Life Coach in Fountain Hills, AZ

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Condominium owners in Fountain Hills believe their complex might be the next target of investors who have a history of using a state law that could force them to sell.

FOUNTAIN HILLS, AZ — Condominium owners in Fountain Hills believe their complex might be the next target of investors who have a history of using a state law that could force them to sell.

Amy Wautier purchased her unit at Four Peaks Condominiums in 2015 as a second home. She calls it her family's dream vacation spot.

"We love to hike. And the beauty of the Four Peaks Condominium complex is within weeks we were able to make lifelong friends," Wautier told ABC15.

It's property she and her husband planned to keep and pass down to her children, so she keep tabs on who buys and who sells.

"Knowing that other friends of ours wanted to come in and buy in that complex or in surrounding complexes, I wanted to be able to keep track of what condominiums were selling for," she said.

Four Peaks has almost always been a mix of renters and owners, with the largest owner of units being the Canadian investment company that developed them.

It also controls the homeowners association board, something that Wautier was hoping to change.

"We felt like as homeowners, we weren't being treated as homeowners but more like tenants," she said.

So during the summer of 2021, Wautier and a group of owners pushed the developer-run board to turn over the HOA to all the unit owners.

Eventually she says they got a letter from the board's attorney with five names, including hers. But there were others she did not recognize.

"I learned these two individuals were actually managing principals for a company named Rockwell property company in Chicago, Illinois," Wautier said.

Public documents show in February 2022 several units in Four Peaks were purchased by LLCs that go back to the Chicago address of Rockwell Property Company.

It's a company that ABC15 has reported on that's come into condo complexes around the Valley, acquired 80% of the units, taken over the HOA, and forced the other 20% to sell as allowed by the state's condominium termination law. The units are then converted to apartment rentals.

Wautier is afraid their complex is next. But the company would need more units to take over the board.

Right now the legislature is considering Rep. Jeff Weninger's (R-Chandler) House Bill 2275, which would change the termination requirement from 80% to 100%. Wautier and other condo owners are lobbying legislators to pass it.

Until then they are on their own.

"What we are trying to do is prevent these big investors from basically coming in and taking over the homeowners association board of directors," Wautier said.

Their first step is to get their candidates on the board. After receiving the letter with the original candidates, homeowners got a petition to include additional homeowners of their choosing to compete for the spots. Wautier says the candidate pool has been expanded to 10 and now includes unit owners that her group supports.

She said it has not yet been revealed when and how people will be able to vote before the annual meeting that's scheduled to be held in April.

"I've asked them, what will the process be? When will we be allowed to vote? Will we have a window of X number of days to vote? And at this point, they're extremely reluctant to give me that information," she said.

For now she and her neighbors are holding out hope that they can fight long enough to keep their homes in their hands.

"I'm fighting for my dream, but my dream is shared by many," she said. "Many of our friends live there full-time. And that is their home, they don't want to be forced out."

ABC15 contacted Rockwell Property Company through their website and did not receive a response.

HB 2275 will be heard during the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday, March 9 at 2 p.m. You can see the agenda and video link here.

Copyright 2022 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

By Town of Fountain Hills

It’s not a mischaracterization to describe summers in central Arizona as hot. For towns without a community pool and are fortunate enough to have a splash pad, at least children have a destination to cool off. Since 2007, the Rotary Centennial Splash Pad at Fountain Park in Fountain Hills has been the “cool” place to be during hot summer days. The town’s splash pad was one of the first installed in Arizona. After 15-years of use, the splash pad components exceeded their life expectancy and showed significant wear. Construction for the new splash pad began in the fall of 2021.

On Thursday, May 26, the town held a ribbon-cutting to celebrate the grand re-opening of the Rotary Splash Pad located at 17000 E. El Lago Boulevard. A short program started at 8:15 a.m., thanking the many supporters of the project and initiating the ceremonial “first splash” to declare the Rotary Splash Pad officially open for the summer season.

Following the program, the Rotary Splash Pad was open for public use, and standard operating hours are in effect: 9 a.m. to sunset daily.

Due to the widespread popularity of the splash pad, staff recommended to Town Council to increase the size of the play area to create zones for age-appropriate play. The expanded footprint allowed for additional play structures to accommodate the large volume of youth using the park. Some fun attractions include the Mega Soaker and Sneaky Soaker water buckets, Custom Cool Trane, Geyser, Tidal Wave, Froggie-O, Tidal Wave, and more than 30 water features. If the kids are looking for something “cool” to do this summer, then the Rotary Splash Pad is the place to be.

The splash pad was part of a playground renovation at Fountain Park, the town’s flagship park within Fountain Hills and the most frequented park in the community. The Playground at Fountain Park replaced a 15-year play set in March, becoming increasingly hard to maintain. One of the Playground’s unique features is a 30-foot climbing tower. This new structure features challenges for older children, age five to 12.

In the fall of 2021, the town replaced another playground at Fountain Park for younger children, ages 2-5.

