CLUB NEWS
THE MEADOW AND ITS HISTORY A look back at the origins of the property and golf course
August 2022 By William Godfrey
It was the mid- 1990’s and Forest Highlands was at a crossroads. The community had been so successful in its first decade, it led to growing pains. Fortunately, the membership had selected many forward-looking individuals to the Board of Directors, who volunteered their time to make Forest Highlands a special place.
“Dwayne Miller, a Valley Bank board member and member of Forest Highlands was very familiar with real estate matters in Northern Arizona as he was a substantial property owner,” shared Huck. “He suggested we approach the State of Arizona to see if the land could be appraised and put up for auction.”
Two of those board members were Len Huck and Jim Simmons.
Len Huck,the first chairman of the Forest HighlandsAdvisory Board and also the first president of the Forest Highlands Homeowner’s Association, shared what prompted the need to expand. “A realistic concern surfaced in the 90’s with the saturation of play on the Canyon Golf Course as more and more houses were built,” explained Huck, 99, the retired President of Valley National Bank and one of the early Forest Highlands members. “The possible answer lay in the adjacent property which was a part of the state’s ‘Arizona Land Trust.’ If we could acquire the additional land and build a second golf course it might solve the crowded conditions.” Jim Simmons, who died in 2013 at the age of 85, was former Chairman and CEO of both United Bank of Arizona and Valley National Bank. Simmons had agreed with his good friend Len Huck and the rest of the Board…an expansion of the community was needed. Simmons would also play a big role in the purchase of the parcel by locating a “White Knight,” to help secure the acquisition.
“The State approved the idea and the Board of Directors commissioned an appraisal. It resulted in a valuation of $3.75 million. It was decided the only way to raise that kind of money was to have an assessment and the members would need to vote and approve of that assessment,” recalled Huck. “If we were to be effective bidders at an auction, we felt we better have more than the appraised value. So the Board proposed a $7,000 per lot assessment, which would raise $4.75 million.” Not knowing whether the membership would approve of the assessment on each property owner in the Canyon, Jim Simmons decided the HOA may need a back-up plan and he initiated the contact in late 1995.
APPRAISAL & ASSESSMENT
The parcel in question bordered both State Highway 89A and the Canyon property. It was a sizeable property of over 486 acres of rolling terrain and ponderosa pine. It was large enough for another 18-hole championship golf course, club house and home sites.
One of the first steps was to get a valuation of the parcel.
Continued on next page>>>
VOICE IN THE PINES | OCTOBER 2022 5
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