The week-long closure of the Fountain Hills Community Center earlier this month provided an opportunity for general maintenance and deep cleaning of the building floors. It also allowed time to address flood mitigation concerns that have plagued the building for some time.

Given the daily traffic into the Community Center, a chance to deep clean comes only so often. Throughout the week of Independence Day, the Community Center took the opportunity to strip and rewax floors, fix cracked floor tiles and add new floor sealant, Town Community Relations Director Bo Larsen said.

“When people come back, they’ll see a fresh, super-clean facility,” he said.

Improvements

Improvements are also underway on the west side of the building where, earlier this year, a concrete patio slab was removed that sloped inward, causing water seepage into the building. The patio was filled with gravel and leveled to prevent flooding into the building.

In the coming weeks, concrete will be poured for the new patio where the enclosed area will serve as a much-needed storage space for wheelchairs and club-related material.

“It’s been a good summer to get this done,” Larsen said.

Last year, a report was presented before the council on significant water infiltration into the Community Center. Allana Buick and Bers (ABB) provided the evaluation, stating that the scope of the flood damage was noticed during building renovations in 2021.

Significant improvements have been made already in addressing such concerns including the testing and removal of microbial presence such as mold in the walls, window and door sealing, roof restoration and an HVAC system audit. Sloping corrections in concrete adjacent to windowsills and trench drain installation are projected to be complete by the end of the next fiscal year, June 30, 2024.