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C O M M U N I T Y P. 3 2 | B U S I N E S S P. 3 6 | O P I N I O N P. 4 1 | S P O RT S P. 4 4 | G E T O U T P. 4 7 | C L A S S I F I E D P. 4 9
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MAKING CHOICES
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TEEN AUTHOR
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NEW STORE OWNER
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HEALTHY EATS
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Wednesday, October 28, 2020
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Confronting possible $2M sanction, Gee sells Lakes for golf BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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fter a six-year court battle, Wilson Gee has tentatively sold the Ahwatukee Lakes Golf Course and hired a golf course design firm to come up with a plan for the site he closed in 2013. But the attorney for two homeowners who have waged that court fight is asking a Superior Court judge to impose a $2 million sanction on his company to ensure the course is restored. Charging that Gee “systematically planned an effected” the course’s demise, attorney
Judge under fire in last freeway fight still raging in court
Timothy Barnes is seeking the sanction on ALCR that could be given back when Gee restores the course. Gee’s lawyer in return says Barnes is seeking a “punitive” sanction “without giving any justification for the amount requested” and said his client on Oct. 5 signed an agreement with Suntereo Companies “to enter into a purchase agreement and build a golf course on the property.” Not stated in the brief is the possibility the proposed new owner would want to build an assisted living center on 10 acres. The battle between attorney Daniel Maynard and Barnes unfolded in dueling briefs
they filed with Superior Court Judge Theodore Campagnolo, who will hear their arguments Monday, Nov. 2, after the scheduled sanctions hearing last Thursday was abruptly postponed because the court’s online platform crashed. Campagnolo in August found that Gee’s company, ALCR, was in contempt of court for not complying with an earlier judge’s 2018 order that the course be restored. That order has been upheld by Arizona’s appellate courts, but Maynard is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the issue.
'Tis the season
see LAKES page 4
BY PAUL MARYNIAK AFN Executive Editor
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onstruction of the South Mountain Freeway may finally end Friday, but an Ahwatukee man’s fight with the agency that built it shows no end in sight. The Arizona Department of Transportation on Monday said it still hopes to open on Friday, Nov. 30, the 32nd Street interchange and the multiuse path – the final two pieces that have remained under construction since the 22-mile freeway was opened in December. But whether the interchange and multiuse path are opened after two postponements in the last two months won’t stop Foothills Reserve homeowner Dietmar Hanke from waging the last legal challenge in connection with
see FREEWAY page 16
The pandemic has not put a damper on free Halloween displays at various Ahwatukee homes, such as the elaborate family-friendly scare fest Steve Powers puts together. For a look at where to find them, check out Around Ahwatukee on page 34. (Special to AFN)
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