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| Dorrington, California - For the past 11 years, Dave Donnell has called a small A-frame cabin near Calaveras Big Trees State Park his home.
That is, if you don't count his hospital stays, which have been occurring much more frequently in recent months as doctors try to figure out what's causing him to bleed internally.
Since the first of December, he's been hospitalized four times and has received 30 pints of blood to counteract the internal hemorrhaging. He spent several days at Mark Twain St. Joseph's Hospital earlier this week, returning to his modest Snowshoe Springs cabin Wednesday.
How long he'll be able to stay home, though, is anyone's guess. And it's not just because of his physical problems.
The Snowshoe Springs Owners Association has started foreclosure proceedings against the 46-year-old Donnell because he hasn't paid his annual homeowners dues since 1995.
The unpaid dues amount to less than $1,400, but the association can tack on interest and all reasonable collection costs, which brings Donnell's tab to about $3,100.
At one point, the foreclosure proceedings were due to come to a head Jan. 27. But Curtis Sproul, a Sacramento attorney working on behalf of the association, said it has extended the deadline another 30 days, giving Donnell until late February to come up with the money.
That won't be easy. Donnell's physical problems -- he has epilepsy and pancreatitis -- preclude him from holding down a steady job. He gets by on government aid and small jobs that friends pass his way.
Donnell said he's hopeful some solution will be reached before he's forced to move.
"I have nowhere to go," he said. "Absolutely no place. This is my home."
Donnell's parents built the cabin in 1968, when he was 13. His parents, who raised their family in El Cerrito, wanted to retire to Dorrington but both died. Donnell moved up in 1989 and has been here ever since.
"Once you've been here, you could never go back to the city," he said. "I love it here. It's home."
Donnell said he started having problems paying his dues in 1995 after undergoing surgery to remove a cyst from his pancreas. He did, however, manage to keep paying his taxes and other utility bills.
Donnell's not the first person to fall behind in his homeowners dues, as Snowshoe has been around since the late 1950s. It was developed as a mountain hideaway off Highway 4 and has about 250 homes.
But Marjorie Murray Schaleger, who has owned property there since 1975, said in the past the association would put liens on property and then collect the overdue dues when the property changed hands.
"It worked very well," said Murray Schalager, who resigned from the association board in December over its handling of the Donnell matter.
Sproul said the homeowners association's decision to force Donnell to pay his back dues resulted from a change of philosophy by the board of directors. He said the board targeted Donnell and one other property owner because they owed the most money.
Sproul said the board made numerous attempts to contact Donnell about paying what he owed but that he did not respond until the board of directors started foreclosure proceedings.
At that time, Donnell said he went to an association board meeting and offered to make $50 payments to retire his debt. "They turned me down," he said. "They said it was too little, too late. That doesn't seem fair -- they'd rather take my house than let me pay my bill."
Sproul disagreed and said the board didn't want Donnell to make $50 installment payments because it would have taken too long to retire the debt. "It's not the goal of the association to own this guy's house," he said.. "The goal is to get its relatively modest debt, owed since 1995, paid.."
The association at one point shut off Donnell's water, but he reconnected it on his own. That prompted the association to call law enforcement officials, and Donnell was charged in November with illegally obtaining utility service, a misdemeanor. He is due back in court in June for continued arraignment.
Donnell's plight has caught the attention of several of his neighbors who are trying to raise money to retire Donnell's debt and allow him to stay put.
Susan Winters, who lives next door to Donnell, said even though the association has a legal right to foreclose on Donnell, "I think it's wrong." Winters said the board needs to consider the fact that although Snowshoe Springs is a vacation or weekend getaway for most people, "This is (Donnell's) only home. And they're trying to take it away."
Murray Schaleger, who lives in Oakland, said she'd like to see the association board "take a compassionate view of this situation and forgive the debt. This isn't a luxury home. It's a very modest place."
Sproul, though, said it's a matter of fairness. As long as Donnell isn't paying his dues, part of which covers water service, other homeowners essentially are picking up his tab. "We can't indefinitely let this one individual ride while a substantial number of residents pay their bills," he said.
* To reach Lode Bureau Chief Francis P. Garland, phone 736-9554 or e-mail garnel@goldrush.com
"I have nowhere to go. Absolutely no place. This is my home."
-- Dave Donnell,owes $1,400 in association dues |
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