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Review of Denial of Claim by Gary and Shriley JamesonTHE CITY OF DUB E MEMORANDUM Masterpiece on the Mississippi BARRY LINDAHL CITY ATTORNEY To: Mayor Roy D. Buol and Members of the City Council DATE: April 6, 2012 RE: Gary Jameson Claim This is a claim for $7,047.81 property damage to the Jameson home at 945 Shady Lane which is alleged to have resulted from a sanitary sewer backup on January 3, 2012. The claim was referred to Public Entity Risk Services (PERS). Based upon the investigation of PERS, the claim was denied. PERS could find no evidence of negligence on the part of the City which caused or contributed to the sewer backup. Under Iowa law, a city is not liable for damage caused by sewer backup unless the city had actual knowledge or prior notice of a defect in the sanitary sewer system in time to have remedied the defect prior to the damage. PERS found no evidence of actual knowledge or prior notice of a defect, nor evidence of a defect in the sanitary sewer system. PERS' denial of the claim was based upon information provided by the Water Department and the Public Works Department. The Jamesons have asked us to review the denial of their claim. The Jameson sanitary sewer lateral enters into the City sanitary sewer main on Shady Lane at a manhole. Unrelated to the sanitary sewer, there are sometimes problems with the water tasting abnormal in the neighborhood. When residents notice this problem, they call the Water Department. The Water Department responds to the call by flushing the fire hydrant which is also in front of the Jamesons home. During the summer, the fire hydrant is flushed into the street and the water runs into the storm sewer. During the winter, to avoid icing in the street, the hydrant is flushed into the sanitary sewer manhole. The Water Department received a call regarding the abnormal tasting water from someone in the neighborhood on or about January 3, 2012 and responded by flushing the fire hydrant into the manhole. The following day, the Jamesons discovered the sanitary sewer backup in their basement. OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY DUBUQUE, IOWA SUITE 330, HARBOR VIEW PLACE, 300 MAIN STREET DUBUQUE, IA 52001 -6944 TELEPHONE (563) 583 -4113 / FAX (563) 583 -1040 / EMAIL balesq @cityofdubuque.org Water Department employees have frequently flushed the fire hydrant in a similar fashion without any incident. During the flushing of this hydrant on January 2, 2012, they noticed nothing unusual about the water being flushed into the manhole. The sanitary sewer was televised following the discovery of the damage to the Jameson home. No obstructions or other defects were found in the sanitary sewer. Paralegal Tracey Stecklein and I have reviewed all of the information provided by the Water and Public Works Departments. We also discussed the situation and visited the site on March 22, 2012 with personnel from the Water and Public Works Departments. We have concluded that the denial of this claim was justified for lack of any evidence of a defect in the sanitary sewer system. I recommend that the appeal of this claim be denied. BAL:tls cc: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager John Klostermann, Street & Sewer Maintenance Supervisor Mike Brekke, Water Distribution Supervisor Brenda Snyder, Public Entity Risk Services Gary & Shirley Jameson F \USERS \Laserfiche Legal \Claims\Jameson Gary\ MayorCouncil _DenialReview_040612 doc 2 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 West 13th St., Dubuque, IA 52001. It will then be referred to the appropriate department for investigation and to the City Attorney's Office. 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. 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: Gfi I/ f S J•1 AL e y Sion e e)A, 2. Address: ci `I 5' 5 `� AV/ / -ltnr c' Li 13 II Cr r., e 3:env/1 3"'-'9e)0/ 3. Telephone Number 6-63 b` b" 3 6 "3 / 5' 4. Date of Incident:`L-►v / ` � 1 ` 5. Time of Incident: 1 6. Location of Incident (Be specific): J {i e. 1, 4. 5 m e i i1 r 9'/5 .hid/ I. AA/ to 7. Describe the 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 employee's name.) (()P)T l2 rJc' -f7 rn,fto1%-Q [1_us'I► d 7`l, l i2� /Jy/k /�N/ I i /-/Tb,Vr of: oil /J/ i /s( / 7--7,. 