Residents Consider Legal Action Over Flooded Basements

Frustration is boiling over in Marinette tonight after several residents whose basements were flooded with sewage water in April are still waiting to see who's going to foot the cleanup bill.

The backup happened during road construction on Hall Avenue last spring. The contractor called a clean-up company after the problem was discovered, but says the city should cover the cost because the city flushed the clogged pipe that caused the backup. But the city says the contractor caused the backup when it busted up the concrete.

Meanwhile, residents say they're getting nowhere. For the past two months Tom Morois has made one request, "I would like to see our basement put back together, us reimbursed for what we lost."

But he's still waiting, with the belongings from his basement still sitting in his garage. Morois hasn't paid a dime of the nearly $8,000 dollar cleaning bill he was stuck with after that nasty sewage backup in his basement. He said he was assured by both the contractor and mayor the bill would be taken care of.

"I don't like to be lied to, I don't think we deserve to be lied to. We were promised things that never came true and it's just downright lies," Morois.

It's the same story for his neighbors. "They said keep track of your time and we'll make it good, well we kept track of our time and nothings been done about making it good," says John Perket, whose basement was also flooded.

They too say they haven't received a dime, but they continue to get bills. "Even if anybody would come forward and give you some word. Somebody's gotta be at fault, it certainly wasn't these four homes," says Fay Doberstein.

Tired of the run around, Fay Doberstein went to a city council meeting, but when the representative for the cleaning company brought up the issue, Doberstein says, "He was more or less told to sit down and shut up."

It's part of the reason they're now considering legal action against the city. "I'll push it as far as I have to," says Morois.

In October, the mayor told Action Two News, "It's going to be solved, there's no getting around it. I'm very upset that there has been nothing done with all the insurance companies."

When Action Two news called the mayor, but he's out of office. Meanwhile, the cleaning company says it plans to sue the contractor for the thousands of dollars it is owed.

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