Claim by Craig Kowalski THE CITY OF
DUBUQUE MEMORANDUM
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TRACEY STECKLEIN
PARALEGAL
To: Mayor Roy D. Buol and
Members of the City Council
DATE: October 19, 2015
RE: Claim Against the City of Dubuque by Craig Kowalski
Claimant Date of Claim Date of Loss Nature of Claim
'I
Craig Kowalski 10/19/15 08/24/15 Property Damage
This is a claim in which claimant alleges that a broken sewer line in front of 1111 Bluff {
Street caused a sewer backup and damage to claimant's property at 1106 Grove
Terrace.
This claim hasbeen referred to Public Entity Risk Services of Iowa, the agent for the Iowa
Communities Assurance Pool.
cc: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
John Klostermann, Street & Sewer Maintenance Supervisor
Craig Kowalski
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 tsteckle@cityofdubuque.org I
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CLAIM AGAINST THE CITY OF DUBUQUE, IOWA JA U rn� -
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.
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. kl'
1. Name of Claimant: l� (^ 0- '. C LIV 0 , f S
2. Address: C-Q _ , (X(J L4V,.;
3. Telephone Number: b C -0 I�
4. Date of Incident: r D� <<S e C + ".C' A
5. Time of Incident: ►�c' �✓ r1 F c I "A 1°1 LkS ` rS:-S��c� �; IIIc.
6. Location of Incident (Be specific): i
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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
employee's name.)
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8. What were weather conditions like? ,
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9. Give name and address of any witnesses: 190--7a £,
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10. Did p lice„investigate? (If so, give names of officers.) c joy
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.) q
Sir ✓ D3� � �� {�� 2 r r , ��. DO ��/� 3> y � J
15. What amount do you claim from the City of Dubuque? J l
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16. Why dyou claim the City of Qubuque is re onsible?
17. Have you made any claim against anyone else for damages as a result of this incident?
(If yes, give name and address.) -A�
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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 0C-fCi.b� � 20
(Signature)
Print Name
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(Rev. 7/12)
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Confidential
This communication and any attachments may contain information which is confidential
and privileged by law and is for the use of the designated recipient. If you are not the
intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this communication in
error, and that any review, disclosure, dissemination, distribution or copying of its contents
is prohibited. Please notify City of Dubuque immediately by telephone at (563)-5894120 of
your receipt of these items and destroy the communication and any attachments
immediately. Further disclosure of this information may violate state and federal
restrictions.
Confidential information may include the following:
1) Social Security Number(s)
2) Medical/Health Information
3) Personnel/Disciplinary Information
4) Bank Account Information
5) Financial Information
6) Credit Card Numbers
If any documentation you desire to submit to the City of Dubuque contains any of the items above,
this cover sheet must be attached directly to the confidential information. Please indicate below the
type of information that is included.
I, , hereby certify that the attached documents
include the following protected information:
Social Security Number(s) Bank Account Information
Medical/Health Information Financial Information
Personnel/Disciplinary Information Credit Card Number(s)
I understand that this information may be distributed within the City organization or to agents of the
City for processing and I hereby authorize the City to act accordingly taking all precautions to
protect my information from unnecessary distribution.
Signature Date
I have read the information above and do not have any confidential documentation to submit to the
f Dubuque as part of this Claim Against the City.
Signature Date
7) Describe the accident or occurrence that caused damage:
According to technicians with Molitor Plumbing, the sewer line serving my
property is broken/collapsed (NOT merely blocked) right at the connection with
the municipal tap line in the middle of Bluff Street (please see attached photos).
This diagnosis by Molitor Plumbing in August 2015 is based on extensive video
inspection work that they conducted on nearly 200 feet of my own private lateral
sewer line, from my toilet to the point of connection with the city. Molitor
Plumbing DOES report and WILL testify that the entire length of my private sewer
lateral line is TOTALLY INTACT and CLEAN AS A WHISTLE, save for the broken
connection point with the city under Bluff Street.
On several occasions Mr. Tim Link with the City of Dubuque Health Department
has dumped tracer dye down my toilet while his associate pulled a manhole cover
near Carnegie-Stout Public Library to record and observe for any sign of dye. None
is ever seen, however, and now we know why because everything is busted right
at the city's main in the middle of Bluff Street.
Issues with my sewer system first manifested in January 2014 when a raw sewage
backup occurred in the lower level of my house causing damage to my kitchen
and floors. At that time I spent more than $1,500 out-of-pocket to try and fix the
problem. Other damage incurred was to my sewer "cleanout stem" outside the
house which had to be repaired and recapped. All of the sewer problems that
have been happening here for almost two years now can ultimately be traced
back to what is clearly the root of the problem -- the collapsed sewer line at the
city's connection point in the middle of Bluff Street.
16) Why do you claim the City of Dubuque is Responsible?
It is both reasonable and likely to conclude that this sewer collapse underneath
Bluff Street has been caused in large part by the regular and ongoing occurrence
of vehicular traffic from above over these many many years of use. Furthermore I
do note that I carry specific "Sewer/Septic Insurance" through HomeServe USA to
cover such emergency breakdowns to my sewer line but they WILL NOT perform
any more work because the collapsed portion is NOT on my property (please see
attached "Letter of Denial." Additionally I can report that the service technicians
from Molitor Plumbing (who work extensively throughout the Tri-States area)
indicated that if this particular issue were to arise in ANY OTHER city where they
do licensed work, the municipality in play would be fixing the problem in their
street no questions asked. "Only in Dubuque" they said.
It is my understanding that there are several other municipalities in Iowa (Quad
Cities, for example) that have in place "No-fault sewer backup reimbursement
programs" where there is a Reimbursement limit of $7,500 per building, per year
for all costs and damages. If anyone with the city connected with this case knows
of such a plan like this in Dubuque that I might be able to avail myself of please
advise.