Updated Information for Residents of the Burning Tree Area

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain; I am the Great and Powerful Wizard!" (THE WIZARD OF OZ)

That is exactly what the Burning Tree Master Association is shouting; they are all powerful and great wizards! And just like the movie where upon further investigation, the great and powerful wizard was found to have no magical powers. Neither does the Burning Tree Master Association!

The letter you received in the mail explaining the relationship between the Owners' association and the Burning Tree Master Association was written by a board member! To say the information in that letter is correct is laughable at best.  Just the usual razzle-dazzle, "rootin' tootin"  from the board, hoping those with no knowledge of the facts would blindly send in their assessments.

A FEW FACTS TO GET YOU UP TO SPEED:

What is an "Area Owners Association"?  There are within the 5 subdivisions several area owners associations that were incorporated. All are individual corporations with their own filing number; they are NOT sub-associations under the Burning Tree Master Association.  (You are welcome to call the Secretary of State to confirm this.)

• Burning Tree Area Owners Association#1, Burning Tree Area Owners Association#2  -Burning Tree One Subdivision
• Burning Tree Area Owners Association#4-Burning Tree South Subdivision
• Burning Tree Area Owners Association#5, Burning Tree Area Owners Association#6-Burning Tree East Subdivision The covenants refer to homes and duplexes in Burning Tree #6 but nobody ever set up that corporation.
• Burning Tree Area Owners Association#7-  Burning Tree Plaza Subdivision and Burning Tree West

The Declarant (Sixty First and Memorial Development Corporation, a now inactive corporation, on OTC suspension) failed to ever declare the "Area Owners Associations" as members of the Burning Tree Master Association as the Burning Tree Master Association Articles of Incorporation required must first be done!! If it had been done correctly, the officers of that corporation would have needed to legally amend the Burning Tree Master Association Articles of Incorporation and file it with the Secretary of State to reflect this declaration.

According to the Oklahoma Secretary of State the Burning Tree Master Association board of directors Articles of Incorporation have never been amended. Thus there was a Failure to legally declare Area Owners Associations as members.

Each Burning Tree Area Association is a separate non-profit corporation registered with the State of Oklahoma. The Secretary of State’s office has stated that the Burning Tree corporations are not tied together, that each is a stand-alone corporation, due to the way the paperwork was filed.

One corporation has no jurisdiction to tell another corporation what to do or how to do it or that we must pay them....unless there are documents linking the two together. In our case no such documents exist. The Burning Tree Master Association is trying desperately to make us believe this is true, however; more than twenty attorneys have read the documents governing the Burning Tree Master Association and of the Burning Tree Area Associations, and have reached the same conclusion, no legal ties exist between the Burning Tree Master Association and Burning Tree Area Owners' Associations.

Two different law firms have had attorneys send letters to the Burning Tree Master Association board of directors requesting that the Burning Tree Master Association board of directors produce any documents granting the Burning Tree Master Association authority to assess or lien homeowners. To date, the Burning Tree Master Association board of directors has failed to produced these documents. Should the Burning Tree Master Association board of directors place liens without the authority to do so, the homeowner can file a slander of title suit against the Burning Tree Master Association and the board of directors demanding treble damages, court costs and attorney fees.

UPDATE: As other subdivisions began working on getting their petition signed several homeowners who purchased their homes  prior to June 2011 (when Burning Tree Area 4 filed their document with Tulsa County) had their attorneys review documents homeowners were given at closing. Interestingly both the mortgage company and title company's legal department did not see any tie in whatsoever with Burning Tree Master Association or where  homeowners owe Burning Tree Master Association for any dues. Maybe Burning Tree Area #4 never even needed to waste their time and money filing that document. And it is more proof that Burning Tree Master Association never had the right to assess homeowners, place liens or even threaten to do so.

A great read:
http://homeownersassociations.wordpress.com

Private meetings?

