May 25 City Council Report
Councilmember Powers
Transportation Commission—
Last week we heard from CalTrans their rehab and repair timeline for areas affected by the Dixie Fire on highways 70, 89, 36, and 147, mostly west and north of us. It will be in conjunction with major undergrounding of powerlines by PG&E that will parallel the routes. The road work will be wrapping up mostly by the end of June, while the undergrounding will be starting on as the roadwork finishes.
I have a request in for an add-on to the budget allocation for music in the park, but I want to give everyone the lineup!
July 8, we start the series with Margret’s Funk Band—Motown, old favorites and great to dance to as well. They were one of our favorites and actually got to perform last year, and didn’t get cancelled from smoke, threat of fire, or Covid.
July 15, will be Dan Horton returning as Jack Danny. He’s a Portola High grad reaching his stride. From garage band drummer to touring band, Dan has perfected his solo act as a multitalented musician and song writer.
July 22, we bring back another crowd favorite, Blue Haven (one of the concerts cancelled last summer) with a repertoire sure to please all us blues and blues-rock fans.
Next is Fair Week and we encourage everyone to enjoy the one and only Plumas-Sierra County Fair.
August 5, is a new band, Spur Crazy that comes highly recommended with pure country favorites old and new.
August 12 another new sound, Whitewater. This Reno band has a popular following throughout Western Nevada and the Tahoe area. They are excited to extend their audience into the Lost Sierra by joining us at the park.
August 19 is Sierra Roc, another band that’s entertained around Western Nevada that will, hopefully get some folks out of their lawn chairs and onto the dance floor! Their primary sound is old rock and roll, but they take requests!
August 26 will return to a crowd pleaser, Fiesta de Portola! Due to a plethora of circumstances beyond our control, we haven’t had a fiesta in our lineup for several years, where the dancing picks up, kids games and pinatas take the spotlight and Latin rhythms from salsa to modern get everyone’s feet moving. Drinking With Clowns has been delighting clubs and Reno’s Riverwalk for several years now and will be here with us to spread the joy.
Pete Rhode will be providing his fantastical lights and sound to most of our shows. His sound and energy gets even better each year! And, last but not least, save your appetite and eat “Yumz-ee” food at the park during the event! Yumz food truck will be providing delicious selections for your enjoyment at each of our nights together.
Also, John Williamson and I have begun a parallel effort regarding fire protection to extend the length of the Nervino Airport and improve facilities there and at Rogers Field at Chester that will allow larger and more advanced fixed-wing aircraft to use them. The idea is to provide faster initial response times to fire starts on the Plumas, Tahoe, Lassen forests as well as BLM and private holdings. We’ll be preparing a proposed resolution for the full Council to decide on support at our first June meeting. We’ve presented to Plumas Fire Safe Council who voted to support, and received a favorable resolution from Gold Mountain CSD, with other signatures from representatives and individuals. Our efforts on this is simply to attempt to attain grant funding that will augment the Airport Land Use Commission’s annual repair and maintenance budget for the proposed upgrades. It’s also in concert with the ongoing work of all council members to reduce hazardous fuel loads, clean up fire-prone areas inside the City, and reorganize our local fire districts.
And finally, The Big Race! Let’s all spread the word and be the gracious hosts for probably the most visitors we’ve had in town for years!