guest blog by Dave Russell
For those of you who know me, messing with sick or disabled children is my biggest pet peeve. So when I heard the story about the StoneGate Homeowners Association, in Raymore MO and their board president Stacy Bayers, I did a little research. Now according to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office, the StoneGate HOA was actually ‘dissolved’ back in 2009. I’ll get back to this later. For now, let’s take the story from the top.
Ella Schultz is only 6 years old and she’s battling cancer. The Make-A-Wish Foundation heard that little Ella wanted her very own playhouse. They contacted construction giant J.E. Dunn and that company agreed to build one in Ella’s backyard in Raymore, Missouri. They even used shingles to match those used on other homes in the neighborhood. .
What a touching story — a sick child and some awesome people who wanted to help out. That is until the HOA board officers reared their ugly little heads and threw a wrench into Ella’s playhouse. “I’m not at liberty to discuss that,” Bayers said Tuesday night when asked why it’s difficult to make an exception for Ella. “The proposed plan they’ve given us is a violation of our covenants.
KCTV 5 News (CBS) in Kansas City, has reported, “The StoneGate Homeowners Association is not in good standing with the Missouri Secretary of State’s office and hasn’t been properly registered for four years.” If you pull up the information on the Secretary of State’s website, it clearly shows that this HOA’s status is “Admin Dissolved –nonprofit.” Oh, say it isn’t so! I wonder how the reporters found out about this. No doubt one of those crazy anti-HOA people called them up.
So did the StoneGate HOA really have the legal right to deny the playhouse in the first place? You know, considering the HOA appears to have been ‘dissolved.’ Can this HOA legally enforce any of their governing documents? Has this HOA been illegally operating as a not-for-profit corporation? Are they illegally collecting assessments, fines and placing liens on properties within their Association? As one would imagine, it’s probably going to take a lawyer and judge to figure this one out. This also makes one wonder if the HOA dues they took in over the past four years should be considered taxable income.
I guess you could call this a bad case of HOA KARMA. Now StoneGate HOA president, Stacy Bayers, is doing a little backpedaling. She issued this unbelievable statement last night. Really, it’s unbelievable.
”The board has met for the better half of the day and at this time we would like to release the following statement:”
“Our hearts are with Ella Schultz and her family as they battle this terrible illness. Our homeowners’ association board is committed to working with Make-A-Wish Foundation and J.E. Dunn to see if we can figure out a way to make Ella’s wish come true. The initial request from Make-A-Wish to place a barn-style shed was not accepted because the board did not have enough information to grant an exception to the subdivision’s covenants. In hopes of getting enough information, we are requesting an immediate meeting with Make-A-Wish and J.E. Dunn Construction to work out a solution in the most expeditious manner possible.”
Oh, how nice of you Stacy Bayers, president of the StoneGate HOA, working so hard to make this little girl’s wish come true. I’m personally not buying a word of it! Neither is the rest of the world.
