Homeowners in limbo after flooding damages homes near Fellows school

Ames Tribune (IA)

May 21--Several homeowners near Fellows Elementary School are waiting on potential compensation after a late September 2016 rainstorm damaged their properties.

Three homeowners have paid thousands of dollars in repair costs and have filed insurance claims with the Ames Community School District. At least in part, they pointed to the construction of the recently completed Fellows as the culprit for their flooded basements, heaving driveways and destroyed appliances.

Ames Superintendent Tim Taylor said the district's insurance company and insurance carrier for the Fellows project contractor -- Harold Pike Construction (HPC) -- are trying to determine if one of the parties is responsible for the damage. On behalf of the homeowners, the district's insurer had filed a claim against HPC's insurer, United Fire Group.

So for now, the homeowners have to play the waiting game.

Richard Barkosky, who lives at the corner of McKinley Drive and Hayes Avenue and is one of the claimants, has paid about $5,000 in restoration costs since stormwater made its way into his basement during the rainstorm.

"It kind of pointed to -- at the time, and I think still -- the project at the elementary school, and the engineering and the waterworks that went on there," Barkosky said.

According to Ames Tribune reporting, parts of Ames received more than 5 inches of rain the night of Sept. 22, 2016. Some unofficial reports on social media listed 6 or 7 inches.

Jon Applequist, another McKinley Drive claimant, said the rain that night filled the street and ran alongside his house before filling his basement with 7 feet of water.

"We've lived in this house for 52 years, and we've never had anything like that happen," he said.

Replacing all the appliances and the electrical system as well as other repair work has cost Applequist an estimated $30,000. The flooding even left his home unlivable for several days after ruining the utilities. He said, however, that he can't say for sure who's responsible for the damage. He made his original claim against the city of Ames, but it was denied.

"We know there was a lot of construction going on at Fellows school," he said. "We know there was a lot of water running off because they just constructed a new parking lot there, and that water was getting into the street."

Construction on Fellows finished in time for the beginning of the current school year. The school now sits on a plateau several feet above the houses behind it, immune to stormwater flowing downhill.

When asked if the fall flooding was caused by the Fellows construction, Taylor said he couldn't answer.

John Lippolis, who lives in one of the houses behind the school and also filed a claim with the school district, said the new Fellows school sits about 4 feet above where the original building stood. The September rainstorm sent water into his basement and garage. If more than 1 inch of rain falls within a few hours, water starts to flow down his driveway, which has recently began to crack and heave.

"I'm not an engineer," he told the Ames school board at its May 8 meeting, "but it seems to me that I'm the only one who knows water goes downhill, and I'm downhill."

Lippolis also told the board that he wasn't feeling heard by the district. Taylor said the he'd received his concerns and pointed to the ongoing dispute between the insurance companies.

"They're actually doing some finger pointing at each other, I'd imagine, which is kind of a normal process until it breaks down somewhere," Taylor said.

The argument, he said, centers on when the district-accepted final approval of the project -- if the contractor or the district was at fault.

"The insurance companies are saying, 'It's not our problem,'" Lippolis said.

The district dispatched its attorney to try to speed up the process. Taylor said the district isn't able to make payments unless it's compelled by an insurance settlement or litigation.

When reached by phone, Rob Deedrick, a representative for United Fire Group, said, "I can't talk to reporters."

Whenever it storms at night, Lippolis will struggle to sleep, afraid his sump pump alarm will go off. If it does, he has to activate a second pump -- a wise strategy that nonetheless failed in September.

He's had stormwater issues with Fellows since 2008, he said, but the problem intensified during construction and completion of the new school. Standing in his neighbor's yard, Lippolis described how water will flow west along the fence line behind the school toward his house.

"You can see it certainly funnels," he said.

The building plans accounted for a 1-foot trough at the foot of the school's plateau, Lippolis added, but there isn't one near his house.

One of the drains behind the school -- along the water's path -- originally sat about 6 inches above the ground, he said. Some others were covered in mud before crews laid down sod. Even if the drains are clear, Lippolis said a hard rain can still overwhelm them and continue to send water downhill.

That drain above the ground was eventually fixed, and crews also removed a tree in an effort to ease the flooding. An email with a district-contracted engineer told him that crews would re-lay sod and try some other fixes, but Lippolis didn't know when that would occur.

Along with the basement repairs and a damaged garage, Lippolis has gone through three sump pumps over the past three years. So far, he's spent about $10,000 in repairs, but that doesn't account for what he'll have to pay to fix his cracked driveway.

He had hoped the problems would be fixed by now, but he said that he could soon have to turn to a different action -- something "more litigious."

Conversely, Applequist said he doesn't plan to sue anyone. He's been able to manage the repair costs.

"I just hate that kind of thing," Applequist said. "Even if it got me some compensation, I think there'd be a lot of costs -- monetary and emotional costs involved in that."

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