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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday, March 19,2012 <br /> Page 15 <br /> Councilmember Willmus questioned if this policy applied to residential or com- <br /> mercial connections, opining that this could significantly affect the discussion. <br /> Mayor Roe opined that if the City is liable, the City is liable, whether residential <br /> or commercial users; however, in instances where a maintenance program is in <br /> place for the sewer system, but issues still occur, if the City was determined at <br /> fault, the City's insurance coverage would still handle those issues. <br /> Mayor Roe suggested that future discussions could benefit from staff's research <br /> with insurance companies on what options were available for commercial and/or <br /> residential properties. Mayor Roe also recommended, since any program or poli- <br /> cy would impact and increase utility payer fees, that a Public Hearing be included <br /> in the process in the future to determine the interest of rate payers in such a policy <br /> or program for that purpose. <br /> Councilmember McGehee opined that backflow preventers were much more read- <br /> ily available in commercial versus residential applications. <br /> Mayor Roe suggested additional research by staff to determine if insurance com- <br /> panies provided any decreased premiums or benefits if a backflow device had <br /> been installed. <br /> Mr. Schwartz reviewed ongoing and recent City staff efforts in educating the pub- <br /> lic on sewer backups and their prevention. <br /> Education Effort <br /> • Step up communication of prevention <br /> • Homeowner insurance coverage rider <br /> • Backflow prevention <br /> • Minimize flushable wipes, etc. <br /> Councilmember Johnson expressed his appreciation for the enlightening presenta- <br /> tion on items staff actually got out of the City's sewer system. Councilmember <br /> Johnson expressed his support of a fee-based solution to provide additional pro- <br /> tection to property owners, particularly having a sanitation company readily <br /> available for citizens. Councilmember Johnson opined that something positive <br /> could come out of past problematic issues; and further consideration would need <br /> to be given to how retroactive the policy should be. <br /> Councilmember McGehee referenced the staff brochure included in the RCA ma- <br /> terials, opining that further clarification was needed explaining what it was, how it <br /> happened, and where a sewer back-up could occur. Councilmember McGehee <br /> suggested that staff provide a list of plumbing companies vetted by the City, or a <br />