SCOTTSDALE – Last Friday, Terravita Golf Course Superintendent Jeff Gibson showed up behind the back patio of resident William M. Brown’s home.
He brought a couple of landscaping employees with him, one was brandishing a chainsaw. They proceeded to cut down one desert tree in its entirety and sawed off many large branches of a large Palo Verde Tree in the easement directly behind Brown’s home.
When Brown went out to see what they were doing, he said Gibson greeted him with a camera, which was followed by an exchange of obscenities.

Although he wasn’t named, Gibson was the subject of the March 26, 2003 Sonoran News article, “Terravita ... Is anyone minding the store?” At the time of that interview, Gibson insisted that all the information provided to the Sonoran News regarding charges to his company credit card and other Terravita accounts came from Brown. They did not.  Although Brown has requested, in writing, to be given the opportunity to review Terravita’s employee credit card statements, upon hearing about allegations of abuse, those requests were denied. Gibson also insisted that Brown was responsible for reporting an effluent spill running through the washes from Terravita into the adjoining community. In fact, when a representative from Maricopa County Department of Environmental Services

PHOTO BY WILLIAM BROWN Terravita Golf Superintendent Jeff Gibson brought two employees to chainsaw branches off a palo verde tree from behind William M. Brown’s residence to have better access to take pictures. He also had the employees dig a trench while threatening to remove a patio drain from the resident’s home.

Brown said he was perplexed at the time, since there are 1380 homes in Terravita, why Gibson chose to bring the MCDES investigator to his door.

The incident was actually reported by a county resident in the adjacent community during a morning walk, after noticing sludge-like liquid running through the washes that appeared to originate from Terravita.

Although, he was told that he was incorrect on both accounts, Gibson still insisted that Brown was the one behind it all ... that Brown was the one who was “trying to make me look bad.”

Gibson’s crew proceeded to remove some flowering groundcover plants and chain sawing branches off the palo verde tree.

Then they started digging. They dug a long, deep trench, exposing a black four-inch drain coming from underneath the footing of Brown’s retaining wall fence.
Gibson left a voice message for the Sonoran News on Monday morning, saying, “Hey, I got some great news! We found a discovery off of number one (golf hole). I think you know the house. It’s totally illegal. Give me a call, I’d like to talk about it.”

When Sonoran News returned Gibson’s call he said, “We found a drain off Mr. Brown’s back yard. It’s where he drains his Jacuzzi. That’s why he liked his big privacy back there. We caught him.”

Gibson said, “I’m sure he just told the Mexicans to put it in there when he did his landscaping.”

Gibson then said, “We’re testing the soil and water coming out of there to see what he’s pumping out of there,” adding, “I checked with city of Scottsdale, it’s totally illegal.
“It’s amazing what we can find if we just look hard enough,” said Gibson.
Gibson then said, sarcastically, “I really liked your article (Terravita ... Is anyone minding the store?) about me. The entire community laughed at it.” Phone calls and e-mails from Terravita residents indicate a good number of them wonder why Gibson isn’t being investigated.

Sonoran News then contacted Brown, who said he was surprised and annoyed when Gibson’s crew arrived to “butcher” the palo verde tree behind his house. He said, “Gibson might better serve the members of Terravita Golf Club by devoting his energies to recapturing the lost appearance, aesthetics and playability of a first-class championship caliber golf course not seen in Terravita since its purchase from Del Webb in May of 1998.”

When Gibson’s crew dug the trench that exposed the drain, Brown said Gibson indicated that he had every intention of having his crew remove it. Brown called Scottsdale Police. Brown said the officers confirmed that Gibson has no authority to remove any portion of Brown’s property.
Brown also explained the drain and laughed at the notion that it was hooked up to, or that it would ever be used to drain his spa. Brown bought his home from Del Webb Corp. in May 1996. However, Brown didn’t move in until July 1996. In June 1996, When KDM, the concrete subcontractor that Del Webb was using, poured the back patio slab, they did one monolithic pour with no expansion joints and with a swale that collected water instead of draining it away. 

When Brown asked the contractor doing his marble tile installation to tile his back patio, the installer refused and pointed out the problems to Brown.
Del Webb sent KDM back to Brown’s house to cut expansion joints in the concrete and to fix the drainage problem. The only way KDM was able to address the ponding problem was to either jackhammer out the entire slab, re-grade the patio area and re-pour the slab or to install the drain that Gibson unearthed. Del Webb and KDM opted to install the drain, the far less expensive solution. The drain was installed at the lowest point on Brown’s patio, directing excess rainwater into the planted desert area between Brown’s patio and the golf course. 

