The issues with Fountain Hills streets are crystal clear

OPINION — I don’t want to sound like the attorney who stated “the facts are these” from “A Few Good Men,” nor even that star witness who famously said “you can’t handle the truth,” but the reality is that Fountain Hills streets are beset with facts pointing to significant – continued – unaffordable decay. It’s call backlog – the rate of degradation of the system as a whole – and that’s the truth.

Why town leaders decided to cancel a study session on June 16 is unclear, as it was devoted to the very issue of system condition. The staff report presented the facts: despite significant investments averaging about $5 million annually for the last five years, backlog is increasing. In just a few years, backlog has nearly doubled from 5.4% to 10.4%. 

As to handling the truth, it seems this council – despite claims that “roads are first” by one councilperson and “Fountain Hills first” by the mayor – doesn’t want to address what is the truth.

So, I ask: who canceled the study session and why? The staff report was “crystal clear.” Despite, or maybe because of, efforts by elected leaders to direct select streets for repair, system conditions continue to deteriorate. Is it that it will cost more money than the town can reasonably squeeze out of its current budget? Is it because some don’t want to admit that a bond or property tax is the only answer? Is it because some don’t want to answer any street funding questions in a contentious campaign for elected office?

It seems “crystal” to me.

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