Public Mediation

City of Lansing, MI-Dispute-#1311897

L. F. vs. City Of Lansing, Mi
124 W. Michigan Avenue, City Hall, Lansing, Michigan, 48933, United States
Amount Involved: $67,000.00
    • Status: In Negotiation
      This claim has posted for public comment and negotiation. It will remain posted until resolved to the claimant's satisfaction. Suggest a resolution to help these parties reach a settlement.
       (seeking public comment)
    • Claimant Seeks: 1 non-monetary items.
    • Claim #: 1311897
    • Amount Involved: 67,000.00
    • Filed On: Apr 20, 2012
    • Posted On: May 01, 2012
    • Complaint(s):
      • Public nuisance
      • Public waste
      • Public health hazard
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Statement of Claim
Complaints Involved (5) - View
Claimant says:
"On July 28, 2011 we had a flood / backed up sewers in our neighborhood and there were 6 of 7 homes red tagged and 3 out of 4, including ours, that had basements, had basement walls collapse. We had to take out a loan for $34,000 to just fix our basement. We are still trying to get our home in livable condition but on March 22, 2012 with only, per internet reportings, .04 inches of rain it started flooding again. Since it was a short rain the homes were not hurt but the manhole covers popped off then the road severely flooded. This has been happening since I moved there 23 years but has gotten A LOT worse since the 7/28/11 flood. It used to take A LOT MORE to flood the road. The City of Lansing admits the drains/sewers cannot handle the rain but it would cost too much to fix the issue and though they admit it would be cheaper to buy us affected home owners out, they have no money for that either. Though it did not matter that we did not have the $34,000 to fix our home. After being ignored and ignored by the City of Lansing after finding they had been meeting on the issue unbeknownst to us, I then INSISTED we be included in the meetings. As of 3/7 they were saying they were applying for a grant to hopefully buy us out though it would be not until 2014 before we would see the money. Then on 3/21 they said in a meeting the next step to applying for the grant was to do elevation studies of the homes and send us damage surveys which they would send the following week. After not getting it I spent a week trying to get an answer to an email about the surveys and after contacting someone I found they were no longer doing elevation studies or surveys and were going in another direction though he did not know what that was. I asked who did and he did not know. After day before the next scheduled meeting of 4/18 I got in contact with the Public Services Chair SHE did not even know why it was not being done. As of our 4/18 meeting the director of Public Services decided he does NOT want to even file for the grant, they have no money and it is OUR responsibility. What are we to do? Dig up the road and put in new sewers and drains ourselves? SOMETHING is causing this severe flooding and loss of homes. After all the tragedy we have to go thru we should not have to keep chasing the City down and try to get answers. The City has to take responsibility for their drains/sewers that are destroying our neighborhood. They did some "work" on a sink hole that appeared right after the 7/28/11 flood and after trying to get info on what was done via Freedom of Information Act I was sent for a "work order" a copy of "someone's" March 9 desk calendar with handwritten notes on what was supposedly done. Really? the City of Lansing that has a job that takes 4 workers 8 hrs and 1 worker 4 hrs to do the ONLY thing they have to show for it is a hand scribbled calendar? And they are paying workers with taxpayer dollars off this hand scribbled calendar? The orig patch job on 7/29/11 that took 1 person less than hr was on OFFICIAL work order that said Lansing Public Services...but yet a lot more major job was on "someone's calendar" that did not say who wrote it or that it was even the City of Lansing? Or was that NOT the true work order? We have A LOT of questions and are DESPERATE for a safe place to live and the City of Lansing just thinks because "they have no money" that it is ok to let their citizens/taxpayers live in unsafe homes. Please we need any help with this issue we can get."
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What Claimant Wants Hide
Non-Cash
What By When How Much
1. Repair: sewer /drain system to prevent flooding Jul 01, 2012 N/A
Cash
1. Compensation: Damaged home that is unsafe for future use Jul 01, 2012 $33,000.00
2. Damages: damaged basement Jul 01, 2012 $34,000.00
3. Other – Copy claim to regulators Jul 01, 2012 $14.95
4. Other – Pay for claim posting cost Jul 01, 2012 $7.95
Just make me happy!
Claimant invites City of Lansing, MI to make a fair offer to resolve this complaint.
Cash total : $67,022.90
Non-cash: 1 items
  • 0
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Respondent's Counteroffer

There has been no response to this claim from City of Lansing, MI. This claim will remain posted until resolved
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  • Comment: by Lynda Greene — Online mediator
    • On: 05-27-2012
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  • If the storm drains belong to the city surely they are supposed to keep them functioning properly? This sounds like a terrible situation and it ought to be corrected. Is there a grant you can get? Maybe a green space / recreational grant / obesity prevention grant - if the city bought you out and levelled the fields they could put baseball fields or fitness trails there with a big rain garden to handle the storm overflow.
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