This week The Times concludes a series highlighting the four candidates for the Fountain Hills Sanitary District Board of Directors.

The candidates are responding to a series of questions posed by The Times. Question #5 asks: The Sanitary District is working with the Town of Fountain Hills on the restroom/equipment housing structures in Fountain Park. If the town seeks to upgrade Fountain pumping and control equipment and/or irrigation storage facilities, what, if any role should the district take in assisting with these projects?

Jerry Butler – “Ever since the Sanitary District was created 50 years ago, it and the town have been partners in disposing of the district’s treated effluent. Currently, four district Aquifer/Storage/Recovery wells are located on town properties; three parks use the water for turf irrigation; and the lake in Fountain Park helps evaporate millions of gallons each year.

“In 2010, when the lake water quality was last an issue, a district-hired consultant identified various improvement alternatives. Then in 2013 a draft Intergovernmental Agreement was created to have the district take over the fountain and lake operation, but those discussions eventually stalled because the Town wanted to retain control.

“The idea of having the District provide higher quality irrigation water to Fountain Park has been brought up before and earlier this year the district took cooperative steps to further address the topic. Because the park is currently irrigated with lake water, it’s important to understand if that practice is discontinued, what impact that might have on the overall lake water quality. When the District’s Master Plan Study is completed around year end, the pros and cons of possibly changing the source of park irrigation water will be known.

“For the last several years the District directors and Town Council have met annually to discuss common issues and the future plus, in between, the staffs continue to have ongoing dialogue. If re-elected, I will support a continuation of this partnership. After all, both entities serve the same businesses and residents.”

Michael Maroon – “The town and the Sanitary District are forever tethered for the benefit of all of us. We can get into the technical aim of the Sanitary District, but at the end of the day we are and will remain a component of helping the town thrive when we are in a position to do so.

“The District has a strong history of cooperation with the town and my hope is that will continue. That being said, I also believe it’s important to know your place. To run down a narrative of the district playing any specific roles regarding the Fountain pumping and control equipment without an invitation to do so would be meddling in a lane that isn’t ours to meddle in. What I want the Town Council to understand is that I am always willing to come to the table and have a dialogue about solutions and roles when the invitation is offered and I have no reason to think that the reverse direction of that isn’t true too.

“This may feel like a non-answer, but I hope the readers’ takeaway is simply this: I understand where the boundaries of the Sanitary District and the Town exist and I want to be respectful of those boundaries until there is an invitation for us to dialogue together about a specific solution. When those invitations occur (on either side), that is the time for brainstorming on how we can synergistically do more together than apart. I am not a meddler.”

Bob Shelstrom – “It wouldn’t make sense to have police officers working hoses to extinguish structural fires nor having firefighters trying to arrest an armed and dangerous felon. They don’t have the training to perform those tasks, and their operating unit does not have that skill set.

“Likewise, it makes no sense to have the town operate and maintain water equipment and treatment at the Fountain Lake, for which it has no in-house expertise.

“There is a truly chaotic system for establishing division of responsibility for the lake and fountain. We need clear, well-documented responsibilities to ensure those best qualified perform their core functions.

“The district cash balances will grow from about $8 million to over $12 million by 2024 from excess revenues. This includes capital spending of about $4 million per year, about 36 percent expenditures.

“The district may help the town using surpluses for water treatment, equipment and processes at the lake. This amounts to about $150,000 per year for utilities and maintenance for which the district has in-house expertise. About $520,000 in fountain pump and shoreline repairs through 2024 also seems appropriate for sanitary responsibility.

“Of course the biggest cost would be from lake liner replacement, currently scheduled for 2030 at a cost of about $4 million. Since the lake contains effluent from treated wastewater, it seems fair to share these costs.

“I hope to develop a synergy between the town and district as director to ensure the most effective use of resources to benefit our community.”

Bob Thomson – “The restroom/equipment housing structures presently under construction in Fountain Park constitute a very visible example of cooperation between the town and the Sanitary District. In fact, a representative of the town attends the weekly project review meetings the district holds with the contractor.

“If the Town seeks to upgrade the Fountain pumping and control equipment, once again there will have to be close cooperation because the district supplies highly treated effluent to the lake.

“With regard to an irrigation storage facility, at present there is none. The town pumps water directly out of the lake to irrigate the park. An irrigation storage facility would enable the town to deliver a higher quality of water for that purpose. The town would then be using the same quality of water that is delivered to the golf courses.

“There is a tradeoff; taking irrigation water from a storage facility would make the water in the lake worse because daily pumping of irrigation water out of the lake helps bring highly treated effluent into the lake to replace the lake water used for irrigation.

“That said, this topic should be part of the on-going dialogue with the town, as there is room for an irrigation water storage tank at the District’s Advanced Waste Water Treatment facility on Kiwanis Drive.

“As a re-elected director, I will continue to aggressively support continued close cooperation with the town on this and on all matters of mutual interest to serve the our residents and businesses.”