City council breaks protocol, agrees to pay for mailboxes

After a snow plow damaged a huge stretch of mailboxes along Normal Boulevard in Lincoln back in February, affected homeowners took their claims to the city.

After originally sticking by their policy of not compensating for damages in the city right of way, the city council is changing their tune, voting unanimously Monday night to compensate those who have filed claims in the Normal Boulevard area.

Councilman Carl Eskridge suggested the exception, since the damage was caused by a defective wing blade on a City of Lincoln snow plow.

“It seems to me that the city has some responsibility for that,” Eskridge said.

Eight claims from that Normal Boulevard incident laid before the council, ranging from $56 to $350 in damages.

Eskridge suggested compensation for those claims up to $100.

Several council members agreed with the proposal, citing the rarity of the situation.

“I think there’s nothing ordinary or customary about a snow plow taking out up to 30 mailboxes in one fell swoop on the same route,” Councilwoman Leirion Gaylor Baird said.

However, the remaining people with damaged mailboxes in the Normal Boulevard area still have the opportunity to file a claim, meaning the city could pay up to $3,000 if they uphold this standard.

Councilwoman Jane Raybould pointed out that all depends if those people decide to come forward.

“It’s like winning the lottery – if you don’t buy a ticket and play, you can’t win. It’s the same – if you want to be reimbursed for a damaged mailbox that happened to be on Normal Blvd, at this approximate time, you have to file,” Raybould said.

Councilman Roy Christensen said while this resolution will not set a precedent for any future mailbox damages, it’s not the first time the council has made an exception for reimbursement.

Following a massive rainstorm, the city granted up to $5,000 in clean up costs for residents whose basements were flooded in 2014 and 2015.

In the same meeting, the council did deny three claims that were not a part of the Normal Boulevard incident.

They say they will deal with future claims on a case-by-case basis.