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Gardiner council advances Water Street flood-response code after debate over 48-hour remediation and insurance
Summary
Councilors moved a revised Water Street flood-response ordinance to a second reading but debated the practicality of a 48-hour remediation requirement and asked staff to clarify how the rule will interact with insurance adjuster inspections.
The Gardiner City Council on April 2 advanced changes to the city code chapter 17.8, a Water Street flood-response ordinance, to a second reading after extended discussion about remediation timelines and insurance coordination.
The draft before council includes requirements triggered when buildings flood; one corrected redline clarifies that "if the electrical meter box or other electrical components of the building were flooded ... they must be inspected by a licensed electrician and repaired/replaced as necessary." Councilors and staff said the word "flooded" had been missing in an earlier draft and was corrected in the version presented at the public hearing.
Why it matters: The ordinance aims to protect building integrity along Water Street by specifying inspections and remediation after flood events. Councilors pressed staff on how quickly property owners would be required to remove water-damaged material and whether that timeline would conflict with insurance adjuster access and claim processes.
Council discussion and concerns Mark Cohn, councillor, raised concerns that the draft council received differed from an earlier posted version and that insurance interests had flagged the "48 hours" target as difficult to meet. Cohn said he had consulted an insurance professional who advised that an adjuster should inspect losses before significant remediation occurs.
"I had reached out to an insurance person to get their comments, and much... of their comments dealt with the 48 hours to try to get something, action to clean out the basement after such a thing," Cohn said. "One of the points that the insurance person made was that you shouldn't do anything until after an adjuster surveys the situation prior to moving forward."
Councillor Tim Cusick responded that in many flood events insurance adjusters may not arrive for "two or three weeks," and urged reasonable flexibility while emphasizing the need to prevent mold and further structural damage. "A lot of times, they'll just tell you to take pictures ... and then turn that over to them," Cusick said. "As long as you got pictures and stuff, the insurance company will work with you."
Council reaction and next steps Councilors discussed whether to refer the ordinance back to the Ordinance Review Committee for specific insurance-related language or to proceed to a second reading with an instruction to staff and ORC to address insurance coordination. The council ultimately moved the item to a second reading, with staff directed to provide a redlined version that reflects the corrected wording and to consider language that accounts for insurance adjuster timelines and documentation practices.
The council noted the ordinance's intent is to protect buildings from rapid mold growth and electrical hazards; staff and ORC will return with clarified text for the April 16 second reading. Until council adopts final language at second reading, no new enforcement authority beyond existing code enforcement practice was enacted at this meeting.
