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CO M M U N I T Y P. 18| A RO U N D A F P. 25 | O P I N I O N P. 32| B U S I N E SS P. 35 | G E TO U T P. 39 | S P O RT S P. 46| C L A SS I F I E D P. 49
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HOPING TO WALK
Wednesday, February 19. 2020
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@AhwatukeeFN
Club West deal collapses as builder pulls out BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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@AhwatukeeFN |
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pponents of houses on the Club West Golf Course got an unintended Valentine’s Day present from the four investors pushing the plan after they announced on Friday that the home developer has pulled out of the deal. The Edge Team’s announcement that Taylor Morrison no longer has an interest in building 162 single- and two-story homes on three segments of the field threw the course’s longterm future into more of the uncertainty that has loomed over the site since former owner Richard Breuninger went bankrupt last year. The Club West Community Association board had been tentatively scheduled at its monthly meeting Thursday, Feb. 20, decide whether to put the Edge Team’s plan to a vote by the HOA’s approximate 2,700 homeowners. Even before the Edge Team’s announcement, HOA board President Mike Hinz said he didn’t
know what the board would be doing in the face of vehement opposition to the plan by some homeowners. The Edge Team posted a statement from Taylor Morrison that said: “Despite our continued optimism that a reasonable solution to the issues facing the Club West GC are attainable, we regrettably must inform you that Taylor Morrison has decided to step back from the project. “Per recent discussions with community stakeholders and elected officials, it has become apparent that a contingent within the community strongly desires the course to be converted into some type of parkland or preserved open space. “While we are open to this concept, the process of studying a parkland/preserve option would require the re-allocation of resources which are currently required for other projects. We have, therefore, decided to focus our efforts on more near-term projects currently in the pipeline.
“We appreciate everyone’s expenditure of time and energy, and hope that in due time we may once again have an opportunity to participate in an endurable solution for the community.” The Edge Team noted that it had met with a spokesperson for the Concerned Club West Homeowners group and city Councilman Sal DiCiccio and that DiCiccio had asked the four investors to “provide more time for the community to review the proposal” and work with the group on “their proposal to convert the course to a preserve.” The only additional comment from the Edge Team was to refer to its mission statement, which says: “Our goal has always been to guide the future of the Club West Golf property and keep the fate of the land in the hands of our community. We are open to all input from the community.
see CLUB WEST page 9
Soaring health Don’t fence me in costs impacting Kyrene employees BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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yrene School District employees will be picking up a larger share of the cost of health insurance for their spouses and children next school year because the district’s benefit trust fund has plummeted to a “dangerously low” level. During a Governing Board meeting last week, the administration laid out its plan to shore up the Kyrene Employee Benefit Trust, which covers the claims and expenses for employees’ medical and dental and vision plans. The fund’s reserves have plunged in recent years
see INSURE page 6
Mike Kandora might be singing that tune as he stands outside his backyard on Mandan Street, where a city-county flood control project like will prevent him from even opening the backdoor. He and neighbors are contemplating legal action. Details: page 3. (Chris Mortenson/AFN Staff Photographer)