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Claim Furhman Mary McAleeceMary McAleece Fuhrman 1305 North Grandview Avenue Dubuque, Iowa 52001 (319) 588-8009 marfuhr~mchsi.com Dubuque Iowa City Clerk City Hall 50 West 13t~ Street Dubuque, Iowa July 8~ 2002 To Whom It May Concern; Enclosed you will find a claim form against the city of Dubuque and copies of all appropriate docmnentation- including letters previously sent to the Engineering department. I can furnish on request an itemized list of the articles and equipment lost from the recent flooding. As I stated on my claim form, I was told by the SBA that I have $16,400.00 wo~nth of structural damage and $8,500.00 worth of lost furnishings. As you will note from this documentation, I had requested certain information from the City Engineers department and to date have not received the courtesy of a response of any kind. I refuse to proceed in making repairs to my home until I am confident that the city has done their part to prevent future sewer back up and run-off into my home. I cannot put tens of thousands of dollars into repairs that will be necessary again aiter another rainfall. As you will see from the enclosed documentation, I have lost the total contents and use of my garage and basement for the third time. The value of my property is seriously diminished due to this fact. More than likely my insurance rates will increase as well as I will now be required to take out flood insurance (according to the FEMA worker who surveyed my home and damages). My neighbors did not experience the three feet of water that I did and this must be due to the poorly placed and inadequate sewer access grate in the alley behind my home. I have clearly demonstrated patience with the city in correcting the inadequate drainage and sewer problems around my home. But I now demand some kind of answers and I will do whatever necessary to get them at this point in fane, including making FOIA requests to the various departments of the city as well as pursuing retribution from the city for negligence. Of course I would rather come to an amicable solution to this issue and to that end I hope I receive a response of some kind very soon. 'anbnqn(] Sincerely, . Mary Fuhrman CLAIM AGAINST THE CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA This written report constitutes your claim against the City of Dubuque, Iowa. You should complete this form in full and attach any additional information that supports your claim. The Claim must be filed with the City Clerk at City Hall, 50 W. 13th St., Dubuque, IA 52001. It will then be referred by the City Council to the appropriate department for investigation. Once that investigation is completed, a report and recommendation will be submitted to the City Council. You will be provided with a copy of that report and recommendation. d THE FINAL DECISION ON ALL CLAIMS IS MADE BY THE CITY COUNCIL, NO EMPLOYEE OF THE CITY OF DUBUQUE HAS THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE ANY REPRESENTATION TO YOU AS TO WHETHER YOUR CLAIM WILL OR WILL NOT BE PAID. 1. Name of Claimant: 3. Telephone Number: ~-~3-- ~--~'~"~ 4. Date of Incident: ~/~/t~- ~,<~~ 5. Time of Incident: 3; B 00./~ -' 6. Location of lncident (Be specific): ~'Z~'~O~ 7. DESCRIBE ACCIDENT OR OCCURRENCE THAT CAUSED INJURY OR DAMAGE. (Give full details upon which you base your claim. If a City employee was involved, give the empl.oyee's name.) . __ --.-- - __ --t-- 8, What were weather condition~ like? 10. Did police investigate? (If so, give names of officer~.) 11. Was anyone injured? (If so, give names, addresses, and extent of injuries). 12. Was any damage done to property? (If so, describe property and the extent of damages. Attach estimates of damages or describe basis for ascertaining extent of damage.) 13. What other damages do you claim, if any? 14. Have you been compensated for any part or all of your claim by any insurance company? (If so, give name and address of insurance company and amount paid.) 15. What amount do you claim from the City of Dubuque? 