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. 'Fhe Steamboat Pilot: The cost of water rights Page 2 of2 000238 attorney yet and said it has water attorneys already under contract. Councilman Bud Romberg urged the council to get more information on which water rights the city should ask for before hiring a lawyer. "I think there are other things that need to be done," Romberg said. Staff was directed to come back with cost estimates by next Tuesday's council meeting. Councilman Steve Ivancie said that will be the time to hire a lawyer. "I want to be prepared to go forward and not dillydally," Ivancie said. Before filing a water right, the council must first decide whether it wants a minimum in-stream flow or a recreational in-channel diversion; whether the water right should be limited on five tributaries which enter the Yampa River in or near the city limits; or whether it should be a water right on the body of the Yampa River. Staff requested direction in the timing and location of the water right filing. Wilson said the city has worked with the Colorado Water Conservation Board on its application for water rights. One of the first steps after filing a water right is appearing before the water board, which will then pass on its recommendation to the water courts. Wilson said the water board would support a minimum in-stream flow right, where the right would be maintained by the state, and the water board and Division of Wildlife would determine how much water should be adjudicated to ensure that the river's health and wildlife environment is kept intact. The water board also could support a recreational in-stream channel diversion, which the city would own and be responsible for designating the amount of flow requested. But, Wilson said that claim would have to meet the board's definition of an amount that would be "a reasonable recreational experience." Kent Ventress, who works with Blue Sky West and is on the committee working on the Yampa River Management Plan, said a minimum in-stream flow right would not be enough to cover the water features in the Yampa River that the city has built over the past few years. He also said data shows that in order to maintain that flow needed for the features, the city also would need to file on a portion of the body of the Yampa, not just the tributaries. In other business: n The council unanimously agreed to form a commission to look at the possibility of using growth caps. Forming the commission will be one of the recommended action items in the Steamboat Springs Community Area Plan Update. The council also said elected officials should appoint the commission and it should represent a broad spectrum of opinions. n Attorney Tony Lettunich announced that a lawsuit by Kay and David Sieverding against the city had been dismissed in Federal Court. The ruling also dismissed claims made against former City Council President Kevin Bennett, several Steamboat law firms, county officials, The Steamboat Pilot & Today, the city's insurance company, the Bar Association, Routt County Judge James Garrecht and employees of the District Attorney's Office. The ruling, filed Tuesday, recommended that the plaintiffs be ordered to pay attorney fees and costs. "This chain of lawsuits and voluminous pleadings needs to have a wooden stake driven through its heart," Judge O. Edward Schlatter wrote in his decision. n The council unanimously passed the second reading of an ordinance that would make it legal to openly carry firearms within the city limits, unless otherwise posted. The change in the code would make it legal again to openly carry a firearm on sidewalks, streets and private property within the city. The council had to change its code in order to comply with the new state gun law. Copyright @ 2002 The Steamboat Pilot, all rights reserved Visit us at http://www.steamboatpilot.com http://www.steamboatpilot.comlsectionlfrontpage _leadlstorypr/19721 10/15/2003