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Wednesday, March 15, 2017
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Study: Ahwatukee Lakes restoration would climb above $14.2 million
Detour man AHWATUKEE FOOTHILLS NEWS GO IRISH
BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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he cost of restoring Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course would exceed $14.2 million and likely operate in the red for at least its first three years, according to a study by a management consultant hired by The True Life Companies. Released last week, the study by True Club Solutions, a division of the global golfing industry giant Troon, was ordered by True Life as part of its court fight with Ahwatukee Lakes residents over the future of the defunct 101-acre course. The estimated restoration cost is nearly double the $8.2 million True Life paid to buy the course from former owner Wilson Gee, who shut it down in 2013. Calling its future profitability “minimal at best,” True Club Solutions said it “does not believe
that Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course would be a viable operating business if redeveloped as a golf course. “If redeveloped,” the report continued, “it would serve more as an amenity to the surrounding homeowners than as a sustainable business capable of producing enough cash flow to cover the cost of redevelopment and provide a fair return for the investment.” A top executive for True Life said the report had “reaffirmed the need to stop the false rumors of golf being a viable option for this site,” which the developer wants to convert into an “agrihood” with about 270 homes, a five-acre farm, a private school, café, two lakes and trails. True Life needs 51 percent of the community’s 5,200 homeowners to agree to a change in the conditions,
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RESTORATION on page 16
(Larry Mangino/Special to AFN)
As president of RoadSafe Traffic Systems, Dave Meirick of Ahwatukee helps create traffic nightmares across the country, but with good reason. His company provides many of the detour services and products that protect road crews. See
Treatment programs face shutdown because of minimum wage increase BY JIM WALSH AFN Staff Writer
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hwatukee parents of adult-aged developmentally disabled children are worried they’ll become victims of an unintended consequence of the voterapproved increase in the state’s minimum wage.
Increases in payroll costs are prompting some providers to consider shutting down or curtailing day treatment programs that developmentally disabled people need. They are people like Kate Noll, 29, who was isolated and depressed when she first moved to Arizona with her family, before her mother discovered her lifeline, Marc Community Resources.
Cheryl Noll said Kate thrives on structure and a sense of purpose. Kate had neither during her first three months in the East Valley. She became irrational. Her eating and sleeping habits changed. “If I had Kate at home all day, I would be at home,” Cheryl Noll said, forcing her
Middle school orientation March 20, 2017 Middle school orientation March 20, 2017 Middle school orientation March 20, 2017 Middle school orientation March 20, 2017 Middle school orientation March 20, 2017 At all Kyrene Middle Schools. At Kyrene all Kyrene Schools. At allMiddle Kyrene MiddleSchools. Schools. At all Kyrene Middle At all Middle Schools. Academics. Leadership. Support. Orientation times vary, www.kyrene.org or 480-541-1000 Engage with Kyrene Schools on Social Media
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