Today’s Messed Up Email of the Day comes from parents of a couple who experienced a common problem: sewage flooding a home after public works attempts to clear a clogged sewer line.
My son lives in a house that he rents in Decherd TN. The city of Decherd flooded his house with sewage when they tried to clear a clogged line. We talked to the head of the water dept and he talked with his employees. They first said they were not there the day the accident happened. I spoke with the mayor of Decherd asking her to investigate. She did and called me back saying that they were there and they did work on the line but they did not cause the flooding of his house. She said that she couldn’t do anymore for us. My son and his girlfriend are now homeless and noone wants to take responsibility. Can you please help them get compensated for the damages to their property and moving expenses.
Nashville is known around the world as Music City.
To promote that concept in a new and innovative way, the convention and visitors bureau challenged the city to come up with something that would cost the tax payers little while at the same time exposing each citizen to a highly recognizable and singularly Nashville brand.
Public Works PIO Gwen Hopkins explains the genesis of the project:
“4 years ago, Public Works Director Billy Lynch thought it would be a good idea to provide, some music at downtown locations. Since Nashville is Music City, we began working with the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the country music hall of fame to create music boxes. Traffic engineers rewired the signal boxes so music plays out o them and it is no cost to do it. We started with maybe 3 locations on Church Street, with the redevelopment project. The convention and visitors bureau wanted to add more locations, so we did. We recently, added the Deadrick Street boxes when we did the street scape project that we finished in October. The idea was to provide a more pleasant environment for workers, visitors, and to make the downtown atmosphere more inviting. We experimented with public service announcements to promote city events and welcome people here, and encourage them to use litter receptacles. The response has been overwhelmingly positive. Early on, we did get some complaints from residents downtown and every time we did get a volume complaint we would adjust it so it is not distracting.”
According to Hopkins-Glascock, there are now 12 music boxes in the downtown corridor. Each box plays music relevant to the attraction it is near. Country Music plays at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Classical music plays at the Schermerhorn. Show tunes play around TPAC.
Regardless of where the music boxes are, for the next few weeks, all boxes are playing holiday music.
All the boxes are playing music except one. Until further notice, Box number 12, at the corner of Charlotte and 6th is silent.
Why?
Because state office workers in the Rachel Jackson Building complained repeatedly.
“The music has become such a distraction that we can no longer use the corner conference room for anything other than storage,” the administrative assistant reportedly writes city leaders
Hopkins says the box volume has been lowered several times, and each time officer workers complained.
To be a good neighbor, Hopkins-Glascock says the Public Works Department decided to turn the speaker off.
“We certainly don’t want to disrupt a business day for anyone. We thought we would change the time, and turn on the boxes only at night when the buildings were closed from 7-9pm, but constant complaints from same office came in so we unplugged that box.”
Messed UP tries to get the office worker’s side of the story, but a representative tells us that nobody in the office will discuss the matter.
While video taping a box across from the Country Music Hall of Fame, I encounter a man named Sean Grayowl. The man originally from South Dakota tells me he is in town visiting his daughter.
Grayowl tells me that Nashville is Music City. When informed of the pressure to mute the music, he tells me this:
“What you are talking about is crazy. When you are on the corner, what better way to experience music. It is crazy they are turning it down.”
We pause for a moment letting a Christmas song fill the air.
He smiles.
“It makes me feel good. It gives me a good Christmas spirit. For me personally, I love the music and wish it would be on the corners. It’s a lot better than buses and trucks.
I asked if the box might be turned back on. Hopkins-Glascock says if enough tax payers wanted it, it would be considered.
Loading …
A South Nashville senior citizen goes on vacation to India. When she returns, 2 weeks later, there are steep stairs in front of her house that she is afraid to use.
Alice Klingshirn says she can’t get her mail, or easily get to the street where her car is parked.
She says she calls the city to complain, but when she feels the city is dragging its feet, she calls Messed Up.
The 72 years old former ex-ray tech went to India in late October. In the two weeks she was gone, city crews tore up the street and put in new storm sewer drains.
Alice says the street needed it, but not at the cost of her being trapped in her front yard.
Officials with metro public works tell me that engineers tried to contact Alice prior to installing the stairs, but because she was out of the country, they were unable to, so they did what they felt was right.
Officials with the Metro Water Department tell me that crews try and leave a community the same or better than the way they found it.
Officials say normally the city tries to communicate with residents prior to construction, should there be a dramatic change to their property.
After Messed Up’s involvement, crews returned to Alice’s home and began tearing down the steps. The plan is to make a gradual ramp that the woman can easily navigate.
