Flooding leads to conflict between city and church

Pastor Darwin Scofield of the Libby Baptist Church is asking the City of Libby to reimburse the church for nearly $40,000 as a result of flooding events that occurred in March of 2014.

The request, made before the Libby City Council on Feb. 2, details three floods that filled more than 6,000 square feet of church facilities with approximately 2,000 gallons of muddy water. The flooding, according to the statement provided by Scofield to the Council, was the result of faulty drainage engineering and materials used by the city when a new sewer line was installed uphill from the church.

In the documents submitted to the City Council, Scofield claims the church was flooded on three separate dates in 2014, March 6, March 9 and March 17. He further claimed these were the only instances of flood in the church’s 50-year history at its 105 E. Cedar Street location and they followed the installation of a new sewer line by the city on the hill above the church.

The sewer line replacement project was performed by an independent contractor, Edstrom Construction, in 2009.

In the statement, Scofield alleges a March 10, 2014 conversation with Libby Mayor Doug Roll. “He told me he was aware of the problem and its connection to the Libby sewer project above the facilities. Further, he instructed me to initiate the claim report, do the work and submit the bills as part of the claim.”

Roll recalls the conversation somewhat differently. Roll said he told Scofield that he was aware of the problem, but never said the cause was the installation of the sewer line. Roll said he went to the site on March 11 with city administrator Jim Hammons and public works supervisor Corky Pape to investigate the claim, but found nothing to indicate the problem originated with the sewer line. “The flooding originated above the sewer project,” Roll said.

In the statement, Scofield contradicts that assessment, stating, “As to the cause of this devastating event, without exception, every objective opinion that has been entertained concludes the same thing: The drainage engineering and materials used to prevent flood risk associated with the sewer line the city installed uphill from Libby Baptist Church facilities was faulty.”

The documents presented by Pastor Scofield claim the church spent more than $40,000 on materials and enlisted roughly 1,500 hours of volunteer labor to fix the damage caused in the flooding. No receipts or evidence of those claims was included in the packet of information provided at the Feb. 2 City Council meeting.

Mayor Roll attributed the flooding to a combination of heavy rain and frozen ground. “There just wasn’t anywhere for the water to go,” he said. “There was a lot of flooding last year because of that.”

The only documents submitted by Libby Baptist Church, however, were from the city’s insurance carrier, Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority, and the contractor’s insurance carrier, The Cincinnati Insurance Companies. Both deny the pastor’s claims.

The city’s insurance claim adjuster wrote, in a letter dated June 4, 2014, “The facts surrounding your damage do not reveal a breach of ordinary care on the part of the City of Libby. The immediate cause of damage was due to factors outside the City of Libby’s control in the exercise of ordinary care.

“The 2009 sewer replacement project was performed by an independent contractor to the City. The City is generally not vicariously liable for the acts of an independent contractor. I understand though the City had an easement to install the new sewer most of the hillside is owned by others. My investigation has not revealed any separate negligence on the part of the City.”

Darin Thompson, a claims specialist with Edstrom’s carrier, also denied the claim from Libby Baptist Church. “Our investigation into allegations the insured referenced above negligently caused damage to your property reveals no evidence to support a liability claim against them.”

Roll said the city will be meeting with Pastor Scofield in an attempt to come to some sort of resolution that would keep the incident out of the courts. “We’re trying to mitigate the possibility of going to court,” Roll said. “Nobody wins there but the lawyers.”

Roll also said the city wants to help the church as much as they can, but will not admit to fault or liability. “With no admission of fault, we’re trying to help the church and bring this to a resolution outside of court and with a reasonable number from all parties involved. We feel bad for the church and we’d like to help out however we can.”

Pastor Darwin Scofield declined to comment beyond the documents submitted to the City Council. Calls to Councilmember Brent Teske, who heads the city’s water and sewer committee, went unreturned.