3990 Rahn Rd - Claim for Sewer Service Repair
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LEAGUE of CONNECTING & INNOVATING
MINNESOTA SINCE 1913
CITIES
RECEIVED
July 16, 2009
Kim and Deb Morse JUL 7 2009
3990 Rahn Road EAGAN
Eagan, MN 55122 ENGINEERING D 'PARTM
Eagan,
LMCIT FILE NO.: 11069126
TRUST MEMBER: City of Eagan
CLAIMANT: Kim and Deb Morse
D/OCCURRENCE: 8-6-08
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Morse:
The League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT) provides coverage to our trust member,
the city of Eagan. I have concluded my investigation into the sewer service connection repairs,
and found no negligence on behalf of the city of Eagan. Therefore, I will be unable to make
payment for the charges you incurred from Hopke Sewer and Drain in the amount of $4,720.
You have not provided any evidence to show the exact location of the damage within the sewer
service. The city did not receive any notice of a problem until your contractor, Hopke Sewer and
Drain, completed the repairs. Therefore, we can only assume the damage was located within your
private sewer service which you bear the responsibility to maintain.
We regret we cannot provide you with a more favorable resolution to your claim. If you have any
questions, my direct dial is 651-215-4060.
Sincerely,
Phillip S. Trebatoski
Claims Adjuster
c: Maria Peterson, city of Eagan
Tom Colbert, city of Eagan
Brian Pulczinski, LMCIT
Ann Stanton, Arthur Gallagher Risk Management Services, Inc.
LEAGUE OF MINNESOTA CITIES
INSURANCE TRUST 145 UNIVERSITY AVE. WEST PHONE: (651) 281-1200 FAx: (651) 281-1297
CLAIMS DEPARTMENT ST. PAUL, MN 55103-2044 TOLL FREE: (800) 925-1122 WEB: WWWLMC.ORG
City of Eap
Mike Maguire June 16, 2009
Mayor
Kim and Debra Morse
Paul Bakken 3990 Rahn Rd
Cyndee Fields Eagan, Mn 55122
Gary Hansen
Meg Tilley Re: Claim for Sever Service Repair Reimbursement
Council Members 3990 Rahn Rd
Thomas Hedges
City Administrator Dear Mr. & Mrs. Morse,
I am in receipt of your letter dated June 8, 2009 wherein you're requested reimbursement
for costs incurred to repair your sanitary sewer service on August 6, 2008. Thank you for
the detailed information and photos that you provided with your request. It is very
helpful.
Municipal Center the League of Minnesota Cities
I will forward this claim to the City's insurance carrier,
3830 Pilot Knob Road Insurance Trust (LMCIT) for processing.. They may contact you for additional
Eagan, MN 55122-1810
information as well..
651.675.5000 phone
651 675.5012 fax I can certainly understand how such an unexpected and expensive repair like this can be
651.454 8535 TDD unsettling to you as homeowners. It is regrettable that you had to endure this and we will
try to provide you with a timely response and resolution to your claim.
Maintenance Facility
3501 Coachman Point Sincerel
Eagan, MN 55122 4-
651.675.5300 phone
tax Thomas A.. Colbert, P:.E.
651.6755360
651 454 8535 TDD Director of Public Works
www.cityofeagan com
The Lone Oak Tree
The symbol of
strength and growth
in our community.
City of Eaaali Mello
To: MARIA PETERSEN, CITY CLERK
From: TOM COLBERT, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
Date: JUNE 16, 2009
Subject: SEWER SERVICE CLAIM - 3990 RAHN RD
On June 11, 2009, I received a claim requesting reimbursement for $4,720 in costs
incurred to repair an 6-8" residential cast iron pipe (CIP) sewer service connection to the
City's 12" clay sanitary sewer main located along the rear property line of the above
referenced property. (The photos submitted with the claim represent the completed
repair.) City personnel familiar with this claim are:
• Wayne Schwanz, Supt of Utilities who has denied this claim in discussions with
the property owner.
• Leon Weiland, Utility Inspector who only inspected the final repair work
• Charlie Borash, Utility Supervisor who has denied the claim in discussions with
the Property owner
The basis for City Staff denial is that no one from the City has any knowledge of the
extent of the damaged sewer service or its connection to the City's main line wye; nor
were they provided an opportunity to review the situation before the repairs were made.
The excavation and repair was done prior to any permit application and no photos of the
before condition or tapes of televising the service line been provided.
The "offset" referenced in the claim is most likely to be in the service pipe itself, or at its
point of connection to the City's main, because the main's wye is an integrated part of the
12" City sewer main. This offset (gap) would have been the logical source for the
referenced root intrusion, which subsequently may have cracked the weaker City main
clay pipe. Or the City's service wye may have broken during the repair of the offset in the
service pipe. City staff has no way of knowing the extent of the damages that existed
before the repair work was completed.
The City's policy has been that sewer service repairs are the responsibility of the property
owner up to the point of connection to the City's sewer main. The differentiation of
responsibility is unclear about problems related to the actual connection itself.
Please submit this to our insurance carrier. Any of us are available to discuss this further
if necessary.
Enc: Claim - 3990 Rahn Rd
Cc: Wayne Schwan (w/o enc)
KIM & DEB MORSE
3990 Rahn Road
Eagan, MN 55122
Phone (651)452-9369
Kmorse9369@comcastnt
June 8, 2009 RECEIVED
JUN 11 2009
Tom Colbert
3830 Pilot Knob Road EAGAN
Eagan, MN 55122-1897 ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT
Dear Mr. Colbert,
We live at the above address and have for ten years. In the last few years, we have been having
recurring sewer line backups. In the winter of 2007 after another backup, the plumber stated that
he could only get his 4 inch blade through the line. He said that his advice was to run a TV camera
down the line. When this was done he discovered that there was an 'offset' and that the only repair
was to dig up the line and repair it On August 6, 2008, Hopke Sewer and Drain, a
plumber/excavator company, dug up the line. They discovered that the city line was broken where
the line branches off from the main line. The city line is manufactured of clay, my line is cast iron.
The plumbers removed the broken portion of the city line and replaced it with a rubber facsimile
and covered it with concrete.
I have enclosed the bill from Hopke Sewer and Drain and pictures to verify the work and
expense I incurred. I attempted to speak to the city engineer for 2 weeks but he was not available. I
also talked to an assistant, who said he was told there was no liability for the city as there was no
way of proving it was the cities line that was broken. I told him there were pictures taken and one of
the city inspectors that stopped to see the work authorized the repair. Soon after this I had a
meeting with the city engineer. I was told that the seal used to seal the connection of my cast iron
pipe to the cities clay pipe had tree roots that had grown through it and that this is what had broken
the city's pipe. To quote him I believe he said 'the city does not consider this to be a failure of its
pipe. This seems to defy logic. Why did the city have to approve the repair if it was my
responsibility. I find it hard to believe this is city policy, if it is, it should be changed. Municipalities
should not see its taxpayers simply as unending revenue sources. One of the best examples is
for the city to compensate a taxpayer that has paid to fix the cities broken sewer pipe. Therefore, I
am requesting reimbursement in the amount of $4,720.00.
Thank you,
m Morse
XC: Tom Hedges - City Administrator
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