A Worthy Read / Educational

http://www.ccfj.net/HOAPRIMER.html

UPDATED APRIL 28, 2012: Drain Covers in Compliance?

We just received notification of this:
Update to Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act

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A recent investigative report by NBC News report looked at anti-entrapment drain covers. All public pools  must be retrofitted with an approved anti-entrapment domed cover, as mandated by The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act. The old drain covers have entrapped hundreds of people for several years, causing serious injury and death.


United States Federal law requires pools to have modern, anti-entrapment drain covers covers, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. Old-fashioned, flat drain covers can pin even strong swimmers to the bottom of the pool. Pool drains can pack up to 800 pounds of suctional force. If a child gets too close to a drain with a non-compliant cover, his/her hair can become entangled and limbs or other body parts can quickly get sucked in.

The Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act  was designed to prevent the tragic and hidden hazard of drain entrapments and eviscerations in pools and spas.   The law  passed by Congress, was signed into law by President George W. Bush on December 19, 2007. The Act mandated that by December 19, 2008 ALL public pools must be retrofitted with an approved anti-entrapment domed drain covers bearing the stamp of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and American National Standards Institute. The specific stamp number is ASME/ANSI A112.19.8-2007.

Public pools and spas include municipal pools, and those at hotels, resorts, country clubs, homeowners association pools, etc.

Nancy Baker, mother of the late Virginia Graeme Baker, for whom the safety act is named, is worried: "If they don't do it (comply), it will happen (another drain entrapment death). It's just a matter of where it will happen again."

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairman Inez Tenenbaum stated that for all public pools not in compliance with the safety act should not open.  She further stated "...compliance is mandatory. There was no grace period. They have to comply with this law now."

State and local officials should be inspecting public pools and spas in their jurisdictions and enforcing the requirement because it is a federal law. US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is empowered to implement and enforce the requirements of the P&SS Act.   If you have any doubts about the pool's compliance, check with the city or county health department. (If you find that it is not in compliance Contact the US Consumer Product Safety Commission

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death from thousands of types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. In addition to pool and spa safety, the CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard. The CPSC’s work contributed significantly to the decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.


READ MORE ON THIS SUBJECT ON THE BLOGS

(UPDATED!) BURNING TREE SOUTH STREET REPAIR PROJECT MEETING

Do you have any idea what is going to happen on your street when the project begins? Will there be interruptions in some services, as water and sewer lines are going to be laid? How will you know when this is going to happen? How long will it take the concrete replaced at the end of your driveway to set, before you can drive a car over it? Where will you park your car? How many months will this project take and do you need to do anything?  

The street project for Burning Tree South is set to begin next week. Many of us attended the meeting last September called by the City of Tulsa concerning this project. Those attending that meeting were assured that another meeting would be held for the homeowners affected by this project BEFORE it began.

This WAS the plan until the City of Tulsa project engineer received a letter written by Burning Tree Master Association secretary Rick Lau. In that letter Rick stated the Burning Tree Master Association wanted the meeting held at their Burning Tree Master Association board of directors meeting on March 5, 2012. The only Burning Tree South residents in attendance besides the three amigos, Rick Lau, Todd Nelson and Mike Perry, were Larry Lyon and Wendy Berezowski. The majority of people affected by this project were not notified or given the information they will need to make informed decisions during the project. Were you?  Only FOUR Burning Tree South residents whose streets will be affected attended that meeting.

Repair work will be taking place on all but one street in Burning Tree South, however all 127 residents could be affected by the construction.

I received a phone call, early this morning, from Greg DeLucia with Paragon, the company doing the construction project due to serious concerns that residents were not notified. The City of Tulsa has asked Greg to set up a meeting with Burning Tree South residents since Burning Tree South residents were not advised about the meeting.  That meeting will be at the UMAC on Friday March 9, 2012 at 7:00 pm. The city realizes this is very short notice, however Paragon will begin laying water and sewer lines next Monday.

