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<br />Scott Rothrum stated that he has been bringing up this issue for a long time. <br /> <br />Peter Larson, 15380 Xkimo Street asked what the purpose of the liner was. <br /> <br />Chair Elvig clarified that the developer came to the City and said he needed a drainage area, so <br />the City said here is how big it needs to be, then the developer came back and said he wanted to <br />c have a pond because we think it will help sell homes, then the City said well, okay, if you want <br />to build a pond, that is your prerogative, so here is what you need to do. He said at that point, it <br />is between the developer and the homeowners. <br /> <br />Peter Larson asked what the purpose of the inspection is. <br /> <br />Chair Elvig stated that it wasn't to inspect the liner, but the pond and the drainage. <br /> <br />Public Works Director Olson stated that an analogy to think about is, if a development puts in an <br />elaborate entrance monument that 5 years later is hit by a car and destroyed. He stated that the <br />City would not come and replace that because it helped the area look good. He stated that he <br />completely understands the concern and frustration the homeowners have in this situation. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen stated that from a legal perspective, in order to "go after" somebody, you <br />have to show that they were somehow responsible for the problem and, in this case, nobody even <br />knows what the problem is. He stated that the burden of proof is on the plaintiff. He stated that <br />with regard to City inspections, it is not up to the City to catch every single thing, but to have. <br />general oversight. He reiterated that he would like to see a consensus from the homeowners on <br />what they would like to see happen with the $30,000. <br /> <br />Chair Elvig asked if he was looking for a consensus of what the residents would like to do with <br />the $30,000 and then ask the City for the funds. <br /> <br />Councilmember Dehen stated that the City could have the $30,000 available for the residents to <br />use to fix the problem or consult a lawyer. <br /> <br />Councilmember Olson stated that Arcon was willing to release the funds to the City to remedy <br />the situation, not to give to the residents to turn around and sue them with it. <br /> <br />Public Works Director Olson stated that this is also his concern. He stated that he is not in favor <br />of setting a precedent of having the City take this on, but the money could be put towards a <br />remedy without the City taking responsibility for it. <br /> <br />Assistant City Engineer Himmer read aloud the letter received from Arcon stating that the City <br />can use the escrow funds to work with Westwood to fix the problem. He stated that he is unsure <br />what the residents recourse would be ifthe problem still isn't fixed. <br /> <br />Nick Steblay stated that it appears unlikely that the residents could sue Arcon successfully and <br />the process could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. He stated that the residents are kind of <br /> <br />Public Works Committee / June 17,2008 <br />Page 5 of 11 <br />