City panel considers Katy Bridge liability, agreement

 Originally published in Boonville Daily News on May 3, 2011
Click here for original link. 
by Sananda Sahoo

Boonville, MO - City Council members and a panel of legal and insurance experts discussed potential liabilities for the city if it acquired the Katy Bridge, in a work session Monday night.

Increase in barge traffic on the Missouri River since last year, and a navigable waterway meant the city needed to look closely at legal aspects of operating a park on the bridge.

The council members and the experts discussed legal, contractual and criminal liabilities, as well as ways to minimize the risks. They also deliberated on earthquake insurance and on a councilman's recommendation to have a second attorney besides city counselor Megan McGuire look into the liabilities of the bridge.



The expert panel included Cooper County prosecutor Doug Abele, attorneys Scott Fox and Ken Askren, who is also a member of nonprofit Save the Katy Bridge Coalition, and insurance company owner Charlie Brown.

"Vessels and mariners have priority on U.S. navigable water," McGuire said. "If the drawbridge is not fixed, it must be able to open on demand."

Answering Third Ward Councilman Hayes Murray's question  whether the bridge needed to be manned round the clock, McGuire said that's not required, but it would be the operator's duty to open the bridge.

Penalties can cost up to $25,000 per incident per delay on navigable waters.
On Murray's question, McGuire said if equipment fails to function and a barge collides with a pier, it would be the operator's fault.
There has never been such an incident on the bridge, the city counselor said. Keeping the lift-span in the raised position  would be more expensive than keeping it in the lowered postion.
Contractual liabilities can arise if the city fails to follow the contract clauses.
During the City Council meeting, McGuire noted changes to the language of the agreement with Union Pacific Railroad, the state of Missouri, and the Department of Natural Resources to clarify the city's responsibility to the public.

When the language of the contract says 'Boonville shall be responsible', "it doesn't extend beyond the scope of memorandum of agreement," McGuire said.

With the changes, the agreement now gives the city government room for the right "not to repair and maintain the bridge and ensure that it is in compliance with the American Disabilities Act if it decides to prohibit pedestrian access on the bridge."

"We wanted to make it clearer to public (that) if things don't work out well, we'll trigger the exit strategy," McGuire said.

Under the Rails to Trails Act, if the Katy Bridge is returned to railroad use, the purchasing authority will have to pay Boonville a fair market value for the bridge, or $200,000 and all capital improvement expenses.

To prevent criminal liabilities, such as rocks thrown over the bridge, the city can put up barriers, post regulations, enact appropriate ordinances and enforce criminal prosecution.

On minimizing the risks, the options available include not operating the drawbridge, taking lessons from the policies and procedures of towns operating lift-span bridges, such as Duluth, Minn., following federal regulations, possessing proper insurance coverage and conducting regular inspections.

McGuire recommended a structural inspection every two years, and electrical and underwater inspections every five years. The time frames were based on New York-based engineering firm Hardesty and Hanover's preliminary inspection report.

The firm did not do an underwater inspection when it prepared the report last month.

"I doubt (the bridge) will completely comply with federal regulations because it was abandoned for the last 20 years," McGuire said. "Hardesty and Hanover is looking at it."

Each inspection would cost between $15,000 and $25,000, McGuire said.

The city would have five years to comply with the federal regulations on operating a bridge over navigable waters, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

On earthquake damages, Charlie Brown said these would be covered under the insurance that Save the Katy Bridge Coalition would purchase. The nonprofit would be responsible for insurance, repairs and maintenance of the bridge.

"The city has liability, the Coalition has everything else," Brown said.

Murray insisted on having a counsel "with more specific knowledge, a second set of eyes." Second Ward Councilman Noah Heaton seconded him.

"I am asking for someone who would ask questions we wouldn't think of asking," Murray said, replying to Askren and McGuire's question on what he was looking for specifically.

McGuire said she would look into the possibilities of acquiring a second counsel.

Mayor Julie Thacher called a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. on May 9 to discuss the contract to acquire the Katy Bridge before the council members vote on it. The vote is expected at the next city council meeting on May 16.