Please plan to attend this important and informative meeting with Greg DeLucia concerning the street project in Burning Tree South. Greg will gladly answer your questions. Should you need further information please call me at 918-250-4142.

Gail Hauke
Secretary
Burning Tree Area #4 Homeowners Association, Inc. (Burning Tree South)

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The right to freedom of the press, guaranteed by the first amendment, allows an individual to express themselves through publication and dissemination. It is part of the constitutional protection of freedom of expression.  

Comments to this blog post are available below.

Burning Tree East (UPDATED)

BURNING TREE EAST IS A SEPARATE (STAND-ALONE) CORPORATION FROM  BURNING TREE MASTER ASSOCIATION

Attorney Frank Spiegelberg while on the board as BTMA president for many years,sent out a letter,  stating that it is subassociations that are members, not homeowners.

Had Burning Tree AREA #5 or AREA #6  been set up as  subassociations they would first have to be "approved by declarant" (as required by the Article V of the BTMA Articles of Incorporation). However, this was not done. Instead of approving and then amending BURNING TREE MASTER ASSOCIATION, INC. Articles of Incorporation   2100288651  to add BURNING TREE AREA 5 and BURNING TREE AREA 6 to the BTMA Articles of Incorporation which would have tied BTE to the BTMA  Area 5  was set up and filed as a separate corporation BURNING TREE AREA #5 ASSOCIATION, INC.   2100348799. (Area 6 was not set up as a subassociation or a stand alone, either one.)


You may obtain copies of the  Articles of Incorporation for  both  Burning Tree Area 5 Association and Burning Tree Master Association from the Oklahoma Secretary of State. Since they are separate corporations you will be required to pay for both sets. (If Burning Tree Area 5 was  a subassociation under Burning Tree Master Association you would only need to purchase one document.)



Burning Tree East is not a "sub-association" under Burning Tree Master Association or any other corporation, according to the Secretary of State's office. Here you can see that they are two distinct corporations:

• BURNING TREE AREA #5 ASSOCIATION, INC.   2100348799 
  
• BURNING TREE MASTER ASSOCIATION, INC.    2100288651

FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED!
Do not let the Burning Tree Master Association career board members (and their spouse try to confuse you. Call the Secretary of State 405 521-4211 and see for yourself. We all have called and confirmed it for ourselves! 

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 OKLAHOMA STATUTES  ARE VERY SPECIFIC REGARDING REQUIREMENTS THAT MUST FIRST BE MET IN ORDER TO FORM A MANDATORY HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION. BURNING TREE ONE DID NOT MEET THE REQUIREMENTS:

An “owners association” may be formed by the owner or owners of real estate development for the purpose of:

• Providing management, maintenance, preservation and control of commonly owned areas or any portion of or interest in them, (Burning Tree East owns no common areas, according to Tulsa County. The pool and the land do not belong to Burning Tree East or, in fact,  to any subdivision! It is all owned solely by Burning Tree Master Association)

 and/or

• Enforcing all mutual, common or reciprocal interests in or restrictions upon all or portions of such separately owned lots, parcels, or areas, or both. However, the Covenants filed for Burning Tree East, have never allowed any  board of directors to enforce anything. They were written so enforcement is left up to the individual lot owner to handle, if one has a problem with a neighbor.) The following, taken from the Burning Tree East Covenants shows that it was written so enforcing restrictions is left up to the lot owner--every  man for himself!
  

