By recent accounts, about 1,000 Fountain Hills residents have given their precious time to help make our town the best it can be. That’s why I can’t understand why our “ready, fire, aim” councilpersons are disregarding the work of dedicated citizens.

Witness the Feb. 21 Town Council discussion about a vision for an improved entry to Fountain Park. My concern is not about whether we proceed with the project. My concern is how decisions are made and how people are being treated.

Despite weak preambles like “no slight to Jerry” and “with due respect,” four councilpersons did disrespect Jerry and his fellow 11 members of the citizen Streets Committee. Mr. Butler and his committee were scheduled to present their findings in just six days – at the Town Council’s Strategic Planning retreat. But Councilperson Hannah Toth, along with Councilpersons Allen Skillicorn, Brenda Kalivianakis and Gerry Friedel, hijacked that opportunity, declaring the project terminated right then and there.

“Please give us the courtesy of finishing our assignment as a committee, then later make a decision based on facts,” asked Jerry, a Fountain Hills resident for 24 years and a retired engineer with decades of experience planning highways and roads. Seems like a reasonable request.

Don’t you seek out all the information you can before making a big decision? In their discussion about the project, lack of knowledge was painfully apparent. Kalivianakis proclaimed with certainty that she knows more people are in support of terminating this project than are not. I don’t remember being asked. Do you?

As a newly appointed commissioner, I wonder if my involvement is worth my time. Perhaps the new councilpersons and their colleague, Friedel, should just disband all the citizen advisory group that they aren’t planning to listen to.