When Fountain Hills was planned 40 years ago, the idea espoused at the time was to create a self-contained community with diverse housing – condominiums, townhomes and single-family homes of varying sizes.

While housing prices have increased over the decades, however, what has that done to the population base?

Do we have “neighborhoods” anymore where people know each other and borrow sugar from one another? How active are newcomers to the community? Has the advent of “gated communities” helped or hurt Fountain Hills as a town?

The answers are as diverse as the people one talks to, of course, but there is a general sense of agreement that Fountain Hills will always retain a stronger sense of community and “small town” atmosphere even at a projected buildout population of 30,000.

The Times this week completes its series looking at the life stages of a town and examining where Fountain Hills is headed in terms of demographics and community spirit.

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It didn’t seem that long ago when Fountain Hills had a few main thoroughfares and residents, for the most part, lived north of Shea Blvd. and east of the dirt alignment of Palisades Blvd.

The 1990s saw the opening of Eagle Mountain to the south, SunRidge Canyon to the west and the construction of the high school.

Beyond that we saw numerous neighborhoods such as North Heights, Glenbrook and Glenview, Sunrise Point, FireRock Country Club – along with a host of condominium complexes – open up in the ‘90s and into the 2000s.

The Target center opened, more mountain land remains to be developed and some day the Ellman property in northern Fountain Hills will be developed.

The community is changing, but what does that mean?

Dwight Johnson, who moved here nine years ago, is a dynamo and active with the Chamber of Commerce, PTO, Four Peaks Community Church and others.

“The town is maturing in a very nice way,” he says. “It appears we are bringing in a wealth of talent, people with wonderful careers, many of whom have decided to retire early.”

Johnson said he was impressed when, three years ago, strategic planning focus groups were organized in August and more than 200 residents showed up.

“The sophistication of thinking and range of ideas was amazing,” he remembers.

Johnson believes Fountain Hills is maturing in a positive way and thinks the cohesive school system contributes to a sense of community here.

“It’s much easier to develop programs that can be consistent from school to school,” he says.

“We’ve worked at developing a ‘village’ in our community, and that has paid off in great dividends.”

Johnson believes, like many others, that Fountain Hills is a town based on volunteerism and hopes that will catch on even more with new residents.

He meets many new parents to town who are willing to get involved, despite their income levels or what neighborhood they live in.

“And we are a town of creativity,” he adds. “There is a strong interest in the arts, be it in our community or our schools.”

Johnson has seen much progress the past nine years with the parks system and the schools, anchoring Fountain Hills as a “family friendly” town for years to come.

He believes those aspects will be even better 10 years from now.

“I believe our business base will strengthen and that our downtown will become fully developed with a distinct personality,” he says.

“Our children will have more things to do in town, including watching a movie!

“We are a small town and will remain so, even after buildout. That brings a special feel, a sense of place, a sense of belonging, a sense of this is ours…to protect and enhance for our children and their children.

“Not many Valley cities will be able to say that in 2020.”

Sharon Hutcheson was on the Town Council when a lot of the growth was just beginning.

She wasn’t a giant fan of gated communities because she thought it would just isolate them even more.

“With Eagle Mountain and FireRock, my concern was they already had a geographical separation from the town. I thought by gating them, it would make them even more cut off from the town,” she says.

“I was worried it would separate us more. I was worried we were making two towns.

“And, at least in the beginning, I think that happened.”

And looking back?

“I still think there is a little bit of a separation, though maybe not as much as I thought initially,” Hutcheson says. “The families with kids are connected, but I think some are still more connected with Scottsdale than Fountain Hills.”

Marianne Wiggishoff served on the Fountain Hills Town Council but now works for a management company that assists the large homeowners associations in SunRidge Canyon and FireRock Country Club.

“FireRock isn’t as isolated as it may seem,” she says. “There is a mix of people here, but a lot of it isn’t developed yet.

“It’s not a part of Fountain Hills in the ‘old’ sense, but I think that’s just because of its location.”

Wiggishoff believes that as Fountain Hills continues to grow and mature, the sense that volunteers “can do it all” will continue to diminish, but that won’t necessarily translate into a stagnant community.

“As you get larger, you tend to lose that,” she says. “It’s harder to know everybody like you did back in the ’70s and ‘80s.”

Yet Wiggishoff says the residents of FireRock will continue to remain involved with Fountain Hills in some form.

“They’re as much in love with the views and everything else as all of us are,” she says. “A number of existing Fountain Hills residents have moved into FireRock.”

She says SunRidge Canyon might seem indistinguishable from much of Fountain Hills, unlike FireRock, just because of its location and the fact that it doesn’t have any gates.

“They have made a real effort to create an identity for SunRidge,” she says.

Richard Kloster, president of the Eagle Mountain homeowners association, says that community does feel isolated in certain regards.

“As you drive by on Shea, you don’t really see the residences or the golf course,” he says. “Just a few homes, a fairway and the monument signs. People don’t even know there’s a community down here.

“Former Mayor Wally Nichols made a concerted effort to have one of his coffees here, at the request of our board, because we did feel ignored by the town.”

Residents may venture to Fry’s for something, but he feels the other 11 businesses in the Eagle Mountain Marketplace are underutilized by the community in general.

“Eagle Mountain residents know they’re there, but I’m not sure if Fountain Hills is aware of it,” he says.

“We have a hotel, a public golf course that was ranked number one in the state, a lot of different things.”

The shopping center, merchants and the Town of Fountain Hills are working together to hopefully erect a new sign on Shea Blvd. highlighting the businesses located there.

Kloster feels many Eagle Mountain residents are involved with Fountain Hills at-large.

“They’re participating and supportive,” he says. “People patronize the businesses, volunteer at the library, Community Center, other things.

“We’re on the very edge of town, but we want to be included.”

Dr. Marian Hermie, former school superintendent for Fountain Hills Unified School District, resides in a unique area that has a quirk many people might not even know about.

She lives in Cordabella at CopperWynd, a single-family subdivision that actually is in the City of Scottsdale but within the FHUSD and Sanitary District boundaries.

The CopperWynd resort and condos, however, are actually within the Town of Fountain Hills.

Geographically Hermie’s neighborhood is essentially surrounded by Fountain Hills, but due to an annexation of 405 acres by the City of Scottsdale prior to Fountain Hills’ incorporation, most of that original 405-acre parcel technically is served by Scottsdale.

Despite that, “I’d say we’re Fountain Hills folks,” Hermie says. “Many of us who live here year-round work or have worked in Fountain Hills.

“Many folks belong to CopperWynd and associate with Fountain Hills folks when they’re working out.

“I think our association members do feel more a part of Fountain Hills than Scottsdale.”

New series: Where are we going?
Series, Part 2: Planning is an issue
Series, Part 3: Identity search for finances, too
Series, Part 4: Tourism touted
Series, Part 5: Main Street
Series, Part 6: 'Our schools'
Series, Part 7: Volunteerism