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Dunsmuir council authorizes city attorney to study restoring Downtown Creek overflow
Summary
Council voted to authorize up to 40 hours of city‑attorney work, with 10‑hour check‑ins, to research legal, liability and rate options for restoring flow to the Downtown Creek overflow and to report back with recommended, costed options.
The Dunsmuir City Council on March 19 authorized the city attorney to research options for restoring flow to the Downtown Creek overflow, directing the attorney to cap work at 40 hours and provide check‑ins every 10 hours.
Council and staff framed the item as a mix of infrastructure, water‑rights and liability questions that require legal analysis before the city acts. City Manager Michaelson summarized the project’s background: a new tank stopped the continuous overflow that previously moved through a drainage channel toward Mossbrae Falls, and state reviewers during the CEQA process urged that excess flows proceed naturally to the falls. A series of public commenters and council members described both community interest in bringing the water back for aesthetic and tourism reasons and concerns about insurance claims and who would pay for the added water use.
Council member Brian moved the measure to authorize the city attorney; Vice Mayor Sebring seconded. The resolution directed the attorney to research “the most efficient process to have the water flowing again, addressing the liability around the water flowing,” with a 40‑hour cap and required 10‑hour check‑ins. The motion passed on a roll call vote: Clerino—Aye; Bridal—Aye; Hubbard—Aye; Sebring—Aye; Lucchese (mayor)—Aye.
Council members stressed limits on city funds and possible ways to make the flow not a gift of public funds to private property owners. Council member Brian suggested options such as classifying the flow as a special water feature or enrolling benefiting properties as a separate rate class; others suggested recordable releases of liability or metering and a seasonal flow window. The city attorney will first assemble historical documents and then report back with legal options, estimated time and cost.
Next steps: the city attorney will begin work under the 40‑hour cap, report back to the mayor or city manager at 10‑hour intervals, and return a fuller analysis and recommended council actions at a future meeting.
