By KALEY CONNER

kconner@dailynews.net

After a clog in the city sewer system caused residential flooding this spring, the Hays City Commission continued to weigh its options Thursday.

Commissioners discussed the possibility of establishing a fund for affected residents during this week's work session but decided that would not be a feasible option.

"I think this is something that has good intentions, but there again, good intentions often lead to bad decisions," Commissioner Ron Mellick said. "And I'm afraid this one here would pave the path for tax increases, as well as financial burden upon the city."

The incident occurred April 15 and affected several homeowners living on Centennial Boulevard and Motz Avenue. The problem was caused by grease backing up the city's main sewer system.

Because the city regularly maintains the lines, negligence has not been proven and the city's insurance provider denied the claim. Homeowners with flooded basements have expressed frustration because their private insurers also have not offered financial assistance.

As originally suggested by commissioner Henry Schwaller IV, the fund would be administered by a local nonprofit organization. Schwaller was absent Thursday.

City Attorney John Bird said such a fund could have financial and legal repercussions, and suggested a remedy for affected residents would be to have the matter settled in a court of law.

"That's what the system of civil justice is there for," Bird said. "If there was a mistake, an actual mistake, made by us and we were wrong, and our carrier is wrong in saying that we didn't, there's a remedy for it, and it's not unavailable to those people."

According to information from city hall, the city has received 13 sewage backup claims during the past five years. One claim during that time resulted in the city's insurance provider paying $9,000 to affected residents.

The city's current commercial insurance provider is Travelers Insurance.

Mayor Chris Channell expressed frustration with the company's decision not to pay and said he would like it to re-evaluate the situation. He will request the commission to authorize that investigation at next week's formal meeting, he said.

"I'm very frustrated, because I know if this happened to me, it would financially hurt me, big time," he said.

Dale Chaffin, a representative with Insurance Planning Inc., said homeowners policies to protect from sewer backup damages are available. Insurance Planning is the agency that sold the city commercial insurance.

By consensus, commissioners agreed not to pursue the establishment of the assistance fund.

"You cannot expect government to pay for everything, every bad thing that happens to you," Vice Mayor Barbara Wasinger said. "Every single person in every single city who's hooked up to a sewer line needs to understand this is something that can happen, not because the city has done anything negligent, but because you have neighbors down the line."