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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1977-11-15; City Council; 5253; Disputed bill for servicesCITY OF CARLSBAD AGENDA BILL NO. OATE: November 15, 1977 Initial: && Dept. Hd. ' DEPARTMENT:Public Works C. Atty. C. Mgr. Subject: DISPUTED BILL FOR SERVICES; MICHAEL STRAUB Statement of the Matter Mr. Michael Straub is protesting to Council a billing of $278.89 for service provided by the Water Department relating to construction at Park Drive and Monroe Street. A report and justification of the billing is contained as Exhibit A. Correspondence relating to the matter is contained in Exhibit B. EXHIBITS: A. Memo from Director of Utilities & Maintenance to City Manager of October 24, 1977. B. Correspondence relating to protested bill. RECOMMENDATION: If Council concurs with staff that billings to Mr. Straub are correct, direct staff to pursue collection through Small Claims Court. Council Action: 11-15-77 Council concurred with staff that the billing to Mr. Straub is correct, and directed staff to pursue collection through Small Claims Court. 77-211 October 24, 1977 MEMORANDUM TO: City Manager FROM: Director of Utilities & Maintenance SUBJECT: Disputed Billing; Case of Michael Straub Mr. Michael Straub is protesting a billing from the Water Division in the amount of $278.79. The billing was submitted to him for payment to cover costs incurred because of three incidents relating to his construction work at Park & Monroe. These costs were beyond those which were charged to him for installation of services and other work relating to existing services (no charge was required on the latter) which was completed on April 14, 1977. It should be pointed out that when our crew was performing this work in April, they were advised that the grade stakes were set and that no further grading was required. (See attached). INCIDENT #1 - occurred on or about June 15, 1977. Street Department personnel reported observing water being used from a City hydrant to wet down the unpaved, dirt portion of the street and that no meter was attached to the hydrant. Chet Backus and Paul Partain went to location to investigate. A construction meter had been obtained, but was not being used because of the inconvenience. Chet Backus' statement is attached. A charge of $50 was billed for the estimated amount of water that had been used since it appeared that they had not been using the construction meter when wetting down the street. There was no use of water without using a meter after the warning, to the best of my knowledge. INCIDENT #2 - occurred on July 12, 1977 and is described on the attached work order as Break #1. This was caused by grading which broke an exsiting 1" service. Mr. Straub is correct in stating that the existing service was high, however it was our understanding that grading had been completed in April when our crews were on the job site. It should be pointed out that the Water Department was not notified that grading would be going on, so we could have provided a man to mark the service and/or verify the depth of cover. It is the contractors responsibility to verify the depth by potholing over any existing line or by whatever other means necessary to ensure that his work does not cause damage to existing utilities (water, electric, telephone, etc.). Charges relating to this incident include replacing the 1" service, various connections, meter box, and 12 hours of labor. Michael Straub (continued)-2-October 24, 1977 INCIDENT #3 - occurred on July 18, 1977 just north of the previous break and involved the replacement of a 2" valve. This break was caused because of additional grading which was required by the City Engineer Inspector to provide for curb transition. The Water Depart- ment was not advised and a valve was broken - charges relating to this incident are indicated as break #2. Charges for this include only the costs of the replacement valve at $33.12. The valve was protected by a meter box. The following is a breakdown of the billing by incident: INCIDENT #1 INCIDENT #2 INCIDENT #3 TOTAL $ 50.00 195.76 33.13 $ 278.89 Mr. Straub is challenging the billing on the basis that the work required was due to the negligence of the City. I believe that to be a false allegation for the following reasons: 1. Construction meters are provided to be used when drawing water from a hydrant. Mr. Straub did pay for all water registered through his meter - the fact remains that water was used which was not metered and our Code authorizes the Water Superintendent to make a reasonable estimate of water used that is unmetered. 2. The Water Department work crew was advised in April that grading was complete. 3. No requests for line markings or assistance in locating lines was made. 4. Responsibility to avoid existing utilities is the responsibility of the persons doing the work. I believe there is full justification for the charges and enough evidence can be provided to support this claim in Small Claims Court. ROGEBPW. GREER Director of Utilities & Maintenance Attachment RWG:pag MICHAEL STRAUB General Contractor Lie. #300125 P. 0. Box 1306 , __CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA 92008 September 2/, City of Carlsbad City Council 1200 Elm Avenue Carlsbad CA 92008 RE: Invoice for 1" copper service at Monroe and Park Dear Council Persons: The above referenced invoice is hereby protested for the reasons as follows: 1. The water used for dust control was fully metered. See last bill of $98.53 meter No. 378.001. It was on the job for the entire duration and used each time the street was watered. Meter was supplied and picked up by Carlos. 2. While you did lower the service as necessitated by the street im- provements it was not on an emergency basis. Upon breaking the service the end was bent and sealed to stop the flow. The water de- partment was then notified. The work was then scheduled to fit your work load and remained broken for a number of days as it was not used. The water department was not notified beforehand as services are not normally so high that a tractor removing paving and grading for curb will hit them. Please see attached invoice and previous correspondence. ,/?/ I) /?<3L Phone (714) 729-4484 1200 ELM AVENUE «, Xs^ ri TELEPHONE: CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA 92008 VV«Or (//"I (714)729-1181 Ctt? of Cartebatr November 16, 1977 Michael Straub General Contractor P.O. Box 1306 Carlsbad, California 92008 Dear Mr. Straub: Your protest addressed to the City Council on September 27, 1977, of a bill from the City of Carlsbad in the amount of $278.89 was heard and denied by Council at their regular meeting of November 15, 1977. Accordingly, I have requested the Director of Finance to deduct this amount from a refund of $426.80 due to you for a IV service connection at 255 Tamarack that was not installed. A warrant will be processed and forwarded in the amount of $147.91 in the near future. Sincerely, . GREER Director of Utilities & Maintenance RWG:pag 77-203 W.-274 October 13, 1977 MEMORANDUM TO: Utilities Superintendent FROM: Water Pump Foreman SUBJECT: Unauthorized use of water On approximately June 15, 1977, I had a call from Dave Hall in the Streets Department that someone was drawing water at the hydrant located at the corner of Park and Monroe without a meter. It was approximately 5:00 PM and I told Paul Partain to come with me to check on it. When we got there, there was a fellow watering the road with a IV hose from a fire hydrant and no meter was attached to the hydrant. I asked him where his meter was and he said he forgot to put it on. I told him to get it on and there would probably be a charge for the water he had just drawn. CHESTER BACKUS Water Pump Foreman CB:jlc