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Show Basemen Sewage Streets flrasecufiifly ; By LE ANN BLODGETT . "Do we sleep at night or do we worry about the gurgles?" Milt Shaum asked the Bountiful Boun-tiful City Council. He and five other residents on South Main . had their basements flooded J with six to eight inches of raw j ; sewage in March. ; "NO ACTION will be ! : taken," was the report of the j : Gulf Insurance Company in I : response to claims for ' damage. The council agreed : that relations with the in-; in-; surance company had been ' poor and that no sewer i damage claims had been paid ! in the past in behalf of the city, j "It is poor relations to have ' an insurance company representing the city yet we must go through legal proceedings to get recourse," said Mr. Shaum. HE WAS out of town when it happened, leaving his wife with the responsibility of having hav-ing the sewage hauled out. John O'Hara, another resident effected by the damage, said his business located in his basement, was closed for seven days. "That is my sole livelihood," he said. ANOTHER resident said he had stood for two hours on a board over the drain with his other hand trying to put pressure pres-sure on the commode. The council said they were in complete sympathy but were unable to provide a solution solu-tion to the claims. Mayor Morris Swapp, who has been a member of the League of Cities Cit-ies and Towns for many years says this is a problem with all cities. THE PROBLEM has been discussed at many council meetings through the years. The council fears too much expense and too many claims if the city becomes its own insurer. in-surer. James C. Burns, a resident effected by the damage, explained the system and suggested sug-gested a change in the length of the falls. A SIMILAR claim was paid for damages in 1965 in the same area. Since then, Millcreek Junior High School has been added to the system, he said. City Engineer Jack Balling explained a method that would offer relief but wouldn't.be an assurance of complete elimination of the problem. THE SYSTEM in that particular par-ticular area is on a four-tenths percent grade-minimum state standards, he pointed out. Even though the sewer line is being televised there is no way to retain proof of the reason for clogging. "The proof went down the drain," said a resident, and City Attorney At-torney Layne Forbes agreed. MAYOR MORRIS Swapp said he felt taxpayers wouldn't want every claim paid. Many clogging situations are caused by disposable diapers or industries in-dustries overtaxing it. Even a main line can be clogged by a private resident. Mr. Forbes explained that the insurance is "liability" and not "casualty" and that adjusters are cold and hard hearted. "YOU BECOME a part of a sick society when you are forced to sue in these cases," said Mr. Shaum. The council agreed with his suggestion to find a better way of handling the problem. Mr. O'Hara complained about the public relations of the insurance adjusters. "I was standing in eight inches when an insurance adjuster came to the bottom step. HE ANNOUNCED himself, presented his card and proceeded to go into a speech about rights and that his ap-. ap-. pearance didn't constitute guilt. Then he wheeled on his heel and left," said Mr. O'Hara. Councilman Warde Tolman suggested that a small fee be charged to each of Bountiful's 8000 connections and be used for insurance. MR. FORBES said that if the city were to handle the legal defense they would have to hire additional staff and expertise. |