Claim, Pape, Garry J.October 18, 2002
Gary J. Pape
2824 Balke St.
Dubuque, IA 52001
Mr. Barry A. Lindahl
Corporation Counsel
Suite 330, Harbor View Place
300 Main Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-6944
RE: Denial of Claim against the City of Dubuque by Garry J. Pape
Dear Mr. Lindahl:
In response to the letter written from John J. Hail to you, I would make the following
points:
· The tree is on our neighbors' property, but branches extend over our property.
· The incident occurred la the afternoon, not at night.
· · At the time of the incident, it was not storming, as the neighbor kids who alerted
us to the incident were outside playing.
· A car was damaged, not a truck.
· We did not call the City on the following Monday because the branch was taken
away early that morning by our neighbors' lawn service.
· We did not realize the car was damaged until Tuesday when my wife went to
open her trunk. I contacted the City i.e. Jane Smith immediately to report the
incident.
· We did not realize it was appropriate, nor necessary, to contact the police
regarding a branch falling/causing damage or we would certainly have done so.
· There are no old dead branches in the tree-which goes to one of our concerns.
The branch that damaged my car appeared perfectly healthy-filled with leaves.
The branch that fell la August looked the same. However, the fact is they are
able to cause damage, as our claim has stated.
· we have called the City numerous times regarding fallen branches and other
concerns regarding this tree. These calls have taken place over the last several
years, not since June 30th, 2002
· We believe the tree creates liability for us, as well as our neighbor. However, we
apparently have no say regarding this tree.
On Sunday, September 22nd, my wife (Lynn) and I were downstairs watching a football
game when there was a knock on our door. The neighbor kids who were pla3~ng in the
hackyard of 2826 Balke St. (across Lawther St.) had heard a loud noise and upon
checking it out, discovered a branch had fallen on my car. The branch was on the street
next to the car. I looked at the from and side of the car, but observed no damage. I
removed the branch from the street. Cole Kascel (2826 Balke St) and Kevin Bloeklinger
(2825 Burden Ave) were two of the kids present that day who could verify this incident
occurred.
The next day my neighbors' lawn service arrived early in the morning and they removed
the brancl~ My neighbor, Genevieve Hartmann (2826 Balke St.) can verify this fact.
Obviously, there was no further need to call the City.
On Tuesday, my wife noticed damage to her car when opening the trunk. The branch had
hit just below the back window damaging the window frame and denting the trunk. The
car was still parked in front of our residence at 2824 Balke St. I called Jane Smith-City
Engineering Department, a woman I had spoken to a month earlier regarding the
sidewalk issues the tree was causing. She stated I could file a claim against the City and
referred me to the proper person to request a form be sent to me. She also scheduled to
meet with me the next day to assess the tree/sidewalk situation.
On Wednesday, I met with Jane at the site ofthe tree. Jane stated plans to notify our
neighbor regarding her opinion of the tree. Jane was also going to contact Steve Pregler,
City Forester, and ask him to cheek the tree. We were not notified when Mr. Pregler
would be coming by, so we did not have the opportunity to discuss our concerns with
We believe this tree is too big for the space it is in, which is why the side walk is getting
pushed up, creating a tripping hazard. I use to try to repair this area to prevent this, but
am no longer able to do so due to the extent of the damage. Also, this problem has
extended to the next slab of cement, which creates a puddle from the rain and becomes a
hazard when it freezes. We try to remove the puddle/water by notching out grass to the
curb for drainage, but this has not rectified the problem.
In conclusion, we believe the City is liable for the damage done to our car. As
homeowners, we should be able to park in front of our home without assuming the
liability from a City tree we cannot make any decisions about. As respons~le property
owners, we don't know what more we can do to rectify this problem and alleviate our
Conc~'rls.
We ask that this correspondence be brought to the attention of the Mayor and Members
of the City Council. Thank you.
Sincerely,
/s/ Garry J. Pape
cc: Michael VanMilligen, City Manager