Riverbank council hears liability claim from O'Brien's Market; reports unanimous closed-session approval of plan

Bill O'Brien, owner of O'Brien's Market, addressed the council during the March 12 meeting to present a liability claim stemming from an incident on Aug. 7, 2023. He said a city tree branch entered the cargo area of his company truck and caused extensive damage. Through a records request he said he discovered Grover Tree Service (the city's contractor) had advised in December 2020 that branches along Oakdale Road needed pruning, a bid was received in May 2021, and trimming was not approved and completed until mid-2023. O'Brien said the city did not act quickly on repeated vendor recommendations and that repairs were expensive; he asked the council to resolve the claim fairly.

After the council adjourned to closed session on item 13.1 (liability claims pursuant to government-code section 54,961, Clement O'Brien's matter), the council returned and a reporting official stated, "based on evidence from the applicant and our insurance coverage, this council voted unanimously to approve the plan." The reporting out was brief and did not provide monetary details.

O'Brien told the council he had first sought estimates suggesting the truck box replacement could exceed $20,000, but that he subsequently had repairs done for a lower amount; he asked the city to be "fair and reasonable." The council did not provide further public detail on the closed-session disposition beyond the unanimous vote to approve the plan.