Records show Petaluma paid $1.3 million to settle claims stemming from October flood

Petaluma has paid more than $1.3 million to help residents and businesses rebuild after a massive October rainstorm overwhelmed the city’s flooding infrastructure, newly released records show.

Payments toward damaged property and evacuation costs included more than $400,000 to longtime local hardware company and salvage yard, as well as more than $152,000 in hotel bills for residents displaced by floodwaters, records show.

The documents, obtained by the Argus-Courier in a wide-ranging California Public Records Act request, shed new light on the circumstances surrounding Petaluma’s decision to quietly tap up to $750,000 in city insurance funds in the wake of the atmospheric river that struck Oct. 24, 2021.

In claims filed with the city, residents and business owners blamed Petaluma for much of the flood damage. Petaluma has not publicly acknowledged any missteps related to the flooding.

“We believe the city of Petaluma is responsible for this suffered loss due to lack of maintenance of the pump system in place that is meant to pump water from our parking lot drains as well as the East Court neighborhood as quickly and efficiently as possible,” co-owner Jim Maselli said in a claim filed in November.

The business reportedly incurred more than $221,000 worth of property losses, and more than $100,000 in lost business after flooding closed the Lakeville Street store.

Records provided by the city showed multiple property damage claims in the area, resident hotel bills totaling more than $50,000 and emails between residents and top city officials that showed actions taken in response to the disastrous weather event.

Although largely covered by insurance, the payments come as Sonoma County’s second largest city, flush with cash following the first voter-approved sales tax measure, works to rebuild after decades of deferred maintenance.

“While our fiscal and organizational sustainability efforts emphasized the great need in our city to address our aging infrastructure, we also recognize that due to climate change, atmospheric rivers — such as the system we experienced in October — will occur more regularly, if not more frequently,” said city manager Peggy Flynn in an emailed statement. “Measure U is allowing us to not only begin to upgrade and maintain our existing infrastructure but also prepare for this new normal.”

In his claim, Maselli said he received a call at 1 p.m. Oct. 24, 2021, from Public Works Assistant Operations Manager Don Horner, who informed Maselli that his business was taking on water. By 3:30 p.m., inside the hardware store had been consumed by nearly a foot of water, with about 2-3 feet in the fabrication shop.

It was the start of what Maselli called a “daunting and tedious” month, as he and co-owner Paul Maselli, along with other family members and employees, washed out debris and cleared 11 large loads of damaged equipment and merchandise, which included transformers and generators, furniture, electronics and more.

Maselli said that he and his business have seen 30 years of rain events, but never experienced such flooding because of regular pump station maintenance in past years.

“I believe there was a lack of regular maintenance, mud and debris issues, and lack of knowledge in the current City of Petaluma staff which created a “perfect storm” situation which led to the avoidable flood that wreaked havoc on our business,“ Maselli said.

Work order records showed that the pump station at Wilson Street was checked and cleared of debris and leaves Oct. 25, 2021, a day after the flood occurred. That pump station was cleaned again Oct. 28 and Nov. 8, along with a pump station at Rocca Street. The pump station at Hopper Street was cleaned on Dec. 6, and the Wilson pump station again on Dec. 20.

However, records received did not reflect when the pump station at Copeland Street was cleaned, or when any of the pump stations were cleaned before the atmospheric river event occurred. Records did not shed light on whether the pump stations were ready to handle the deluge from the atmospheric river, and emails from Public Works Director Christopher Bolt suggested the city’s stormwater infrastructure became overwhelmed.

“As far as we could tell, the system was simply overwhelmed by over 5½” of rain over 48 hours in combination with an unusually long high tide and extremely heavy levels of stormwater accumulation/flows to the nearby pump station,” Bolt said in an Oct. 27 email to a resident, whose name was not revealed.

Requests for information regarding those details were not returned. And neither Bolt nor Flynn, the city manager, made themselves available for an interview.

On Feb. 15, a settlement of more than $407,528 was reached, which covered Maselli & Sons’ business losses, mold mitigation costs and more.

The $400,000 settlement was the largest reached by the city, according to the records that were made available, but Petaluma paid out a variety of other claims related to storm damage.

Danielle Descano and Crispin Valencia, six-year East Court residents who live with their three young children filed a claim Nov. 4, and were paid $22,500 in damages according to a Jan. 24 settlement award document. Resident Joanna Chavez was awarded more than $3,000 in damages on Jan. 5, while Guadalupe and Baldemar Chavez who live in the same household received more than $8,100 on Jan. 7 for home damages.

Meanwhile, longtime resident Angel Diaz filed a claim reporting that he paid about $1,200 in home repairs, and also suffered losses of furniture, children’s toys and car damage, claiming additional family stress due to evacuation of his two young daughters. The city did not release any reports of payment to Diaz.

The city also agreed to cover the demolition and construction of the Briceño household on East Court. Aurelio, the Briceño patriarch, has an amputated leg and his son Juan is also in a wheelchair. Both were unable to leave their house when the stormwater entered their residence, prompting neighbors and family members to help them out with a small boat.

The city paid to rebuild the Briceño household as a modular home, costing $240,987 with a $5,000 delivery of materials.

The Briceños were among residents forced out of their homes and retreated to Petaluma’s Hampton Inn until their residences were once again liveable. Records showed Aurelio stayed at the hotel for more than two weeks, while Juan stayed about a month and a half, with their bills together totaling about $9,600 to be reimbursed by the City. That was only a small portion of the hotel and Airbnb invoices that reached over $152,000, with residents extending stays starting Nov. 1, with some still staying at the hotel.

“We anticipate that the remaining hotel residents should be vacating the hotel soon,” said city risk manager Erika Leahy in a Monday night email.

The Briceños have previously praised the city of its assistance efforts, and applauded their communication in the long rebuilding process.

Records showed seven residences on East Court also received property replacement services from Hayward-based electronics, textile and fabrics restoration company FRSTeam, totaling more than $492,000 charged to the City of Petaluma on Dec. 31. The city also hired Belfor Property Restoration to assist residents in their damage-control needs.

“We are so pleased with the City of Petaluma for giving us the dream of a new place to call home,” Aurelio Briceño said in a Feb. 1 statement. “After all that we have lost with the storm we finally see the light.”

Amelia Parreira is a staff writer for the Argus-Courier. She can be reached at amelia.parreira@arguscourier.com or 707-521-5208.