Claim by Catherine Helling THE CU�-�abE
DMEMORANDUM
Masterpiece on the Mississippi
TRACEY STECKLEIN
PARALEGAL
To: Mayor Roy D. Buol and
Members of the City Council
DATE: July 26, 2016
RE: Claim Against the City of Dubuque by Catherine Helling
Claimant Date of Claim Date of Loss Nature of Claim
Catherine Helling 07/22/16 06/13-06/15/16 Property Damage
This is a claim in which claimant alleges that a sewer backed up into claimant's home at
2025 Simpson Street.
This claim has been referred to Public Entity Risk Services of Iowa, the agent for the Iowa
Communities Assurance Pool.
cc: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
Denise Ihrig, Water Plant Manager
Catherine Helling
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
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.)
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13. What other damages do you claim, if any?
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14. Have you beencompensated fi r any part or all of your claim by any insurance
company? (If so, give name and address of insurance company and amount paid.)
15. What amount do you claim fro the Citof Dubuque?
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16. Why do you claim the City of Dubu ue i respopsibl ?�� r �
17. Have you made any claimJgainst anyonells'enf�d'a'mLages 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?
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Dated at Dubuque, Iowa this /eay of , 24
-L&A
(Signature)
(Print Name)
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(Rev. 7112) C
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letter
July 7, 2416
To whom it may concern:
we live at 2025 Simpson St in Dubuque. During the week of June 12, 2416 we were
experiencing plumbing issues.
on monday morning, we noticed water backing up through our water clean out drain in
our basement. we immediately contacted a plumber. we then noticed that there
was a sink hole developing in the street in front of our house.
T called the city and was directed to the public works and enegineering departments.
There was a crew sent up to our house to investigate* They told us that we
would definitely need to have a plumber come look at it but that they would also
have a camera crew come to the house to determine if there was issues with the
city sewer line. They told us that most likely we had a break in our line which
wascausing the back up,the hole and sinkage in the street.
Everytime we used any water it backed up in the house so we had to stay at a hotel
that night.
The next morning the camera crew came and found a separation in the city line but
said that we still needed to have a plumber come and put a camera down our line so
that we could confirm the status of our lines. They agreed with the first city crew
and said we had a break in our line.
The plumber came and removed the blockage that was causing the water backup. He
also ran the camera down our line all the way to the city sewer. They found nothing
wrong with our lines except for a dip where the blockage occurred.
The plumber then met with a city employee (I am not sure of which department or
mpoition). It was agreed upon that the city was responsible for
ing their line, our connection to the line and the dip that was created in our
line where the blockage occurred.
I have since spoken to the Engineering Department and have confirmed that this
repair will be completed.
I have included the two bills which we occurred from the plumber. The first one is
for the removal of the blockage in our line which was caused by the dip in our
line where the ground moved due to the sink hole and the other is for the camera
scoping of our line which was required by the city crews who came to our house.
Z would Qreatly appreciate a response regarding the status of payment of these bills
by the city of Dubuque.
Catherine Helling
2025 Simpson St
Dubuque, TA 52003
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