As to Gibson’s allegation that Brown drains his Jacuzzi through that drain was also unfounded. The drain is on the opposite side of the patio from Brown’s in-ground spa. 
Brown pointed to the pump and filter equipment, showing where the backwash valve was located and then showed a pipe, buried under some rocks, leading toward the front of the house. That pipe then connects to a buried hose that reaches to a sewer cleanout in Brown’s front yard. That is also exactly how Terravita’s CC&Rs requires its residents to drain a pool or spa.

Meanwhile, Terravita Golf Club should be feeling a little déjà vu after their recent board elections.
Residents might recall that it was only last year when the community discovered that Terravita Country Club Vice President Bob London was not a property owner in Terravita. He was removed from the board.

Immediately after that discovery, another board member requested that Membership Director Collette Scott perform a complete audit of the entire community to see which names did not match ownership and who did not have a transfer agreement from the owners.

Only one name popped up. It was Hal Goodman, AKA Harold Neil Goodman. Sources say that information was provided to Board Member Aaron Michaelson, Director of Administration CiCi Rauch, Membership Director Bob Ginn and Executive Manager Margaret Thayer.

Goodman was just elected to Terravita’s Golf Board. He does not own a home in Terravita, which precludes him from owning a golf membership. In fact, in Goodman’s resume to run for the board, he presents none of the requested background information. He only states that he is “a full time resident of Terravita” and states that he is currently secretary of the greens committee and Terravita Men’s Club.
Goodman states his address as being on E. Night Glow Circle, which is a home owned by Mark Dingman and Arne Ristol, trustees of the Shooting Star Trust. Goodman’s name appears nowhere. The telephone number is listed to Cathy Brillhart, who is said to be Dingman’s sister. Neither Dingman nor Brillhart have ever paid the $250 fee to have membership rights transferred. In other words, Brillhart and Goodman have no rights to use any of the amenities at Terravita. The golf membership is listed in Brillhart’s name. Records indicate that Dingman purchased the golf membership. He then signed it over to Brillhart, something he was technically unable to do. Brillhart then assigned Goodman as the “designated user” of that golf membership, which she was technically unable to do. Goodman has now been elected to the golf board, something he is technically unable to do.

Neither Goodman nor Brillhart returned phone calls by press time.

Without even a quorum showing up to vote at recent board elections, residents appear to sit idly as employees and others with no financial interest, continue running Terravita’s affairs.

Article Courtesy of Sonoran News
By Linda Bentley
March 26 - April 1, 2003 

SCOTTSDALE – Company credit cards are sometimes issued to employees with large expense accounts due to travel or sales related entertainment expenses, or for gas if they drive for a living.
Terravita issues credit cards to employees who appear to have no need for one. Not for business purposes, anyway. Some of the receipts that employees turn in reflect what appears to be an enormous amount of abuse, at the expense of the community employing them. 
 

And, the credit card company Terravita uses charges an APR of 23.99 percent, which resulted in $329.73 in finance charges for late payments over three of the billing periods Sonoran News reviewed.  One employee, who also owns his own landscaping business, has the authority to charge to Terravita’s corporate accounts as well. His business is listed on the Arizona

Some of Terravita’s employees, who have been provided company credit cards and the authority to charge to Terravita’s accounts, have charged everything from cartons of cigarettes to landscaping for their own home.

The employee earns close to $100,000 per year, including an “auto, clothing and cleaning allowance,” annual bonus and other perks. Much more, if you consider the following: In December 2001, less than two months after purchasing a new home, he charged landscaping materials to Terravita’s corporate account, and had them drop-shipped to his new address.

The invoice totaled $326.89, including an additional $25 charge because his home is out of their normal delivery area. The invoice appeared to be routinely account-coded and paid by Terravita. When Terravita’s former executive manager noticed that the materials were delivered to the employee’s home, she brought it to a golf board member’s attention and was told that he “would take care of it.”

May 2002 credit card charges for that same employee totaled $1,341.79. Receipts indicate that his wife charged $495.68 at Safeway for four bottles of Jose Cuervo, Margarita mix, cases of Corona beer, Malibu Rum, Triple Sec, cases of soft drinks, juice, bottle openers, limes, plates, napkins, cutlery, and more to the employee’s company credit card between May 1 and May 5.