7 i2tiJ i /r, , e /` t'7 !4 'rimy hid e TI/r/% / 5 4,.,C:/Wee" / y /v./ .5'0,.., F`% //,V % he, / cis ,r [t)r95 fl/15C_ /it e. /v / 8. What were weather conditions like? 9. Give name and address of any witnesses: lr j L r �� : L� /' / oo- fit' �� tUi1f 6 , r� L,9, �' /,i ( robe c,4�,iF ,./ 2 LC,1)6W 10. Did police investigate? (If so, give names of officers.) ,Y 0 11. Was anyone injured? (If so, give names, addresses, and extent of injuries). No 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.) 14-)Are/2 / m/9-60- to lOe c 1.L - 'e otr b�sef�A/T" 1941,-/ 17; N7 il! It) '7 , S.._ 63 357 /'/SS' 'They Arn,,J'ed 7-h e. cie-n,d "147 VTie Rec7egr,Tei,v 13. What other damages do you claim, if any? cUe toeR� - %„did by se_, tr, c e !vihs7 i 70 bt,v Nero /Zuys, i hAir Vi (•L[;frf-NiNy i . l s c, l L c I ' e fie• e m ea) j s, // / -5D l9 liw iGujn G1 emi Q,A goT w.4Te1.2 /AO 74 liii/e7A )1 A ilei To be 14. Have you been compensated for any part or all of your claim by any A eyo L/2e Ear/ insurance company? (If so, give name and address of insurance company and amount paid.) /VD - 15. What amount do you claim from the City of Dubuque? r7 ©'''7. / 16. Why do you claim the City of Dubuque is / responsible ? / /i f- e v e 5' h N, /` t /r(! r/o,ci /91 V/ 14-< e- eriT iui %7r 5ezo62 /'c< /4)//7�. i 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 this % 3 day of re- b , 20 / & /) %'. (Print Name) nUi114esDi) rn rn C) .rh L R a 1 2 - , U T A eg E p oe /V.5 C S f/HC/ c) ttye's 1 I 4e PL4c2 %IC,r4 •ice65 to jped a it) e 5iflh iNj' oN d'a/Z icmy T i,zt i uT re. e_ W•e/2 h;5,,eg .° sag V1cC f21 p J� %I 4 7-� e� e_ mf? e='1 iN c'- $ /Z 1! /VNIAr d l`d /3, 3 ()fly. eu e_ no) his4 e /z rax •re 13; cDa )11 w s s I))� ' c h,'�v ,1? c� I to -e 141 t� N/� e / I U e- AT / T /�•G!� / N iJ PL»ce w e or C. li; ;ivy -o, i9ivy o t` • .r4 5.i To Whom It May Concern: On January 3, 2012 the City Water Department flushed the fire hydrant that is in front of our house. They did this by running a hose from the hydrant to a man hole cover that sits in front of our drive way! We watched them do this and never thought much about it since they do this several times a year. About an hour or two later we went to the basement and there was several inches of water covering the floor! We called a neighbor who had a shop vacuum to come help. We checked everything to see if we could find where the water was coming from and couldn't find anything. Then we remembered the Water Department out in front of the house. We called the City of Dubuque phone number and they sent a city employee up to our house. His name was "Ron Gulyash." He said the Water Department Crew probably had the hose going in the wrong direction, instead of going down the sewer it came up on our sewer line which goes from our house to the street next to the drive way! "Ron Gulyash" called the Water Department and they stated they did flush the hydrant! The Water Department closed at 4:OOp.m. So we were told by "Ron Gulyash" to call them the next day. We called the Water Department in the morning and were directed to "Michael Brekke" who told us he was aware of the problem! We asked him what should we do and he suggested we call "Service Master" or someone like them, which we did! Service Master came up immediately and told us they would handle everything for us. They tore out the carpeting and all of the base board. They set up about eighteen dehumidifiers and fans. These ran for three days! They sanitized the rooms and put all the furniture on blocks. We went to City Hall and got a claim form which "Michael Brekke" told us to do! We read the claim form and it said we needed receipts not estimates to submit to the city! We had to wait for the work to be completed and bills to be sent to us. We understand that this was accidental and we have tried to be understanding and cooperative in this matter. How ever it has been a very upsetting and aggravating experience! After receiving your response on February 28, 2012 in regards to claim number ICP036271A1 that you denied the claim because the city was not at fault. We called the city clerk and she advised us to submit this letter. Gary and Shirley Jameson