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Two damage claims draw council attention; one claim pulled for further review
Summary
Council heard two public claims involving tree damage to commercial and personal vehicles. A claim by Randy Kush for a box truck that struck a low branch (~$10,000) was defended by city law as a non‑negligence case; the council voted to pull Michael Case's denied claim for further review after the claimant said the city had flagged the tree for pruning in 2025.
During the report of new and pending claims, two members of the public described damage they say resulted from city trees. Randy Kush, owner of 7 Day Furniture, said a June 9 incident in which one of his delivery trucks struck an overhanging limb at 11230 N 53rd Street caused more than $10,000 in damage; he said the city denied his claim and the assistant city attorney concluded the driver should have seen the limb. City law (Assistant City Attorney Sarah Rata) responded that city forestry records showed no prior report for that tree and that the facts differed from a prior claim that had been compensated.
Michael Case described a separate incident in which a limb from a city‑maintained tree fell onto his truck, causing about $7,000 in damage. Case said the city inspected the tree in 2025 and placed it on a maintenance list that was not acted on; he asked the council to direct risk management and the city attorney to reopen the denial. Assistant City Attorney Sarah Rata said city law would have no objection to placing Case's claim back on pending to allow direct discussion; the council later amended the claims report to pull Case's claim for further review (motion to amend carried 7–0).
