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AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS www.ahwatukee.com
Wednesday, September 6, 2017
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They’re building a church for the future
VOTERS SPEAK
AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
SECOND OF A TWO-PART REPORT
.4 EXPERTS ON TAP
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t a time when attendance nationwide is steadily dropping –and taking financial support with it – how do you design a church for the future? Ahwatukee architect Steve Barduson’s answer to that question is reflected throughout his design of the new Mountain Park Community Church. Sustainability is the key, said Barduson. Though Mountain Park has withstood the challenges of dwindling attendance that beset so many churches throughout the country, Barduson believed sustainability still had to be a goal in designing his 80th church in the Valley. That term not only carries an environmental meaning, although Barduson calls the new church at 48th Street and Frye Road “the most energyefficient building in Ahwatukee” because of its thick triple-insulated walls and a control system that senses when rooms are empty or occupied and automatically adjusts lighting and heating and air-conditioning. Sustainability also refers to creating ways
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(Kimberly Carrillo/AFN Photographer)
These three men ultimately are responsible for the new Mountain Park Community Church. They are, from left, Steven Barduson, who designed it; Mountain Park facilities manager, who is overseeing the move from the old building; and Dean Schifferer, the project manager. All three also belong to the congregation.
for the church to survive. That’s why the church has an industrialgrade kitchen that can be used for making
meals and catering events. That’s why it offers See
ARCHITECT on page 16
Ahwatukee events take another hit as rock fest is cancelled BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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second signature event in Ahwatukee has fallen by the wayside. But unlike the Red White and Boom! Independence Day celebration, the Tukee Fest Rockin’ in the Park isn’t coming back. “After 9 years, we are putting Tukee Fest Rockin’ in the Park to rest,” said Lisa Robinson, special events coordinator for the Ahwatukee Swim and Tennis Center, which hosted the event along with the Ahwatukee Board of Management.
Rolls Bowls.
“The expenses for this event just kept growing year after year: bounce house for the kids, music bands, city permits, etcetera,” she added. The termination of Rockin’ in the Park comes three months after the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce cancelled the two-decade-old Red White and Boom! It also cited costs, saying an unidentified sponsor that had promised to pay the costs pulled out at the last minute. While the chamber indicated it will try next year to hold the July 4 celebration, no such hope exists for the rock fest, which the
center fashioned as a family event by offering rides, a bounce house and other attractions in addition to rock bands. “We just weren’t able to recoup our costs,” said Robinson, who came up with the idea for the rock fest when she started working at the center. “It’s all gone,” she said. “It’s sad. It was my baby.” Blame ever-increasing costs, Robinson said. “The cost of city permits has gradually gone up, and the cost of bands has really risen,” she
Rolls Bowls.
B i l t m o r e . Tu r n i n g s i g n i f i c a n t a s s e t s i n t o s i g n i f i c a n t c a s h .
B i l t m o r e . Tu r n i n g s i g n i f i c a n t a s s e t s i n t o s i g n i f i c a n t c a s h .
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See
CORNHOLE on page 18