It is a simple story; a big landowner wants 10 acres adjacent. Some ten years ago, Mike Fine and his wife Sherry visited the Davis family to pitch the sale. They own eighty acres.
Gary Davis was with his 90-year-old mother as the couple pressured Mrs. Davis to sell her beloved homestead. The land in question is north of I-44, west of Lynn Lane, with a residential area and the Cherokee Hard Rock Casino directly east of the property across Lynn Lane.
“We weren’t interested in selling,” Davis said. “The Fines, soon after, started construction of two ponds along the shared edge of their land that deliberately and continuously flooded my family’s property to the point of washing out the only historic bridge allowing access. Now, their entire eighty acres drains downhill on us.”
Davis said the bridge was built in 1941 by the Knight family and stood proud, a barrel/post structure, for 70 plus years on a wet weather creek that ebbed and flowed with the rain. The creek is part of the Spunky Creek system a “Flood Zone A” FEMA designation for higher than usual risk of flooding.
“I had to replace one bridge that collapsed and that cost me $35,000 and now the second bridge is in the process of collapse. This is an easement road that is owned by my family and the neighbors, the people responsible for destroying it. It is the only access in and out of our land,” Davis said.
Mike Fine passed to his eternal reward December of 2017 and his obituary notes a “lifetime of service and entrepreneurship that became part of his DNA.” He launched Fine Airport Parking in Tulsa in 1983.
His obituary also notes Fine “was a graduate of Leadership Oklahoma Class IX, Leadership Tulsa Class 30 and was honored as one of Tulsa Business Journal’s Men of Distinction in 2012. The Journal Record named Mike as one of Oklahoma’s Most Admired CEOs in 2016. He was an active member of the Tulsa Rotary Club and an NSU Foundation Trustee. Mike and his family attended Life Church and Asbury United Methodist Church.”
No Christian compassion has been shown to the Davis Family. Facing a corporate legal team with a “make us if you can” attitude, a legal battle seems unavoidable.
Engineers have estimated 2 million cubic yards of dirt was moved to create 20-foot-high embankment for the ponds. Aerial photographs and engineers suggest the land was sculpted for water to flow around the ponds which eroded multiple gullies and destroyed the bridge. Anyone can walk around the land and see the damage.
“When I went to the officials to investigate what they could do to stop [the flooding], I found out, and am continuing to find out ten years later, that there’s nothing that can be done because nobody wants to do anything,” Davis said.
Davis said, “All of the work on [the Fine] property was done despite a stop work order from Catoosa, for lack of permitting. The Flood Insurance Program is administered by the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and the waterways are administered by the Army Corps of Engineers, both require permits before the work starts. None of those permits were filed.
“There are ordinances that Catoosa [has not yet] enforced and the permit issue is under their jurisdiction. The Catoosa Police wouldn’t take my report that I am being extorted, but that is exactly what I believe is happening,” Davis said.
Davis has reached out to Sherry (now married to David Reese of Tulsa) repeatedly to resolve the dispute, but she has not responded to a request for mediation or even to a cease-and-desist demand. Apparently, the family awaits a court order, but as a civil matter this complicated case with multiple expert testimonies could be torturous and expensive.
Davis spoke at the Catoosa City Council meeting May 20 noting that he has identified over ten ordinances and regulations relevant to the situation. He is appealing to the City of Catoosa to enforce these rules, as the current actions violate ordinances related to flood zone and federal highway regulations.
The positive result of that presentation is that several Catoosa Councilors declared they wanted to help.
In a healthy growing community, city planning, zoning, and regulation enforcement is critical to keep the peace and protect individual rights. That is why people pay taxes in the first place. While criminal and civil courts are the final authority, the legal system gets expensive, but Davis is engaging council as all other efforts have not resolved the dispute.
Mrs. Davis once had a medical emergency during a rainstorm that caused intense flooding. Her son, a critical care nurse, had to walk a quarter of a mile in the pouring rain to provide aid. Fortunately, she did not pass at that time, but her son promised her before she did pass that he would resolve the issue to save the homestead. The house, picnic area and woods hold cherished memories for the family.
This story will be updated as events warrant.