For additional information about Fountain Hills and its nationally awarded Fountain Hills Parks and Recreation program, go to www.fountainhillsaz.gov/187/Community-Services.

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By Town of Fountain Hills

Have you seen Fountain Hills’ fountain green? It all started on St. Patrick’s Day in 1978 when a young homebuilder rode his horse into a local tavern to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and his heritage. So what could top such a stunt? How about a bet to turn the town’s fountain green, water ski around the fountain, and who doesn’t show up is out $250! So, on St. Patrick’s Day 1979, with a large crowd watching from shore, the world-famous fountain in Fountain Hills was dyed green, and all the bettors skied around the fountain as planned, except for one. He couldn’t get up on the skis.

Now, 43-years later, what started as a bet in a bar has become the annual Greening of the Fountain in Fountain Hills on St. Patrick’s Day. On Thursday, March 17, 2022, at noon and again at 5 p.m., the fountain will flow emerald green. The fountain will be bathed in green light when the sun sets to continue the tradition.

The show is also viewable on the town’s webcam at www.experiencefountainhills.org/fountain.

The fountain starts with no dye. The jet spray turns emerald green after injecting the color into the stream. It takes 55 gallons of coloring for the fountain to turn green. The dye causes no harm to the water, which irrigates the surrounding park and is home to a variety of wildlife.

Fountain Hills has the world’s fourth-tallest fountain. It was built in 1970 in Zürich, Switzerland, by Robert P. McCulloch, developer of the town. Another of McCulloch’s master-planned communities featured the reconstruction of the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, which was completed the following year.

Three pumps push the spray as high as 560-feet. However, the third pump is used for special events and as a backup for the other two pumps. At its full height of 560 feet, the fountain is taller than the Washington Monument. It is also three times as high as Yellowstone Park’s Old Faithful. The recognizable white plume is visible far beyond Fountain Hills and can be seen from the Superstition Mountains, Carefree, and aircraft. The fountain runs every day of the week and every hour on the hour for 15 minutes from 9 a.m. – 9 p.m.

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When President Dwight Eisenhower unveiled what would eventually become Sister Cities International in 1956, he saw the program as a new approach to secure peace worldwide. He encouraged local communities to do their part. Being part of Sister Cities allows towns and cities to exchange information and ideas to develop friendships and deepen cultural understanding.

There are more than 700 Sister City communities in the United States. Arizona has 14 cities/towns as members of the Sister Cities International, including Fountain Hills. Other members in Arizona include Phoenix, Flagstaff, Gilbert, Mesa, Peoria, Prescott, Queen Creek, Scottsdale, Show Low/Pinetop-Lakeside, Sierra Vista, Tempe, Tucson, and Yuma. There are 49 international partners the Arizona Sister Cities participants work with to build relationships.

Fountain Hills is hosting the 2022 Sister Cities 2022 Annual Arizona State Sister Cities Conference on April 30 at the Fountain Hills Community Center, located at 13001 N. La Montana Drive. The conference is open to the public. There is a $95 per person registration fee for the full-day event, which includes the meeting with a breakfast bar, lunch, and wrap-up event with appetizers and beverages. To register, go to www.fountainhillsaz.gov/scac.

The keynote speaker for this event is Dr. Victor Boluarte Medina, Mayor of Cusco, Peru. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th century until the 16th-century Spanish conquest. In 1983, Cusco was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO with the title “City of Cuzco”. Other presentations include discussions on international diplomacy with the Honorable Glenn Williamson, Honorary Consul Emeritus of Canada in Arizona. There is also a panel discussion with the Diplomatic Corps of Arizona Members, moderated by Rita Marko, President, and CEO, Phoenix Sister Cities. The panel includes the Honorable Jorge Mendoza Yescas, Consul General of Mexico, the Honorable Odette Bakker, Honorary Consul of the Netherlands, the Honorable Carolin Gey, Honorary Consul of the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Honorable Nathan J. Fidel, Honorary Consul of the French Republic.

For a complete list of activities and presentations, go to www.fountainhillsaz.gov/scac.

Fountain Hills joined Sister Cities International in 2000 when Mayor Sharon Morgan formerly established the relationship with Kasterlee, Belgium, on September 16, 2000. Other Sister City relationships soon followed. On June 25, 2005, Dierforf, Germany, was established by Mayor Wally Nichols. Ataco, El Salvador, was formerly enlisted by Mayor Nichols on November 8, 2007. Finally, in 2014, Mayor Linda Kavanagh established Zamość, Poland, as a Sister City.

A Sister City is a broad-based, officially approved long-term partnership between two communities in two countries. A Sister City relationship becomes official with a signing ceremony of the top-elected officials of the two local jurisdictions, following approval by the local city councils. Sister City partnerships have the potential to carry out the broadest possible diversity of activities. The partnership aims to achieve international understanding, cultural sensitivities, humanitarian efforts and encourage trade and tourism. Goals include cultural and student exchanges, educational programs, and community events.

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