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City Council MinutesPage 5 of 7 <br />August 4, 2025 <br />--------- <br />Mayor Dietz asked if we could get an opinion from our attorney about the bills. Mr. Portner stated yes, <br />and we will follow up with LMCIT tomorrow as well. <br />Councilmember Beyer asked if we had all of their email addresses to set up a communications group to <br />keep them updated. <br />Mr. Steve Helle stated that it would be a good idea to have a communication group to receive <br />instructions and communication, because when it happened, they had no clue what to do. <br />Councilmember Wagner asked if these were the only two companies that they got bids from. Mr. Saba <br />stated that the LMCIT said that it doesn't really matter who you go with, that it will be about the same <br />cost. <br />Amy Boyum, daughter of Harold and Nancy Boyum asked who the point person for this was. She stated <br />that these people should not have to float any of their money. Her parents, Harold and Nancy Boyum, <br />are 86 years old, and all their belongings are in their garage, including some irreplaceable antiques. She <br />feels the city should have a point of contact to manage this for the residents, because they need <br />someone to advocate for them. <br />Councilmember Grupa agrees and thinks we should appoint someone. <br />Councilmember Beyer stated that he just mentioned that we should have a communication email set up <br />with a staff point of contact, and that person would be watching the email or phone calls to field the <br />coordination between the residents and what is happening. <br />Mayor Dietz suggested that the first thing that should happen is to get the adjuster out to the homes, <br />and the adjuster would be able to answer a lot of the questions. Mr. Portner stated that we will find out <br />tomorrow when the adjuster will be out at the houses. <br />Mr. Femrite explained that we are not practiced in this scale of a claim, and we'll be working through it. <br />He thanked them for the suggestions of a point person. <br />Mayor Dietz told the residents, before they leave tonight, to make sure we have their name, address, <br />and email for the communications list. <br />Mr. Lucas asked what was going to be done to prevent this from happening again. <br />Mr. Femrite explained what happened. He stated they received a communication failure at 11:00 a.m. on <br />Thursday. They receive a lot of communication failures because of cell coverage going in and out. When <br />they receive communication failures, they usually wait an hour until they respond because cell signals go <br />in and out, and it comes back on. They do have a battery backup at that station because of this. They <br />did not get another communications error because the battery backup failed. This was something that <br />they originally tested quarterly, but will now be testing weekly. It was those two pieces, the operator <br />error and the mechanical error, that caused this. We are now ensuring that when the second call <br />comes in, they will respond. <br />Councilmember Calva asked if more than one person could get those calls so it doesn't happen again. <br />Mr. Femrite stated that, yes, that is another piece they are adding to their protocols and explained that <br />the lab personnel assigned for the day will ensure that all calls and faults have been addressed and are <br />