The Town Council followed up on its planning retreat discussions by adopting strategic planning goals and operational priorities for fiscal year 2014-15.

Now that the pavement management plan implemented last year is operational, staff is being asked to take street maintenance a step further and come up with an asphalt replacement plan.

Town Manager Ken Buchanan said a replacement plan will be brought to the council at a later date.

Funding is likely to be the major challenge for an asphalt replacement plan.

Long-term upkeep on other town assets is also a part of the staff operational priorities.

A facilities reserve fund will be discussed as a method to have money available for significant repair or maintenance activities for town-owned facilities.

Roofing, painting and HVAC are the types of high dollar projects to be covered by such a fund.

Staff will consider options to budget such a reserve fund and bring those to the council at a later date.

Fire Station No. 2 relocation remains an operational priority for next fiscal year as staff continues to lay the groundwork for proceeding.

Work is continuing on a proposed land swap that would give the town a second option for siting the new station.

Work is also being done on a comparison between the two possible locations, one on Shea Boulevard just east of Palisades, and the second on Fountain Hills Boulevard just north of Shea.

The station relocation is in the capital improvement budget for 2015.

Staff continues to work with the Fountain Hills Sanitary District to develop and plan an intergovernmental agreement regarding the water quality in Fountain Lake.

A consultant has said the lake water needs better mixing and aeration to improve the quality and reduce odors, particularly in summer months.

The town has taken a major step in implementing economic development as a priority with the hiring of Economic Development Specialist Scott Cooper.

Cooper began work earlier this month and will be charged with implementing the Economic Development Plan adopted early last year.

The strategic planning objectives recommended by the Strategic Planning Advisory Commission will include an emphasis on customer satisfaction and soliciting input from citizens and stakeholders with regard to town objectives.

One priority is to evaluate customer satisfaction with town services on a regular basis and implement appropriate service improvements.

They also wish to solicit and consider public and stakeholder feedback as part of the decision-making process.

Another priority recommendation is to move toward less reliance on state-shared revenues and develop locally-controlled, reliable funding sources for infrastructure maintenance.

These priorities will be used by staff and the council in planning and developing a budget for the 2014-15 fiscal year.