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Claim Response Dahl, Kirk BARRY A. LINDAHL, ESQ. CORPORATION COUNSEL MEMO To: Mayor Terrance M. Duggan and members of the City Council Date: January 18, 2000 Re: Claim of Kirk Dahl Claimant Date of Claim Date of Loss Kirk Dahl 12/29/99 12/22/99 Nature of Claim vehicle damage This is a claim for damages to the claimant's vehicle, which it sustained when he swerved on the unplowed surface of the Fifth Street Parking Ramp and hit a wall. This claim has been referred to Public Entity Risk Services of Iowa, the agent for the Iowa Communities Assurance Pool. BAL/cg cc - Ms. Cindy Steinhauser cc - Mr. Kirk Dahl 196 CYC^'F. PI.^,^ 01""'11)" low, ~2001 TF.I." 319 S.83-41tJ I", "9 ~'J'.I'O40 <-mo'¡ bol<!q¡;;'",wcÎ.net ()- _0 » ?5; CD ~~ r- .r;- '") .. <- -,c. -~ :.:D n-, ;-') ,-!] '-D in 0 L BARRY A. LINDAHL, iS~. CORPORATION COUNSEL MEMO To: Mayor Terrance M. Duggan and members of the City Council -° ~> - 0 CD Date: January 25, .2000 Re: Claim of Kirk Dahl Claimant Date of Claim Date of Loss Nature of Claim Dahl, Kirk 1/13/00 12/22/99 reimbursement for car insurance deductible c' 0 L ::D ill :J :T1 / rTi 0 '0" r.,) co ~ r" a This is a claim for damage to the claimant's automobile, which occurred on December 22, 1999 in the Fifth Street Parking Ram~. The claimant previously submitted a claim for the full amount of the damage to his car, which was referred to PERS. PERS investigated the claim and denied it. The claimant then submitted this claim for the $500 deductible, since his own insurer paid for the remainder of the damage. Enclosed is a copy of the report of Parking Systems Supervisor Cindy Steinhauser. Ms. Steinhauser reports that City staff followed the appropriate procedures for snow removal on the day of this accident and that, in her opinion, the City was not at fault. She has also submitted the Police Department report of Investi- gating Officer Baker, who concluded that the cause of the accident was the claimant driving too fast for existing conditions. Ms. Steinhauser recommends that the claim be denied. Legal Department concurs in that recommendation. BAL/cg cc - Ms. Cindy Steinhauser cc - Mr. Kirk Dahl 196 C"C^'F. PI.^?^ 01""'11)" low, 52001 TO'O 319581-4113 I", "9 ~RI.I040 c-m,i1 b,t""!"",,,,; n., The CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA MEMORANDUM January 18, 2000 To: Carol A. Gulick, Legal Department From: Cindy Steinhauser, Parking System supervisordUh Re: Claim of Kirk Dahl Introduction This memorandum is in response to the vehicular damage claim brought on by Mr. Kirk Dahl. Discussion On December 22, 1999 Mr. Dahl came to the Parking Division Office to report an accident which had just happened at the rooftop of the Fifth Street ramp. Mr. Dahl indicated at that it was his preference to park on the rooftop of this facility and that he had totaled his vehicle while attempting to do so on the above date. Office staff proceeded to call the police department, which is protocol when there is an accident claim. Mr. Dahl then went back down to the site of the incident and to meet with the police officer. Upon notification of the situation, I proceeded to the Fifth Street ramp to assess the situation. When I arrived, Ofcs. Baker and Smith were interviewing Mr. Dahl. I participated in the conversation, asking Mr. Dahl what had happened. Mr. Dahl explained that he was proceeding to the rooftop, traveling uphill, when his car slid in to the side of the ramp. At that time, he expressed great concern over the condition of the surface. I indicated to Mr. Dahl that staff had been called in at 5:00 a.m. and I was not sure why the rooftop had not yet been cleared. I indicated that I would look into the matter and wait for the officer's report regarding this incident. My investigation into the matter indicated that city staff followed the appropriate procedures for snow removal. Our policy is as follows: if overnight snow is forecasted, a member of the maintenance staff is put on watch for weather conditions and has the authority to call in the snow removal staff as soon as deemed necessary. When this occurs, the parking ramps are plowed in the following order: I) Locust Street ramp, 2) Iowa Street ramp and 3) Fifth Street ramp. In this case, on December 21, 1999 no overnight snowfall was predicted and staff was not put on watch. However, at 4:00 a.m. on December 22, 1999, maintenance staff noticed light snowfall had accumulated and parking staff that typically reports for duty at 6:00 a.m. was called in for duty by 5:00 a.m. Their first priority was to address pedestrian walkways in the ramps and sidewalks outside the ramp. By 7:00 a.m. it was determined that additional staff would be necessary to plow portions of all three ramps and a call was made to the Park division. Our records indicate that the Park division staff responded immediately to the request and arrived at the Locust Street ramp at 7:26 a.m. that same day to begin plowing. In addition, I received a supplemental report regarding this incident from Ofc. Baker, one of the officers called to the scene of the accident. It was his professional opinion that given the evidence, the accident was caused by excessive speed on the part of Mr. Dahl, causing him to not make the turn safely. I would also note that additional vehicles had successfully navigated the same area before and after Mr. Dahl's vehicle, under the same conditions, however no other incidents were recorded that day. Recommend Based upon the above information I recommend that Mr. Dahl's claim be denied. Attachment cc: Duane Pitcher, Finance Director 'DUBUQUE POLICE DEPT. SUPPLEMENTARY REPORT _Initial Report Offense: kl CASE NO: 99-44049 _Additional Information Victim: Related Cases: Page 10f! On the 7th of January, 2000, 1 met with Parking Division Manager CINDY STEINHAUSER reference an accident that had occurred in the parking ramp on 12/22/99 in which KIRK DAHL was involved. Cindy asked if I remembered the accident. .I stated that I did. She asked if! had any opinions on what would have caused the accident. I stated that in my opinion the accident was caused by excessive speed on the part of Mr. DaJù. I explained to her that it was clear from my investigation that there had been several vehicles that had made the turn in the same area that Mr. DaJù had and had no problem making the turn, both before and after his accident, and that ftom the snow that was on the surface it was clear that his was the onJy vehicle that had not made the turn safely. The reason that he would not have made the turn safely, in my opinion, was that he was traveling too fast for the conditions of the parking ramp. I stated that had the accident occurred after January 1,2000, Mr. DaJù would have been cited due to the department's decision to investigate all accidents beginning January 1, 2000; and he would have been cited with Driving Too Fast For Conditions if this accident would have happened on a city street. Cc Cindy Steinhauser coPY _Prop/Veh RePort Filed DATE: January 7,2000 Rpt. Off(s): Ed Baker - Continued on SR Current Status Excp Clr Bdg: 6 CO App: Bdg: