Posted on 04/03/2007 6:15:39 AM PDT by ShadowDancer
Community Sues To Oust 3-Year-Old
Child With Drug-Addict Mom Lives With Grandparents
POSTED: 3:04 pm EDT April 1, 2007
LARGO, Fla. -- A Florida homeowners group wants 3-year-old Kimberly Broffman to take her Big Wheel and hit the road.
They've banded together to oust the toddler from their Tampa-area community, which bans residents under 18.
The child's grandparents, Judie and Jimmy Stottler, admit Kimberly's been living there in violation of homeowners' association rules for three years. They said her mother has a drug problem, and isn't capable of caring for the child.
The grandparents said they live on a fixed income and can't afford to move until they sell their house. So far, there have been no takers to buy their house, even after they lowered the $189,000 asking price by $10,000 six months ago.
They also said they can't afford to hire an attorney.
Judie Stottler supports the family with her $18,000-per year dishwashing job because Jimmy Stottler is disabled and is unable to work.
Judie Stottler's friends told the St. Petersburg Times that they are worried.
"It is so ridiculous that this has gone so far," said Keith Tinsley, a cook who works with her. "She's trying her best to sell her house. It's like they are trying to force her to put Kimberly in foster care.
"These people keep batting her down and batting her down. They're just mean."
Judie Stottler said she is scared that she wil lose her house before she is able to sell it.
"We don't have any family to take us in," Judie Stottler said.
The Lakes homeowners association filed suit to oust Kimberly last month.
You only had broken glass and a stick! We had mercury and asbestos to play with.
OMG!! ROWDY? I don’t even have kids, don’t particularly LIKE kids, but this kid NEEDS it’s grandparents. If the g-parents locked up the kid in the house never to come out and play, the same people would be calling CPS and say the kid is being abused.
You may have a point, I don’t know. This generations seniors, as well as for a couple of generations back, weren’t invited to stay with their children as they grew older, as used to be the case. I don’t know who abandoned whom.
I think it has worked both ways. Some children wouldn’t take their parents in, and some parents wouldn’t accept the invitation for various reasons.
Probably because the child is older now and able to play outside with higher visibility. I would bet most of these seniors have their little yapping dogs who get treated like royalty. But God forbid a child should live amongst them. Shame on the grandparents for wanting to live alongside these callous people to begin with. But forcing the option of placing the child in foster care is beyond the pale.
So are you sending these people money so they can move, or do you want their granddaughter to go to foster care?
Plus they couldn't sell to people with kids, could they? Also, where would they live after the sale? Even in 05, the prices were going up like crazy. So they had an older home, probably not in the best shape, and they had to sell it for enough to be able to replace it. Sounds like they couldn't qualify for much of a mortgage so they were just as screwed with the skyrocket's ride up as they are now with its return to earth.
You said, in part: If I were the HOA, I’d concentrate on getting them help finding a buyer.
***
That sounds like an excellent suggestion. Failing that, perhaps they could consider jointly buying the property from this family. That would get them out of the area, and preserve property values for the neighboring residents. When the market improves, sell the house, perhaps at a profit. I don’t know how many people live in this community, but at $180K, 18 people at $10K each would cover it. 50 families could do it at less than $4K each.
Right... and people with discernment have no spell check. Yeah I know, it was a cheep shot but it was fun, nonetheless.
Are there HOA that are populated with obnoxious neighborhood power grabbers? Of course. Many folks who have lived under HOAs can relate. But there is a big difference between what you are claiming with your blanket statement and the facts presented in this case. The HOA has a responsibility to the residents. It sounds as if they have been more than patient in this case. And because of this you conclude that they want this child in foster care? If the grandparents have taken on this responsibility then THE GRANDPARENTS have taken on this responsibility, not the community. Nor is it the right of the grandparents to try to force the community to do so; not through the press, not through subversion of rules that they agreed to, not by taking advantage of the community’s generosity by wedging a precedent. Logic and "discernemnt" like yours belongs over at the DU.
Yes, the child needs to be with the grandparents. But it is unfair to expect a whole community to forego the association rules because of this family’s misfortune. I admire the grandparents for stepping in and doing the right thing. They might have prevented most of the animosity by having more regard for the neighbors. A child riding a big wheel is pretty “rowdy” - not bad, just rowdy and loud. That isn’t what I would want to hear (regularly) around my quiet, age-restricted neighborhood. The g-parents should do their best to “keep the peace” and try not to give neighbors something to complain about. I know, that may not be possible with some people. Simply letting the child ride a tricycle instead of a Big Wheel would help.
Yes, the child needs to be with the grandparents. But it is unfair to expect a whole community to forego the association rules because of this family’s misfortune. I admire the grandparents for stepping in and doing the right thing. They might have prevented most of the animosity by having more regard for the neighbors. A child riding a big wheel is pretty “rowdy” - not bad, just rowdy and loud. That isn’t what I would want to hear (regularly) around my quiet, age-restricted neighborhood. The g-parents should do their best to “keep the peace” and try not to give neighbors something to complain about. I know, that may not be possible with some people. Simply letting the child ride a tricycle instead of a Big Wheel would help.
Great idea! And if the HOA needs a goose, they might take a moment and think there but for the grace of God go they.
Contingent on finding out more facts, I have to disagree. If the homeowner's association has known about this kid living there for three years and has only now begun to take action, I don't think they ought to be able to enforce this rule.
The law aids the vigiliant, not people who sit for three years and do nothing.
Perhaps they are, and all the people who read this story should help them find a buyer or send them money, instead of blaming the problem on the HOA.
The will sow what they reap for the young will not care about them when they want free medical care and to be taken care of when they are older and will get what they deserve.”
Have you been around any 3rd graders lately? About 1/3 of them seem beyond help already. My 3rd grader is on a soccer team with a couple kids that I seriously can not be around for long because of their behavior. The worst two kids belong to the two coaches.
Before you cast me as some kid-hating bitter loser, let me tell you I have 5 kids. I see my kids and their peers at school, on baseball, soccer and softball teams year round. Boys & girls. My oldest is almost done with her first year of college and my youngest is almost done with her first year of 1st grade. From my perspective there has been a stunning rise in foulmouthed, ill-behaved, disrespectful kids in just the last 10 years. Scares the grunt outta me when I think about what these 8 year old kids will be like when they are 18.
I don’t blame those “older folks” for removing themselves from the general population of young people. Not one bit.
I am sure the kid is more visible now which did trigger it. The situation is unfortunate. The truth is though it only takes one person to act to have this policy enforced, which is why it is surprising they actually got three years. Hopefully they can sell their place or find an alternative before a court forces them to act. If it was my grandchild and I was in their situation, I would have come up with a creative solution before now and fostercare would not even come up as an option.
cheep?
I disagree. I think waiting three years was entirely unreasonable and I think it could be a problem for the homeowner's association should these people get a decent lawyer.
That's what leads me to deduce that there's some problem with the community (and hence with the HOA) -- in 2005, the sky was the limit.
Greed is too often its own reward.
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