Terravita employees, requesting they not be identified, said that was all for the Cinco de Mayo party they attended at the employee’s home that Sunday. 

They also said an enormous amount of food was catered by Terravita’s executive chef, according to Terravita management, without management’s knowledge or authorization. Attendees said, he prepared “chafing dish, upon chafing dish, upon chafing dish” of Mexican cuisine. 

Even though the employee receives a check every other month for an “auto, clothing and cleaning allowance,” employees say he drives a company vehicle and his credit card receipts indicate he charges clothing and dry cleaning to his company credit card. Receipts show that he charged almost $400 at Polo/Ralph Lauren, Gap Outlet, and other clothing stores at the New River Outlet Mall and $69.35 at Cameo Cleaners. He charged $83.24 at Frozen Drinks Unlimited.

On a Saturday, six days after his Cinco de Mayo bash, he charged $119.35 at Harold’s Cave Creek Corral.

June charges totaled $1,382.84, with receipts for $22.70 at Cameo Cleaners, $119.24 at Pinata Nueva Restaurant and charges at Pei Wei Asian Diner and the Quill Creek Café. 

There’s a $292.48 charge at Rental Service Corporation, two charges of $119.97 each at the Lone Cactus Landfill and $309.08 at Sears Roebuck. 
The same employee charged $1,193.73 in October, including $64.57 for six rolls of photo finishing and four new rolls of Kodak 800 film. On Oct. 3, he charged two 30-packs of Budweiser beer at Four Sons Chevron Station and $80.58 at Uncle Louie Pizza. On Oct. 16, he charged $233.10 at Anasazi Stone and $551.40 at Summer Winds Nursery.

He also charged $72.19 at Mercado y Carneceria, a Mexican market and butcher shop.

November charges were only $343.74, racking up $226.96 at Polo/Ralph Lauren and $41.25 at Cameo Cleaners.

Sonoran News contacted the employee, who said, “It’s none of your business.”
He then admitted charging landscaping materials for his new home to Terravita’s account, stating, “I paid it right back. I’ve got the cancelled check.”

As of October 2002, Terravita management had no record of any reimbursement.
He claimed that he only used Terravita’s account so he could get the construction rate from that vendor.

When asked if he wouldn’t qualify for the same discount using his own landscaping business, he responded, “My landscaping business wasn’t established yet.” 
Records indicate his landscaping business was “established” in December 1999, two years earlier.

Didn’t he think it was wrong to use company accounts for personal use? “I know where you’re going with this,” said the employee, adding “I’m an employee of Terravita and if I want to use their accounts to buy materials so I can save $75 ... yes, I’ll do that every time. And, there’s nothing wrong with having a Cinco de Mayo party for my employees.”

When Sonoran News requested a copy of his cancelled check, he faxed copies over the next day.

However, there appeared to be something fishy about the check. It was dated July 22, seven months after the fact, and was made payable to Pioneer Rock, not Terravita. The back of the check, on the other hand indicated it was endorsed by Terravita Golf Club, with cancellation information clearly indicating it cleared Terravita’s bank.
The employee’s bank has no record of that check number ever clearing. Terravita’s bank claims the employee’s bank would have to have a record of that check clearing or it couldn’t possibly be the back of the same check. The story gets better.

According to Terravita’s then executive manager, the employee had scheduled a golf tournament, an event that employees at various golf clubs each held and rotated hosting, on a Monday in July. 

To the best of her recollection, the manager said she initially told the employee that he couldn’t hold the event on a Monday because Terravita’s restaurant was closed on Mondays, but later agreed to open for the event if he paid $15 per person. She recalls that the employee collected money from the 40 or so people who attended the tournament and then he wrote one check to Terravita Golf Club, coincidently, on July 22, 2002.

The employee admits he receives $500, bi-monthly, for expenses, but claims it is only a vehicle allowance. Employees insist that they’ve seen him driving a company truck home and he was recently seen towing his landscaping company’s trailer with Terravita’s truck. 

The employee says clothing and dry-cleaning are “manager expenses,” while others say he receives free apparel from Terravita’s pro-shop.
Toward the end of the conversation, the employee asked, “Don’t you think your readers would rather read a story about what it’s like to be a superintendent in North Scottsdale or how hard my job is?”