Residents say town water main burst damaged property; ask board to correct incident report and seek compensation

Mike and Lori Mitchell told the Jonesborough Board of Mayor and Aldermen that a town water main burst in front of their property on Feb. 26 (date provided by speakers) caused tens of thousands of dollars in damage and asked the board to take steps to investigate and remedy the situation.

The Mitchells said Jonesborough Water Department employees told them the break was caused when an employee turned service back on "at full force instead of gradually and blew our main." They said Water Department Director Chris Christian and Assistant Director Bernard Murray apologized at the scene and instructed them to file a claim at town hall. The Mitchells said Public Entity Partners (PEP), the town's insurer, denied their claim and that PEP told them there was "no employee error." The Mitchells said PEP would not disclose whether town employees were interviewed.

They told the board they had sent a public records request to Town Recorder Janet Jennings and received a water-department incident report on June 3 that they say omitted the employee-error account and instead included a statement signed by Coburn Rasnick attributing the break to a rock truck. The Mitchells say there was no truck at their property, and they characterized the differing accounts as either an error or a falsification.

The Mitchells requested that the board: 1) interview all water-department employees who were on-site that day, including Chris Christian and Bernard Murray; 2) correct the water-department incident report if it is inaccurate; 3) notify PEP with any corrected report; 4) ensure they are fairly compensated by PEP or the town; and 5) ensure their May 5 public records request is fulfilled and that their photos and statement be included in the meeting record. They asked for an in-person follow-up with the town attorney, and the mayor suggested they meet with town attorney Jim Wheeler after the meeting for an update.

The board did not make a decision on liability or compensation during the meeting. Town Administrator Glenn Rosenoff acknowledged receipt of the Mitchells' correspondence earlier and said the matter had been turned over to the town attorney; the mayor offered to let the Mitchells meet with the attorney after the meeting. The Mitchells said they had not received substantive responses to several emails and that the town's incident report contradicted eyewitness accounts they said were available.