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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Resolution 2023-074 C ITY OF P LYMOUTH R ESOLUTION N O. 2023-074 R ESOLUTION E STABLISHING L IMITED C LEAN-U P A ND P ROPERTY D AMAGE P ROTECTION F OR S EWER B ACK-U PS A ND W ATER M AIN B REAKS F OR W ATER A ND S EWER C USTOMERS WHEREAS, the City of Plymouth provides water and sanitary sewer services to property within its jurisdiction; and WHEREAS, water main breaks may cause water to enter into property causing damage; and WHEREAS, blockages or other conditions in the City of Plymouth’s sanitary sewer lines may cause the back-up of sewage into properties that are connected to those City of Plymouth’s sanitary lines; and WHEREAS, water main breaks and sewer back-ups pose a public health and safety concern; and WHEREAS, it is often difficult to determine the exact cause and responsibility for water main breaks and sanitary sewer back-ups; and WHEREAS, the governing body of the City of Plymouth desires to encourage the expeditious clean-up of properties that have encountered damage from water main breaks and sewer back-ups; and WHEREAS, the governing body of the City of Plymouth desires to minimize the potential of expensive lawsuits arising out of water main breaks and sanitary sewer back-up claims; and WHEREAS, the City of Plymouth is a member of the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT); and WHEREAS, LMCIT has offered the City of Plymouth limited “no fault” sewer coverage and water main break coverage that will reimburse users of the water and sewer system for certain clean-up costs and property damage regardless of whether the City of Plymouth is at fault. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA, as follows: The City of Plymouth, as part of the contract for providing water and sewer services to the customers of the City of Plymouth, and in consideration of the payment of water and sewer bills, agrees to reimburse water and sanitary sewer customers for up to $40,000 of clean-up costs and property damages caused by a water main break or sanitary sewer back-up, regardless of whether the City of Plymouth is negligent or otherwise legally liable for damages, subject to the following conditions: Resolution 2023-074 Page 2 I. Sanitary Sewer Back-Ups. For Sanitary sewer back-ups: A. The back-up must have resulted from a condition in the City of Plymouth’s sanitary sewer system or lines, and not from a condition in a private line. B. The back-up must not have been caused by catastrophic weather or other events for which Federal Emergency Management Assistance is available. C. The back-up must not have been caused by an interruption in electric power to the City of Plymouth’s sewer system or to any City of Plymouth lift station, which continues for more than 72 hours. D. The back-up must not have been caused by rainfall or precipitation that would constitute a 100- year storm as determined by the National Weather Service. E. Neither the City of Plymouth nor LMCIT will reimburse any costs which have been or are eligible to be covered under a property owner’s own homeowners’ or other property insurance, or which would be eligible to be reimbursed under a National Flood Insurance Protection (NFIP) policy, whether or not the property owner actually has NFIP Coverage. F. The maximum amount that the City of Plymouth or LMCIT will reimburse is $40,000 per building, per year. In this regard, a structure or group of structures served by a single connection to the City of Plymouth’s sewer system is considered a single building. II. Water Main Breaks. For water main breaks: A. LMCIT will pay for claims presented by the City of Plymouth for water main break damage to property of others which was not caused by the City of Plymouth’s negligence. B. Neither the City of Plymouth nor LMCIT will pay for damages or expenses for which the property owner has been or is eligible to be reimbursed by any homeowners’ or other property insurance. C. The maximum amount that the City of Plymouth or LMCIT will reimburse is $40,000 to any claimant, regardless of the number of occurrences or the number of properties affected. D. Neither the City of Plymouth nor LMCIT will pay more than $250,000 for water main break damages resulting from any single occurrence. All water main break damage which occurs during any period of 72 consecutive hours is deemed to result from a single occurrence. If the total water main break damage for all claimants in a single occurrence exceeds $250,000, the reimbursement to each claimant will be calculated as follows: 1. A preliminary reimbursement figure is established for each claimant, equal to the lesser of the claimant’s actual damages or $40,000. 2. The sum of the preliminary reimbursement figures for all claimants will be calculated. 3. Each claimant will be paid a percentage of his or her preliminary reimbursement figure, equal to the percentage calculated by dividing $250,000 by the sum of all claimants’ preliminary reimbursement figures. APPROVED by the City Council on this 14th day of March, 2023.