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Resident says town pipe caused years of damage, alleges town offered repairs if she dropped lawsuit
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Summary
Chelsea Covell told the board a civil engineer found a town pipe leaking into her yard and said the town offered to fix the damage only if she dropped a lawsuit; she called the town’s failure to act for six years negligent and said she has sought counsel.
Chelsea Covell, who identified herself to the board as living at 295 Suzanne Drive, told officials she has endured years of property damage she attributed to Oakland’s storm infrastructure. "He even assessed the plastic lining and the rear storm drain tying into the leaking drain on my property stating that it is Oakland's pipe leaking and it's their responsibility to to maintain them," Covell said during public comment.
Covell said she retained a civil engineer, who visited her property and pronounced himself "in shock of the extent of the damages" and "appalled by why the town hasn't fixed it," according to her remarks. She said the engineer spoke with town staff on March 27 and that she received a phone call on March 30 telling her "the town would absolutely fix my issue if I dropped my lawsuit. But if I didn't, then he and the town couldn't help me."
Covell asked the board why the town had not resolved the problem "from the start 6 years ago" and said she sought legal counsel because she believes negligence and a lack of resolution forced her to that step.
Town staff did not make a detailed factual response on the record to Covell's allegation that a town official conditioned repairs on dropping litigation. The board heard her account as part of the public comment period but there was no formal motion, vote or immediate staff direction recorded in the transcript that would commit the town to action.
Why the matter matters: Covell's statement raises two separate issues for residents and the board — whether a town pipe and storm infrastructure caused private property damage and whether any town representative implied repairs were contingent on the withdrawal of litigation. Both allegations, if accurate, could affect the town’s liability exposure and require an administrative response or investigation.
What happens next: The transcript records Covell's request and her statement that she has sought counsel. The board did not record a vote or a directive in the public comment segment. If the town chooses to investigate, officials would typically ask staff to review engineering findings, procurement records and prior repair requests and then report back to the board; no such follow-up was recorded in the meeting transcript.
Clarifying detail: Covell said the engineer named RDS (an East company) inspected the site and also spoke to Dennis Mullins and Ken King, an engineer who signed a 2021 survey; she reported she was told by town staff in a March 30 call that repairs might depend on dropping litigation.
