The Del Norte County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to approve a resolution authorizing transfer of the county's Rule 20A undergrounding credits to the City of Crescent City so the city can apply them to the next phase of its Front Street improvement project.

City Manager Eric Weir told the board the county's credits total about $2,400,000 and the city's balance is just under $400,000. "Those credits, unfortunately, are going to go away for both of us on June 8," Weir said, urging supervisors to approve the transfer so the city could move forward with undergrounding overhead distribution lines and integrate gateway wayfinding elements into the Front Street work.

The board moved the credits to an undergrounding district that will cover the active Front Street phase and a slightly larger boundary that could allow future undergrounding on K Street up to Third Street and H Street back to Front, city staff said. Construction on the Front Street phase is expected to begin in late July or early August, the city presentation said. Weir and city staff said transmission mains (high-voltage lines) cannot be undergrounded, but distribution lines and service drops within about 100 feet of the mainline could be covered by the credits without additional cost to adjacent properties.

Why it matters: County staff said the credits were established decades ago and will expire if not committed; the transfer would let the city use the funds for a visible downtown improvement that city officials say also reduces collision risk caused by poles on curved streets. Supervisor Starkey said, "I wish you the very best of luck. I believe improvements to the city are improvements to the county," and urged timely steps to meet the deadline.

Public comment was mixed. One resident criticized the timing and said the county had not previously found eligible county projects: "It seems to be a bit of an oxymoron ... it's more for aesthetics than actual hardening of our electric system," the resident said, urging the county to prioritize projects that reduce outages. Another speaker said removing poles near S-curve intersections would reduce accidents.

The board voted 4-0 to "approve and adopt resolution number 2025-010, resolution of the Board of Supervisors of Del Norte County authorizing the transfer of the county's Rule 20A credits to the City of Crescent City," with Supervisors Starkey, Short, Wilson and Chair Borges voting yes; Supervisor Howard was absent.

The city attorney and city staff said next steps include creating the underground district, obtaining a power company cost estimate, and notifying affected property owners to preserve the credits.

Ending: The board adopted the resolution and moved to the next item; staff and city representatives said they will proceed with steps needed to use the credits before the June 8 deadline.