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| Diablo Grande clubhouse ‘temporarily’ closed |
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| Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Saturday, 02 February 2008 | |
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The golf courses and clubhouse in the developing community of Diablo Grande are temporarily closed for general use, golf club members were told this week. Dwain Sanders, vice president of development for the Diablo Grande, which stands in Oak Flat Valley about eight miles southwest of Patterson, said the closure is for financial reasons. The news comes a little more than a week after county documents indicated that Diablo Grande defaulted on a nearly $900,000 loan from Oak Valley Community Bank. Sanders said the golf course closures are temporary, though he did not say when it might reopen. “We’re looking at many different options,” he said. The clubhouse and its Legends West course will be open today and then will likely remain closed for at least a month, club members said this week. The closure comes after the developing community in the hills southwest of Patterson closed its Ranch course in December to help cope with reduced state water allocations, with the promise that the course would reopen with improvements in March. Club members say golf pro Shane Balfour and at least a dozen other clubhouse workers were laid off last month. Sanders said only that there have been “layoffs throughout the project” as a result of the closure. Diablo Grande faces the same market problems that have hurt folks throughout Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, Sanders said, including housing developments in Patterson. Despite the clubhouse’s closure, Sanders stressed that Diablo Grande plans to keep its banquets and tournaments that already have been scheduled. Cash struggles Some of the project’s financial woes are detailed in documents made available at the Stanislaus County clerk-recorder’s office within the past week. Among those is a Jan. 24 public notice that indicated Diablo Grande was in default on an $898,684 loan from Oak Valley Community Bank. Bank CEO Ron Martin said he could not saywhat the loan was for, but he said it has been out for some time. “I hope it all turns out well for them,” he said. Meanwhile, Diablo Grande also faces a few outstanding mechanics’ liens totaling more than $300,000 for unpaid services, such as the placement of stop and street signs, plumbing work and use of a scissor lift. Sanders would not go into detail about financial discussions regarding the project, but did say, “We have some financial issues.”  Golf course at Diablo Grande. Photo by Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator Diablo Grande officials have tried to sell the project for some time, though there have been no buyers thus far. “A lot of people have walked us down the aisle, but no one has said ‘I do’ yet,” Sanders said. Plenty of rumors have surrounded the project’s sale in the past, with some mentioning developer Gerry Kamilos and actor and musician Will Smith as potential buyers. Sanders said Thursday he would not discuss those rumors. However, Kamilos, who hopes to develop the Crows Landing Air Facility into a 4,800-acre industrial park, said last year he was looking at the development only because of his interest in executive housing for potential West Park employees. Smith’s agent, Heidi Schaeffer, wrote in an e-mail this week that rumors about her client’s interest in the project were “completely untrue.” Varied reactions This week’s announcement that the course would close caught several members off guard. “I’m very, very disappointed,” club member Gail Perez said this week. “The courses are unbeatable.” Patterson resident Mimi Draper, whose family owned much of the land where the road from Patterson to Diablo Grande went through, also expressed sadness. “I don’t understand what is happening,” she said. “The whole thing’s a tragedy.” She said the closure was particularly unfortunate for golfers who bought homes in Diablo Grande to live near the courses.  After this weekend's golf tournament at Diablo Grande, both courses, including the Legends West course pictured above, will remain closed for a time. Photo by Elias Funez / Patterson Irrigator A couple of club members who live in Diablo Grande and declined to give their names said Thursday they felt project officials have left them out of the loop about what is happening there. They also shared worries about the water situation at the development. Sanders stated in an online newsletter last year that the Ranch course was closing for the winter because water allocations dropped to 25 percent of normal. The state Department of Water Resources has recently curtailed water allotments from the California Aqueduct because of a federal court ruling last year that limits pumping to protect the Delta smelt, a small fish found in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Diablo Grande also had to contend with lawsuits regarding its water supply and other environmental issues during its first few years of existence. However, Sanders said that residents’ water supply will continue as normal and that they have nothing to worry about. Future uncertain Though Diablo Grande’s project was initially slated to be 33,000 acres, developers so far have legal approval only to develop its 2,250-acre first phase. That project can contain up to 1,327 detached single-family homes. So far, Stanislaus County has approved about 470 residential building permits for the project, said Kirk Ford, the county’s deputy director of planning. Ford said he was not sure if all of those permits had been issued. Initial plans for Diablo Grande, the brainchild of multimillionaire Don Panoz, included a hotel and conference center, a spa and a shopping center, among other amenities. An amendment to the development approved in 2005 combined the hotel and shopping center, and parcel map changes were approved in 2006. Ford said the county has not received any plans for the hotel or conference center. Draper said she thought that if the hotel had been built earlier, the project might have had more success, though she also acknowledged the financial challenges. “There were too many things that didn’t get off the drawing board,” she said. Draper said she talked to Sanders this week, and he indicated that Diablo Grande hoped to have the golf courses opened within the next couple of months. “I don’t think it’s doom and gloom,” she said. “I think they have to get their ducks in order.” To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Comments
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 Yea Mick we too are victims of Diablo Grande DR Horton is blaming Hertel and Hertel is blaming the entire world either way we are screwed. I did do a check on Hertel and your correct he is in deep poop!Q!Q report abuse
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Indeed it is Doom and Gloom for the project, we knew this last November when Robert Fowler of Developer RW Hertel informed some of us investors to get OUT NOW ! he knew his project was going under long ago that's why he bailed out sooner rather than later. Now he is the subject of a Ma*sive Fraud and Unfair Business Prosecution legal matter down in San Luis Obispo, CA Courts so much for the greedy people. You all got scammed. report abuse
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There are more to this, these guys Fowler and Hertel have now ripped of in this project Bank of Scotland, Wells Fargo, Countrywide,First Santa Clara Bank, First National Bank of Arizona let alone all the private investors who are now loosing.
