Thornton council addresses drainage tile dispute

The Thornton City Council made a decision about repairs, and payment for them, for broken drainage tile in town during the July 10 meeting.

Over the past few months, the council has been faced with making a decision on what to do about a portion of broken drainage tile at Sunnyside Development. The tile, and whose responsibility it is to fix it when it breaks, has been the topic of several recent council meetings. Specifically, a portion of tile damaged by tree roots at Sunnyside Development that required repair, resulting in a bill.

During the June council meeting, City Attorney Mike Moeller presented research from other towns’ handling of similar situations in the past, and made a recommendation to the council on how to proceed.

“Typically, drainage tiles are the responsibility of the private property owners,” Moeller said during the June 5 council meeting. “However, the city owning, essentially, a portion of that drainage tile which is under the street, I think we have a little skin in the game. I think it would be reasonable for the city to pay a portion of that bill.”

Read the full article in the July 20 edition of the papers.