Claim Response, Zach BreitbachBARRY A. LINDAHL,
CORPORATION COUNSEL,
~BUQUE
MEMO
To:
Mayor Terrance M. Duggan and
Members of the City Council
DATE: June 27, 2001
Claim by Zachary S. Breitbach
Claimant Date of Claim Date of Loss
Nature of Claim
Zachary S. Breitbach 5/24/01
5/18/01 Tire Damage
This is a claim in which the claimant states that while he was driving on John F. Kennedy Road,
his tire went over a pothole, which destroyed his tire and bent the rim.
According to a report by John Klostermanrg Street/Sewer Maintenance Supervisor, there was a
report ora pothole on John F. Kennedy Road on February 13, 2001, which the Department repaired.
Mr. Klostermann states that the next report of a pothole on that road came from the Police
Department on May 18, 2001, which is the day that the claimant's tire sustained damage. The
pothole was repaired that day. Therefore, it is the recommendation of Mr. Klostermann that the
claim be denied based on lack of prior knowledge relating to the pothole. The Legal Department
concurs with this recommendation.
BAL/jm
A~achmem
Cc~
John Klostermanrg Street/Sewer MainteKance Supervisor
Don Vogt, Operations and Maintenance Manager
Michael Koch, Public Works Director/City Engineer
Zachary S. Breitbach
196 DUBUQUE BUILDING 700 LOCUST STREET DUBUQUE, IA 52001-6824
TELEPHONE (563) 583-4113 / FAX (563) 583-1040 / EMAIL BAi~ESQ~vIWCI. NET
Operations & Maintenance Dep~rtment
925 Kerper Boulevard
Dubuque, Iowa 520gl-2338
(319) 5894250
(319) 589~Z52 FAX
June 25,2001
Barw Lindahl
Corporation Counsel
50West13~ Street
Dubuque, IA 52004-4864
Dear Barry:
This letter will respond to the claim filed by Mr. Zachary S. Breitbach, due to a pothole
he hit while driving on John F. Kennedy Road.
Our records show that we had a report of a pothole in the southbound lane on John F.
Kennedy Road on February 13, 2001. A crew was dispatched and the hole was
repaired. Since February we had not received any additional notification concerning
this hole until we received a report from the police on May 18, 2001, the day Mr.
Breitbach had his incident. A crew was dispatched and the repair made that day.
It is therefore my recommendation to deny the claim due to the lack of prior knowledge
concerning this pothole.
Sincerely,
John Klostermann
Street/Sewer Maintenance Supervisor
Service People Integrity Respormibility Innovation Teamwork