tksirius
HN's Love Doctor
(The lawsuit is part of a long-running dispute in which Ferentz and his wife, Mary, have been portrayed as difficult, stingy and privacy-obsessed, clashing with their image as friendly philanthropists who support the Iowa Children’s Hospital.
A judge ruled in September that the Ferentzes aren’t required to join the homeowners’ association that their neighbors formed in 2015 to share road maintenance costs. That freed the Ferentzes from having to pay a $9,400 assessment for road repairs and dissolved a lien the association obtained on their property to collect payment.
The Iowa Supreme Court recently declined to hear the neighbors’ appeal, setting up trial on remaining claims.
One neighbor has testified that they “bent over backward” to reach agreement with the Ferentzes but were rebuffed repeatedly. The Ferentzes’ attorney has argued that the case is about property rights, saying owners cannot be subjected to restrictions to which they haven’t agreed.
Lawyers for both sides declined to comment for this story
Ferentz has led the Hawkeyes since 1999 and is Iowa’s highest-paid public employee. His contract will pay $5.2 million this year, including a $500,000 bonus for an eight-win season.
The dispute dates to early in Ferentz’s tenure, when his family bought land on the single-lane gravel road.
Neighbors John and Ann Marie Buatti proposed subdividing their 20-acre property for a development that would include a road resurfacing and extension. They wanted space for their children to ride bikes.
Mary Ferentz objected, saying she wanted the road kept gravel and the neighborhood to remain rural for privacy reasons.
“What I remember distinctly is she looked at me and said, ‘No, you don’t understand who I am.’ ... I was a little bit taken back,” John Buatti testified. “For me it was the safety of my children, not who she was or why that would matter.....”)
A judge ruled in September that the Ferentzes aren’t required to join the homeowners’ association that their neighbors formed in 2015 to share road maintenance costs. That freed the Ferentzes from having to pay a $9,400 assessment for road repairs and dissolved a lien the association obtained on their property to collect payment.
The Iowa Supreme Court recently declined to hear the neighbors’ appeal, setting up trial on remaining claims.
One neighbor has testified that they “bent over backward” to reach agreement with the Ferentzes but were rebuffed repeatedly. The Ferentzes’ attorney has argued that the case is about property rights, saying owners cannot be subjected to restrictions to which they haven’t agreed.
Lawyers for both sides declined to comment for this story
Ferentz has led the Hawkeyes since 1999 and is Iowa’s highest-paid public employee. His contract will pay $5.2 million this year, including a $500,000 bonus for an eight-win season.
The dispute dates to early in Ferentz’s tenure, when his family bought land on the single-lane gravel road.
Neighbors John and Ann Marie Buatti proposed subdividing their 20-acre property for a development that would include a road resurfacing and extension. They wanted space for their children to ride bikes.
Mary Ferentz objected, saying she wanted the road kept gravel and the neighborhood to remain rural for privacy reasons.
“What I remember distinctly is she looked at me and said, ‘No, you don’t understand who I am.’ ... I was a little bit taken back,” John Buatti testified. “For me it was the safety of my children, not who she was or why that would matter.....”)
