Claim Response Martens, PaulaBARRY A. LINDAHL, E~-
Corporation COUNSEl, CitY Of Dubuque
M£MO
To:
Mayor terrance M. Duggan and
Members of the City Council
DATE:
September 15, 2003
RE:
Claim Against the City By Paula Martens
Claimant
Date of Claim
Date of Loss
Paula Martens 09/11/03 08/29/03
Nature of Claim
Property Damage
This is a claim in which claimant alleges that her garbage can was damaged by City of
Dubuque Operations & Maintenance employees during collection.
According to the report of Paul Schultz, Solid Waste Management Supervisor,
claimant's refuse container was damaged during normal crew handling. Mr. Schultz
states that the handle appeared to be broken in the process of lifting and dumping the
container, which wouldn't require excessive force on a lower-grade plastic container that
is not suitable for the heavy-duty application of solid waste handling.
It is therefore the recommendation of Paul Schultz to approve this claim in the amount of
$20.00. The Legal Department concurs with this recommendation.
BAL:tls
cc:
Michael Van Milligen, City Manager
Jeanne Schneider, City Clerk
Paul Schultz, Solid Waste Management Supervisor
Paula Martens
SUITE 330, HARBOR VIEW PLACE, 300 MAIN STREET DUBUQUE, IA 52001-6944
TELEPHONE (563) 583-4113 / FAX (563) 583-1040 / EMAIL BALESQ~MWCI.NET
CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA
MEMORANDUM
September 12, 2003
TO:
FROM:
SUBJECT:
Barry A. Lindahl, Esq., Corporation Council
Paul F. Schultz, Solid Waste Management Superviso~l~/~
Claim of Paula Martens
The claim and estimate is approved as filed.
From a conversation with the refuse crew and the photo taken, the
referenced refuse container was damaged in normal crew handling. The handle
appeared to be broken in the process of lifting and dumping the container.
Excessive force is not required to lift and break a handle on a lower-grade plastic
container that is not suitable for the heavy-duty application of solid waste
handling.
The customer's container was made of a less expensive, hard plastic and
of a brand that has proven to be unsuitable for normal solid waste handling in
our climate. City ordinance Section 40-18 (b) requires that containers used for
solid waste disposal must be "suitable" and "sturdy,
I would approve the claim for the $20.00 if the customer would purchase
and use a suitable container that is sturdy enough for the heavy-duty application
of solid waste handling.