I was walking our dogs down the Avenue of the Fountains park and realized how great it is to have this venue in Fountain Hills. The Christmas tree, holiday lights and views made for a picturesque home town experience.

It was not so long ago that this area of town was somewhat drab, out of date and not so user friendly. So I did some research as to how we were able to obtain such a wonderful amenity for Fountain Hills.

As it turns out, an overpriced, institutional-type project was originally planned for the space which included removing most of the mature trees. Thanks to the teamwork of councilmen Cecil Yates and Dennis Brown, they were able to stop the proposed project and utilize their backgrounds in construction and development to help assemble an “A-Team” of designers, architects and engineers. The new project team was able to keep most of the mature trees (only getting rid of the dead, dying or dangerous ones), and design this incredible linear park which is now always in use!

The real magic here is that they were able to utilize private sector construction and design techniques to include many more features than what was originally proposed, while saving the taxpayers over $800,000 from the original estimate. I also learned the savings were put toward the Saguaro road project, which everyone in town now uses.

Cecil Yates is now running for mayor. He obviously “gets it” and will receive my vote. A big Merry Christmas to Councilmen Cecil Yates and Dennis Brown. Thank you for this beautiful park!