16. Why do you claim the City of Dubuque is responsible? ~-~-~~J_~---~ 17. Have you made any claim against anyone else for damages as a result of this incident? (If yes, give name and address.) ~ 18. If the answer to Question 17 is yes, have you received any payment from that source, and if so, in what amount? Dated at Dubuque, Iowa this day of ., 20 ' ~ ~ ' ~ {Signature) (Print Name) (Rev. 1/00 & 7/01) To: Subject: Man/rschsLcom Email [marfuhr~mchsi.com] Monday, June 24, 2002 6:30 PM ecoyle~wcinetcom F~ood Waters I am reading with interest your articles on the storm sewers and flooding in the Dubuque area and found the focus of the articles extremely refreshing. I too have lost much, just like the individuals you have reported on thus far in your series. I feel I have a story to tell that might also interest readers and wake up the voters in our city. I live in a beautiful neighborhood on North Grandview avenue across the street from Allison Henderson park. The basement in my home was flooded in 93, 99, and again this June. Not just with a few inches of rain water but close to three feet of sewer backup as well as water from a city storm sewer in the alley that overflows with runoff and then proceeds directly down my driveway into my garage and eventually my basement. My neighbors did not experience the flooding that I have due to the layout of the alley and configuration of the storm sewer. I can't begin to tell you how devastating this has been for me. I lost the total contents of my garage and my basement the second time in three years. Two cars have been totaled as they were floating in my garage. A 1997 Pontiac GrandAM and most recently a 1999 Toyota camry. Other ite~as lost are: water heater, furnace, washer & dryer, dehumidifer, two bedroom sets and contents from a family room. I cannot afford to replace the paneling and carpeting a second time. I do not have flood insurance since I am not in a flood plain. On top of the direct financial loss, I also have had to take a number of days off of work in order to clean up and dispose of the ruined items. Ail I have to rely on for recovery is a sewer ~ack up ri_dg~ . on my homeowner's policy and potentially a lawsuit against the city of Dubuque. I most likely will lose coverage from my insurance company due to the large amount of claims I have filed for in the past years. If/when I find a new insurance company that is willing to insure me, my rates will most likely increase and I can't say as I blame them. I see no option other than to cement up my garage and then I would have to pay to have a detached garage built in its place - which I cannot afford now or anytime in the near future. My property value will diminish greatly without a garage and a basement so it could make selling my home very difficult if not impossible. I wrote my senators and representatives and Mr. Duggan after the flood in 1999. The representatives and senator responded, but Mr. Duggan did not. The lawmakers advised me to take up the matter with my city. I did meet with Mr. Deron Muehring from the City Engineers office after the flood of 1999 and I have a copy of a letter from him dated 10/04/99 stating the city was developing estimates for various designs each aimed at alleviating future flood d~mage to my home. He ended his letter with "I will keep you informed as we proceed through each step of the CIP process and more information about the proposed project becomes available." Needless to say I never heard from him again. [At one time after the last flooding, city engineers did come out and apparently tried to prevent me from flooding again, but obviously their attempts failed and potentially made things worse.] This is why I am pursuing the option of a lawsuit against the city for myself and potentially others similarly situated. I pay my taxes like everyone else and I don't expect my home to be flooded and destroyed every couple of years. FEMA comes through and offers low interest loans, but I can't afford that either. I hope you continue to pursue this after the series is completed and keep us informed with updates. If you need to reach me you can contact me at work (563) 588-0121 ext. 224 or at home in the evenings at 588-8009. Thanks for listening and thanks for the well written series. Your articles help raise awareness that this isn't simply an issue that happens with a rain every 100 years. Sincerely, Mary Fuhrman Mary Fuhrman 1305 N. Grandview Avenue Dubuque, Iowa 52001 (563) 588-8009 June 28, 2002 Mr. Mike Koch Public Works Director / City Engineer Engineering Division - City of Dubuque 50 West 13th Street Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4864 Dubuque, Iowa 52001 Dear Mr. Koch: In response to my contacting the city as a result of my home flooding in 1999, I received a letter written by Deron Muehr~g, a Dubuque Civil Engineer, dated October 4, 1999 (copy attached). In that letter he stated, "We will be developing costs estimates for various desjgn~> each aimed at alleviating future flood damage to your home." He ended