Council to pursue reimbursement from contractor after sewer lining clogged resident’s service

Plankinton’s City Council voted to pursue reimbursement from the contractor that performed a recent sewer-lining job after the lining filled and blocked a long-troubled residential service.

At the meeting staff (Public Works) described the problem: a service line connection that had been improperly constructed decades earlier was filled when the lining crew pushed a liner through the main sewer line and then failed to cut out the old connection. The staff member said the lining crew had the project mapping and the camera records and therefore “should have known” to restore the service connection, and that the city incurred expenses to dig and correct the connection.

Council discussed whether the city was negligent and how the contract with the prime contractor (identified in the packet as H and W) allocated responsibility for subcontractor work. The council asked staff to review the contract language and pursue a claim against H and W for the city's out-of-pocket expenses. A motion (moved by Nathan, seconded by Jim) to request H and W reimburse the city for roughly $4,300 in expenses passed.

Council instructed staff to compile the invoices and contract documents and to return with a recommended claim package. Staff also noted there is a separate, outstanding claim from the lining crew that will be processed as part of the review.

What happens next: staff will review the contract, assemble documentation of the city’s expenses (bills were discussed in open session), and pursue formal reimbursement from the contractor; council will be updated when staff has the claim package.