Taken from Burning Tree East  Covenants shows if ANYONE attempts to violate the covenants---yes, especially BTMA directors who send assessment letters you have the right to take them to court!! If the parties hereto or any of them or their heirs or assigns, shall violate or attempt to violate any of the covenants herein, it shall be lawful for any other person or person owning any real property situated in said development or subdivision to prosecute any proceedings at law or in equity against the person or persons violation or attempting to violate any such covenants and either prevent him or them from so doing or secure damages or other dues for such violations. WOO-HOO!!!!!
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According to the Oklahoma statutes  those who form an HOA are required to file a document  at Tulsa County  prior to the forming of a HOA, with signatures of all lot owners in the subdivision at that time, agreeing to a mandatory HOA.  Burning Tree East did not meet the requirements in the Oklahoma Statute for forming the HOA. Why? Because Burning Tree East does NOT own any land. The land in East is owned by the Burning Tree Master Association not by Burning Tree East! Also Burning Tree Easts Covenants do not allow anyone to enforce the covenants but the homeowners....so what is the use of having an HOA for Burning Tree East, anyway?  

And it gets better....

That same statue  that states that you have certain requirements to have an HOA wa was amended in 1986 to require that  lot owners, who purchased after the HOA was formed, must be informed in writing when the lot owner accepted the deed (i.e. at closing) that there was an HOA. The lot owner was to be given the governing documents---and no,  the title company just putting  the information inside of an Abstract that the mortgage company hangs on to until the property is paid is not the same thing as informing the lot owner in writing.
Oklahoma statute  (paragraph C) states:
No lien may be placed or mortgage foreclosed unless the homeowner was informed in writing upon joining the owners association of the existence and content of the owners association restrictions and rules, and of the potential for financial liability to the individual owner by joining said owners association.
Where is the proof that you, as a lot owner, were ever informed in writing at the time you accepted the deed (i.e bought the property)? Can Burning Tree Master Association produce any document  that you were informed in writing and did, in fact, receive CC&Rs along with the other information as proof?  This would be simple enough as the title companies have ALWAYS asked Burning Tree Master Association  if there is anything owed on the lot for assessments as they prepare  for the closing. Burning Tree Master Association was quick to give an answer and collect assessments...but wait.....let's not forget that there is another more important reason that the Burning Tree Master Association has no authority to collect any money from homeowners, since the subdivisions are not even tied to the Burning Tree Master Association, according to the Secretary of State.



Burning Tree Master Association By-Laws state that the Declarant was to approve the Area Homeowners Associations. (This seems to be the only place it was ever mentioned what might possibly tie Burning Tree One to the Burning Tree Master Association. However, according to the office of the Secretary of State, the fact is that the Burning Tree Master Association Articles of Inc. were never amended to add any of the subdivisions corporations as approved!!




BURNING TREE AREA #5 ASSOCIATION, INC. (Burning Tree East)  is a stand alone corporation completely on its own.   It is important to read the documents instead of blindly following along believing everything Burning Tree Master Association states.  Burning Tree One subdivision has its own by-laws and we can vote in our own directors and officers, just like all the other subdivisions can. We are NOT connected to The Burning Tree Master Association and we do not have to bow down to anyone!. 

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Note that there are duplexes in the Burning Tree East Covenants   The duplexes a* would be required to pay HOA dues, if other property owners have been required to do so. To not assess the apartments and duplexes would be  a form of discrimination,  just as it is discrimination to force homeowners to pay to take up the slack for the  duplex owners who would not be asked to pay!  (However, it is important to remember that Burning Tree East cannot legally assess anyone). This is because our covenants state that we can only be assessed for ACTUAL repairs, upkeep and maintenance to the facilities and grounds owned by Burning Tree One. We have NONE! Anyone (board of directors)  who does assess, or attempts to assess is violating our covenants and can, and should be, taken to court.


Further, the Burning Tree Master Association cannot simply change their  by-laws to exclude duplexes and apartments  (as Burning Tree Master Association board of directors has actually claimed!!)   References to the duplexes and apartments are contained within a subdivisions covenants, which Burning Tree Master Association has no authority whatsoever to touch.


Click to read a response to board

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The right to freedom of the press, guaranteed by the first amendment, allows an individual to express themselves through publication and dissemination. It is part of the constitutional protection of freedom of expression.