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The city has received 227 applications for disaster assistance related to the Theresa Street wastewater treatment plant backups in October and early May.

Property owners are seeking about $732,600 in assistance --less than the $1 million allotted for the disaster fund --based on the applications received.

Mayor Chris Beutler and the City Council created the disaster assistance fund to help property owners with cleanup costs associated with those sewer backups after major rainstorms.

The fund will pay property owners up to $5,000 for costs associated with cleaning up after each of the two storms.

By Tuesday, the day after the application deadline, the city had received 64 applications for the October storm, seeking $191,835 in reimbursement for damage. The city got 163 applications for the May storm, seeking $540,799 in reimbursement, according to Marcee Brownlee, an assistant city attorney.

The city has already begun to process the claims and has paid $67,215 on 30 applications.Those property owners and tenants had requested reimbursement of $109,286 through those applications, Brownlee said.

Staff discovered far more people than expected had insurance that covered at least a portion of the cleanup costs, said Jeff Kirkpatrick, city attorney.

The city created the assistance program after the city attorney determinedthe city would not be paying traditional claims for damage because it was not negligent.

The wastewater treatment plant backed up into the basements of hundreds of neighboring homes after two heavy rains. The treatment plant could not handle the amount of wastewater mixed with stormwater coming into the plant.

The rainstorms -- considered an act of God --were responsible for the backups, according to the city attorney.

The City Council has been routinely denying traditional claims for the damage based on that opinion. However, property owners can take those denied claims to court to see if a judge will find the citynegligent.

Property owners who accept money through the disaster assistance program agree not to sue the city.

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