountain Lake is vital to the appeal of our lake and Fountain and must be constantly kept clean and odor-free; streets must be maintained and repaired.

Recycling and trash collection is under study now, and again, if the citizens want more access to recycling, would like to see a single trash hauler, etc. they must make it known. I like the present trash situation because competition results in excellent service and competitive pricing (which we now have). I think the private haulers should be required to offer recycling.

As for a public swimming pool, or a performing arts center, these are wonderful amenities which the people of Fountain Hills may want in future years. A new generation of residents will be coming into their own.

Their Fountain Hills will be built out and the community will have settled into a comfortable maturity with an established revenue stream flowing into town coffers.

They may wish to bond themselves for these facilities... a decade or more from now.

Michael Tyler
There will always be more projects than we have resources to implement. One of the key benefits of strategic planning is for the citizens to prioritize those projects, which we all did in the 2005 Strategic Plan.

Having said that we need to make sure that the plan is reviewed periodically and changes made as appropriate.

A good example is trash collection which was de-emphasized in the Strategic Plan but which continues to surface quite often as citizens concerns; we should take another look at it to identify what our options might be.

Concerns about our safety and environment should be viewed as priorities and researched to identify the problems and develop potential solutions- there should always be an opportunity for public input before implementation.

Lina Bellenir
We should be taking all possible steps to remove barriers and make government more sensitive to the issues of the people by bringing together elected representatives, residents, non-profit service organizations and business owners to help solve problems.

Governments should be run in ways that are participative, inclusive and sensitized to the circumstances and needs of the   people.

The aforementioned elements should be working side by side with one another.      Many people want to get involved but are skeptical because their perception is that their participation would not really “make a difference.” We must work to alter public perceptions.

Local democracy is still popularly perceived as about council elections every two or four years, and somewhat remote from or irrelevant to the everyday concerns    of communities.

This has adverse implications not only for voting behavior but   for public participation in the democratic process as a whole.  We need to think through ways of not only promoting representative democracy at election times    but also projecting local democracy as a continuing process of engagement with    communities.   

Our challenge will be to demonstrate to residents that their engagement will bring about real change – and enhance representative local democracy. 

Our elected officials must come closer to the community by conveying in clear and convincing terms how local democracy is working for them, for example through imaginative use of community newspapers, handbooks, Web sites, road shows, forums, open days, etc. For example, the use of forums to bring together a wide range of community groups under a single umbrella has been immensely   successful to solve everyday concerns.

Also critical is how well our elected officials objectively report on their performance.

When teamwork can be seen as sitting side by side developing solutions representative democracy is advanced and enhanced while meeting the everyday needs of residents.

Dennis Contino
Funny how “everyday concerns of citizens” is our last question and almost set to feel trivial.

The “everyday concerns of citizens” need to be addressed. These concerns were put aside for more grandiose plans, over $1 million to improve the avenue…and we still haven’t figured out the development plan for the area.

A senior center that should now be a profit center, wrong again. The community center should be like our parks, inviting and there for the benefit of the community.

I was always in favor of a swimming pool, but it needed to be addressed when we were building the high school.

Trash collection: it would be nice to select two haulers (maintain competition) and reduce traffic on roads.

Condition of the water in Fountain Lake: Hello, where have we been? This is our town’s namesake and its maintenance and improvement has been last on the list. It needs to be moved up on the priority list.

Cassie Hansen
Communication and open dialogue between Town Hall and the citizens is key. A question in the strategic plan questionnaire asked respondents how the town could best keep residents informed on the strategic planning process and other town issues.

Respondents identified the Times, the Republic, the town’s newsletter and website.

Making these resources more interactive could provide opportunities to regularly poll the citizens, solicit updated input on such issues as recycling/trash collection, and identify current community concerns. The Times does a great job polling five residents every week in their “Town Talk” feature.

Doing something similar on a larger scale through the town’s website would help to keep officials current on the “pulse” of the community.  Using available technology and promoting a community wide “block watch” philosophy, residents could assist the town to be more proactive by identifying and reporting issues relating to traffic, signal operation/timing, etc.

Citizens need an accessible, responsive outlet to express their ideas and share their concerns with Town Hall.

Providing an updated opportunity to prioritize a community wish list that includes a funding mechanism not offered in the 2005 strategic planning questionnaire would be beneficial.

A secondary property tax could be used for specific capital projects that voters can approve/disapprove at the polls much like they did with the 1991 street paving project, the library/museum building and preservation. Secondary taxes are temporary in that they go away when the bonds are paid off.

The Fountain Lake and park are frequent topics of community discussion/concern and some solutions are interrelated. Citizens are expressing the desire to have the Fountain run more often, the condition of the water and turf improved. Energy saving technology should be explored that would allow for extended hours of Fountain operation.

This would also increase the aeration of the water, improving its condition and the turf it irrigates as well.