his letter by stating "I will keep you informed as we proceed through each step of the CIP process and more information about the proposed project becomes available." I have not heard from Mr. Muehring - or anyone else from the city - since that 1999 letter. During the rainstorm on June 4 of this year my home again was flooded and received substantial damage. I have now experienced a devastating loss twice in the past three years as a result of the city of Dubuque's inadequate drainage syster~ I would appreciate a detailed response from your department on how the city of Dubuque is planning to remedy the poor drainage situation and the timeline for implementing this plar~ I cannot use my garage or basement until the problem is resolved. My property value is seriously diminished so I will be unable to sell my home until this problem is resolved. I am requesting copies ofhoth the storm and sewage disposal plans in and around my home which is located at 1305 North G-randview Avenue. Please feel free to contact me at (563) 588-8009 with any questions. Sincerely, Mary Fuhilnan Engineering Division 50 West 13th Stree~ Dubuque. Iowa 520014864 Office (319) 5894270 Fax (319) 589-4149 October 4, 1999 Mrs. Mary McAleece Ful~,-,-,an 1305 North G-randview Dnbuque, IA 59_.001 Dear Mrs. Fohrm:~n: .I would like to thank you again for meetin~ with me and discussing the stormwater drainage ~ssues near your home. We will be developing cost estimates for various designs, each aimed at alleviating future flood damage to your home. A preliminary design will be selected and rec, ommellded by the Engineering Departmem as a Capital Improvement Project (CIP) within the five year budget. In addition, to answer your inquiry there is no statute of limiW~tions pertaining to claims against the City of Dubuque. There is a five year statute of limitation for a lawsuit against the city dealing with property damage. I will keep you informed as we proceed through each step of the CIP process and more information about the proposed project bccomes available. cc: Mike Koch, Public Works Director Gus Psihoyos, Assistant City Engineer Sincerely, Deron Muehring Civil E~glne~2r, City of Dubuque (Iowa) Service People Integrity Responsibility Innovation Teamworl~ TOM HARKIN IOWA WASHINGTON, DC 20510-1502 August 2, 1999 {202) 224-3254 TFY (202) 224~4633 Tom_Harkin@Harkin. Senate. Gov AGRICULTURE APPROPRIATIONS SMALL BUSINESS LABOR AND HUMAN RESQURCES Mary McAleece Fuhrman 1305 North Grandview Avenue Dubuque, IA 52001 Dear Mary: Thank you for e-mailing me with your concerns about how the City of Dubuque is handling the problems with the storm sewer in your area of the city. A member of my staff spoke to Mayor Duggan regarding your situation and he was unaware of any long term problems in your area of town. At his request I have forwarded your e-mail to the City Manager and asked that he respond directly to you. You may want to consider asking the city to pay for the damages to your home. If others in your neighborhood were similarly affected, you may want to approach the city council as a group. It is my hope that this problem can be resolved to your satisfaction as soon as possible. If I can be of further assistance, please contact Beth Freeman in my Cedar Rapids office. Best wishes. TH/baf Sincerely, Tom Harkin United States Senator 150 FIRST AVENUE, NE 210 WALNUT ST. 131 E. 4TH ST. 3E0 WEST 6TH ST 320 6TH ST. cDear 53~r. cDu~an. 52Iccording to tbe attached ldter f~om denator ~, aomeon~ ~m ~ ~ce qoke ~o gou about mg p~bkm ~ab ~be ~ ~be C~ of ~ubu~ handled ga fl~d probk~. 9 ~d a bard ~o believe ;ba; ~u ~ere unarm of on~gpmbt~ ~ffb ?~e do~ aemer lo~ted beb~dmgprop~g ~? ~305 ~o~b ~r~dviem. ~ ba~ qoken numerom ~ ~i?h peop/e ~ t~ eng~eera offce ~nd ~o ~be aVed depa~en~ ~ bad mg b~men~ flooded~e ~ ago ~ due to t~ ~e ~obtem. ~g ne~b~ra ako gd ~er ~ ~be? b~ement but not to ~be gt~t of m~e pu~ and r~d the ~ tb~I ~ere ~m~e~ ~ ~e ~ bed over t~r~fed ofweter ~da~ge mn into b~emen~ ~d ~ t~ eoe~ a~gte item down them ~ the ~cep~n of an iron~g board ~ ~gt ~doae ~ l~ffed ~er ba~. ~ee~ to ~g tb~ ~ount didn 7 even ~me d~e. ~ ~iff enct~e ~r~ ~r you to look it and ~ b~e a v~eo that mg aon ~p~u~. ~ bare ~ked t~ d~ to ~ndup an eng~e~ ~bo could ~ di~a~n ~ it 8 a reoc~gprobtem. ~ gear t~eg ~a~ ~e, ~ed ~ the ~n~n bok wffb d~ ~d b~ck~ to~ed over ~. ~ben 9 went out lo ~n why tbeg ~em ~o~g what they 3d~e g~r~ ~go and mbg d~n ~ eng~eer wine t~e a look, ~e r~ome ~ "Ob they tb~k there ~ a teadm~e under bern ...... 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