Votes: +1
Here are the many names they used for the scam, Ron Hertel, RW Hertel and Sons, Ed Fowler, Tina Fowler, Tim Fowler, Vincent Rover,Sandra Fowler,Peter DeWitte, Steve Burke,David Fowler and Robert JS Fowler there are more but you get the idea it is a scam report abuse
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 Now that they filed chapter 11 the developer now take the monies they stole and lleave us holding the bag.... report abuse
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 written by Don't believe what you read on the Internet! , March 14, 2008
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Seriously, don't believe what you read on the net! If you did a search on RW HERTEL through Google the first things you see are all horrible accusations. I know it is hard to NOT believe what they are saying on those sites. However, those sites are mean't to scare people. The Company sold a home to a wack-job guy and now he is out to get them because they didn't cave to his threats. They did everything they could to solve his issues but he was, and sitll is, determined to ruin them. This guy has been in jail for Fraud and scamming people in AZ. Fowler and Hertel are doing everything they can to save their company! They don't want this! They are good men who, like MANY, are victims of a falling economy. I know if you are a homeowner this doesn't put money back into your pockets...but you were NOT scammed it is just how fast the Economy fell. I hope that you can find some peace in knowing this. report abuse
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 So now the internet is wrong ? i did check and Hertel is according to the State CSLB and the Insurance industry is nothing but a Con man. Why does Hertel have so many Law Suits ? so many Mechanic Liens ? yet goes to Florida to buy a Luxury Yacht for over $ 14,975,000. ? that is all in the public record ? and according to the AP stories on RW Hertel & Sons have cheated and lied to people who bought there homes ? Jane Morton of Fresno says so much Mold was in her home she got ill and Hertel had to buy it back where it sits empty today. I will play it safe and got with the Truth. The internet is a savior. I will find peace when Hertel Fowler are in Jail. report abuse
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 written by Don't believe what you read on the internet! , March 16, 2008
The internet is NOT a savior, it is just a tool, that is regularly used to abuse and take advantage of people who cannot defend themselves against the virtual anonymity of anyone who choses to attack. People like you are the problem with society today why don't you learn to think for yourselves and do real research not just what you read from the first site that pops up on google! Check with real and REPUTABLE sources. Who cares if they bought planes, trains or automobiles? I don't think it is anyones business what other people spend their money on! What does it have to do with you? Do you know that Hertel doesn't even own that golf course? So how is it their responsibility that it is closed? You really should do more REAL homework before you make such radical statements!
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 I care what any one does with ill gotten stolen and cheated us investors, as you will see he and his dishonest co-horts will be no doubt going to enjoy some prison. I and many accountants and Investigators have done a fact check and we are pleased with the direction of the Fraud cases against Hertel et al and the continuing investigations into their dishonest criminal activity. report abuse
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I live up in Diablo Grande and let me tell you something, many people are becoming very sick up here due to the water being contaminated and the workers spraying the vinyards in white protective suits wearing masks. They do NOT warn residents when they are going to spray. Many people up here are suffering the same symptoms which are heart attack type symptoms, dizziness, migraine headaches etc. And the homeowners a*sociation up here is pure disgusting,. I have never seen anything like it in my life and am looking for a healthier place to live. This is not it. I plan to file a lawsuit based on water issues alone. My health has deteriorated since i have been here as well as others I have spoken too. This place needs to be shut down til they fix everything that is wrong here. Including replacing the homeowners a*sociation and that maggot Fanny in the office. They are so low they charge residents for parking now.
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I am one of the people that was made very sick here in diablo Grande by the water and the poisionous homes built here as well as the spraying of toxic liquids.
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When asked for answers, You're given the run around. I as well am looking for a healthier place to live. Being 4 months pregnant & stressing about my health because of WATER, that i thought was healthy. Now i learn its not even healthy to shower or breath in the smell of the water? Its peoples LIVES their destroying & from the meeting i attended the could give a damn about us! I got no resolution from that meeting & yes i agree the HOA is a POS! Rediculous!
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Now that the cat is out of the bag, Diablo Grande is in deeper trouble than you know. Developer RW Hertel & Sons has scammed us all and it is not over yet, partner Robert JS Fowler says they never planned on paying back the loans they took out over $ 4,000,000.00 from Point Center Financial, Inc. PCF Loan # 405095 it was all smoke and mirrors and a Ponzi Scam to rip off buyers and financial banks and investors.
Hertel has a long and checkered history of this State wide, his building is so bad the state CSLB issued a public press release on his improper and defective building. Not to mention the ma*sive Lawsuits he has and the numerous judgments and liens all over the State. Ron Hertel is a well known gambler, boozer and Con man with his partner Robert JS Fowler so all at Diablo Grande will loose. Do a google search on them is is amazing how many complaints they have. They never intended to re-pay anyone nor build any good homes.