Glendale officials agree to settlement with auto repair shop after foul balls damage cars
Glendale city officials have agreed to enter a settlement with Kummrow Automotive and others after foul balls from Richard E. Maslowski Park resulted in damaged vehicles.
The Glendale Common Council voted to pay the automotive company $22,666 toward improvements that would obstruct foul balls from hitting cars parked for repair or waiting for pick-up in Kummrow's lot.
Under the settlement, Milwaukee School of Engineering and Nicolet High School will also each pay $22,666. The estimated total cost of improvements ― which will involve building a carport to shelter the vehicles ― is $68,000, according to the agreement.
Both the MSOE and Nicolet baseball teams use the field. The park is also rented out to a number of local baseball clubs and is used for an ESPN tournament, according to Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy.
As part of the settlement, Kummrow agreed to release the city, MSOE and Nicolet from any liability from future claims if they equally contributed toward the improvements.
The agreement binds Kummrow, located at 2201 W. Bender Road across from the park, into completing the improvements within 120 days of the execution of the agreement.
The new settlement comes after Kummrow claims the improvements will cost more than previously anticipated because of a former garbage dump that's underneath the company.
Kummrow Automotive declined to comment on the settlement.
In 2021, the city was part of a settlement with Kummrow, MSOE and Nicolet, in which the estimated total cost of improvements were $45,000. At the time, the city was not part of the financial contribution.
The Glendale Common Council March 27 voted 3-2 in support of the settlement, with Ald. JoAnn Shaw and Ald. James Daugherty voting against it. Ald. Steve Schmelzling was not present at the meeting.
"This leaves kind of a bad taste in your mouth, but it seems like this feels like the way to finally put this chapter behind us," said Ald. John Gelhard, who voted in support of the settlement.
The extent of the damage and number of foul balls hitting cars is unknown, said Kennedy. "When I was there, they had a 5-gallon painter's bucket filled with balls," he said.
Money for the settlement is not a budgeted expenditure and the city will need to use contingency funds to cover the cost.
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Contact Alex Groth at agroth@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @grothalexandria.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Glendale agrees to settlement over foul balls damaging parked cars