Today’s Messed Up Email of the Day comes from a viewer in Lafayette who says the city won’t change their water billing date.
Andy I am a senior on a small fixed income. I have repetedly asked the city to change my water billing date from the middle of the month to the first and have not only met resistance but also a totally uncaring and rude attitude from our city officials. Is there anything you can do to help me with this as I’m sure that I’m not the only one in this city with this problem. Thank you Earl
Whose fault is it? That’s a question being asked by a Nashville couple whose basement flooded with raw sewage.
It all begins Saturday September 12th.
That’s the day the commode in the Percy Priest Lake residence of Arnold and Tina Bailey begins bubbling over with raw sewage.
The Bailey’s show me pictures of a basement mud room that is blackened by the disgusting mess.
On the day Messed Up arrives, Mrs. Bailey is packing her trunk with suit cases. The woman tells me she has respiratory problems and the on going environmental disaster is forcing her to stay with relatives in Kentucky.
Her husband, Arnold stays behind to manage the hideous mess.
The retired military pilot says dealing with metro has been messed up, so much so, he wrote this letter to Mayor Karl Dean.
My name is Arnold Bailey. I live Clearlake Dr west. On Saturday public works was cleaning sewer lines next to my house at the sewage pumping station and back flushed raw sewer water into my home. They started cleanup late Saturday night, ran blowers and drying equipment, and tore out walls and contaminated items and were going to remove contaminated tiles and clean the air ducts. This afternoon they pulled out the workers and said they were still investigating who was at fault for this problem. This was and is a very serious health problem. They told me to contact my insurance company for repairs. It was a metro pump truck that was blowing the lines at their pumping station. My wife has acute asthma and could not be in the house so we slept in our Motor home. The motor home went for maintenance today so she left to stay with relatives until work is complete. I am staying in the house but am not comfortable with it. Metro caused this problem and they need to take care of it. This pumping station has been a problem for the 25 years that I have lived here with spills, overflows, smells, noise and chemical sanitation blocks hanging next to my pool and patio. I am requesting your help in solving this problem as I have run into a solid wall and they are treating me poorly and seem to think that it is my problem not theirs.
When he gets nowhere with the city, Arnold Bailey calls That’s Messed Up.
I call his Councilwoman, Vivian Wilhoite who tells me she has all ready been investigating the matter. She tells me that Metro should be more responsive to her constituent’s needs.
“They are trying to tell me that this is an act of God. Don’t ever tell me that it is an act of God for him to put poop in a man’s house.”
Wilhoite tells me she tells water department officials to handle this matter now, because she doesn’t want to see it show up on her council desk later, with much heftier price tag.
“This better not end up on my desk. Approve his claim. Take care of this now. It’s only right. I’m not so sure Metro isn’t at fault. That goes along with running Metro Water. If Mr. Arnold was in his yard and did something to the line, that is one thing. But in this situation, he was in his house, and poop comes back up the line.”
The councilwoman indicates that Metro Water was pulling out its crews and limiting the city’s financial responsibility in the matter. She says she told them to reevaluate.
“I asked they open this back up. This makes no sense. It makes no sense. Look back at this and provide me a reason why he should not be compensated. I better not see this a year from now when it could have been resolved on the front end.”
I talk with Sonia Harvat who represents the Metro Water Department.
Harvat says the Bailey’s troubles begin when a sewage pipe is blocked in the neighborhood.
Harvat says the pipe is blocked with house hold materials including grease, which neighbors have been dumping down their drains over time.
According to Harvat, Metro crews pumped the line clean, and when they did, there was a sudden surge that forces its way through the pipe, that pressure rushed to the lowest point, which just happened to be the commode in Arnold Bailey’s home.
“Metro Water Services is paying for the initial clean up,” Harvat says. “Our priority is health and safety. Our system was not malfunctioning, our system was not broken. It was nothing inside our sewer system causing the back up it was grease! Metro will look to see if there was negligence on the part of metro water services. Did we break something that caused the over flow, but there was no negligence and that is what claims will look at it to see who pays for it.”
Bailey says the city did initially hire a company to clean up the filth. But after a few days, the city pulls the plug and the cleaning stops. Thanks to Messed Up and Councilwoman Wilhoite, the city has reconsidered its position.
An attorney for Metro Legal tells Messed Up, the city will pay for the clean up as long as it is deemed reasonable.
A water department official tells Messed Up “We don’t want to build the Taj Majal, but we will pay for the mess.”
Arnold and Tina Bailey say that’s the least the city can do for what they have been through.
Check out this link that educates citizens on the do’s and don’ts of flushing things into the system.
by
