RES 15-52CITY OF OTSEGO
COUNTY OF WRIGHT
STATE OF MINNESOTA
RESOLUTION NO: 2015-52
RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING LIMITED CLEAN UP AND
PROPERTY DAMAGE PROTECTION FOR SEWER BACK-UPS AND
WATER MAIN BREAKS FOR WATER AND SEWER CUSTOMERS
WHEREAS, the City of Otsego 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's sanitary sewer lines may cause the back-
up of sewage into properties that are connected to those City's sanitary lines; and
WHEREAS, water main breaks and sewer back-ups pose a public health and safety concern; and
WHEREAS, it may be difficult to determine the exact cause and responsibility for a water main
break or sanitary sewer back-ups and
WHEREAS, the City desires to encourage the expeditious clean-up of properties that have
encountered damage from water main breaks and sewer back-ups; and
WHERAS, the City desires to minimize the potential of expensive lawsuits arising out of water
main breaks and sanitary sewer back-up claims; and
WHEREAS, the City is a member of the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust (LMCIT);
and
WHEREAS, LMCIT has offered the City limited "no fault" sewer coverage and water main break
coverage (No -Fault Coverage) that will reimburse users of the water and sewer system for certain
clean-up costs and property damage regardless of whether the City is at fault.
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, as follows:
The City, will reimburse water and sanitary sewer customers for up to $25,000 of clean-up costs
and property damages caused by a water main break or sanitary sewer back-up, regardless of
whether the City is negligent or otherwise legally liable for damages, subject to the following
conditions:
I. Sanitary Sewer Back -Ups. For Sanitary sewer back-ups:
A. The back-up must have resulted from a condition in the City'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 any catastrophic weather or other event which
has been declared by the President of the United States to be a major disaster pursuant to
42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5206, commonly known as the Stafford Act.
C. The back-up must not have been caused by an interruption in electric power to the City's
sewer system or to any City lift station, which continues for more than 72 hours.
D. The back-up must not have been caused by an amount of precipitation equivalent to rainfall
amounts which exceed:
0 2.0 inches in a 1 -hour period; or
0 2.5 inches in a 3 -hour period; or
0 3.0 inches in a 6 -hour period; or
0 3.5 inches in a 12 -hour period; or
0 4.0 inches in a 24-hour period; or
0 4.5 inches in a 72 -hour period; or
0 5.5 inches in a 168 -hour period.
E. Neither the City 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 or LMCIT will reimburse is $25,000 per building, per
year. A structure or group of structures served by a single connection to the City's sewer
system is considered a single building.
II. Water Main Breaks. For water main breaks:
A. Neither the City 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
B. The maximum amount that the City or LMCIT will reimburse is $25,000 to any claimant,
regardless of the number of occurrences or the number of properties affected.
C. Neither the City 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 $25,000.
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.
III. The City's determination to make these payments is contingent on and expressly limited to
the extent that No -Fault Coverage is in force and available to reimburse the City for the costs set
forth herein.
IV. The City retains the right, in its sole discretion, to revoke, rescind, or modify this resolution at
any time.
V. The City hereby rescinds any prior resolution providing no-fault sewer backup coverage and
water main break coverage.
ADOPTED by the Otsego City Council this 28th day of September, 2015.
MOTION made by Council Member
Schroeder
Heidner
CITY OF OTSEGO
(),& MAAA &X Y -
Jessica Stockamp, Aayor
ATTEST:
Aajrm-�—(" *91-)� —
Tami Lo f, City Clerk
and SECONDED by Council Member
IN FAVOR: Stockamp, Schroeder, Heidner, Darkenwald, Warehime
OPPOSED: None