1 City of Portola
Minutes
Regular Meeting
March 11, 2026 06:00 PM
35 Third Ave, Portola, CA 96122
https://www.cityofportola.com/
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm by Mayor Bill Powers.
A. Roll Call
Present: Mayor Bill Powers, Mayor Pro Tem Mikki Battaglia, Councilmember Jim Murphy, Councilmember Pat Morton, Councilmember Lauren Miller
Staff Present: City Manager Ryan Bonk, Financial Officer Susan Scarlett (Zoom), Administrative Services Manager Kristen Schiavone
B. Pledge of Allegiance
Led by Mayor Bill Powers
2. Public Comments
3. City Communications
A. City Council Communications
Councilmember Miller attended a Community Development committee meeting last week.
Councilmember Murphy had nothing to report.
Councilmember Morton attended the City's budget workshop last week.
Mayor Pro Tem Battaglia attended the City's budget workshop last week. Next Thursday she will attend a Firewise meeting at the library.
Mayor Powers attended the City's budget workshop last week.
B. Reports: Beckwourth Peak Fire Protection District / Plumas County Sheriff / Northern Sierra Air Quality Beckwourth Peak Fire Protection District - No report
Plumas County Sherriff - No report from Sheriff. City Manager Bonk did advise that the Law Enforcement Agreement with the Plumas County Sheriff has not gone to the Board of Supervisors yet.
Northern Sierra Air Quality - Mayor Pro Tem Battaglia reported that green waste flyers will be inserted into the city residents April billing statement. Green waste disposal is open to any city resident in the month of June.
2 C. Staff Communications
No report.
D. City Manager Report
City Manager Bonk reported that no alarms have been received from the continuous monitoring of the Gulling Street bridge, and the City is still waiting for the Caltrans inspection report conducted in January, 2026. City staff will continue to work with Caltrans on the timeline for the underwater dive inspection. He also provided an update on Phase 2 of the Caltrans Highway Bridge Program (HBP), which is funded by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT). The City is fourth in line on the 2026 HBP funding list. The Federal status of funds is unknown at this time, and City staff will continue to monitor the situation for any updates with our Caltrans contacts. He also advised that a grant application to the USDOT for the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) was submitted on time, and that this grant will cover the project's pre-engineering costs.
He also reported that the City received three (3) responses to the Consulting Services for Solid Waste Franchise and Solid Waste Ordinance RFP, and that City staff are currently reviewing the responses and plan to bring this discussion to the council at the end of March.
He also shared that the City's website content and documents are fully accessible and meet the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Titles II and III, as well as WCAG 2.1 Level AA, compliance requirements. The new software was purchased as an “add-on” option from our website hosting platform, Streamline.
He also advised that our website domain, .gov, was approved by the Federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency and is now live. This change will increase the legitimacy of our website, and anyone who navigates to the old .com domain will be redirected to the new .gov site.
He advised the council that Public Works is currently working on pothole repairs throughout the City. He also provided an update on the Riverwalk upgrades, funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), and said that Public Works has poured three concrete pads and completed the water lines for the drinking water fountains accessible to humans and pets.
City Manager Bonk provided a Planning Department update and advised that our Local Hazard Mitigation Plan (LHMP) was given to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) for review.
He also advised that our planning consultant is currently reviewing the City’s safety element under CA SB-815, and that the cost to the City will be approximately $16,000 to meet the state law requirement.
General plan updates are being handled by the planning consultant, and updates will be presented to the Council at a later date.
He informed the council that the City’s Infrastructure Committee met to discuss the proposed intertie with Grizzly Lake Community Service District (GLCSD) and that during the meeting, the committee decided to formally request that GLCSD hold a public meeting to discuss the feasibility study and increase transparency with their customers before any agreement is entered into between the City of Portola and GLCSD. The request for a public hearing was made, and the water board responded that a public hearing would not be held at this time but would be held at a later date. The Infrastructure Committee will meet again next week to discuss the next steps and the path forward.
4. Consent Agenda
A. Claims:
3 Adopt Resolution No. 2642. The resolution authorizes payment of payroll from February 7th, 2026 through February 20th, 2026 and accounts payable from February 26th, 2026 through March 11th, 2026 The amount of payroll to be paid is $38,391.51
The amount of accounts payable to be paid is $92,208.26 The total amount to be paid is $130,599.77
B. Minutes
Adopt the minutes of the February 25th, 2026 Regular City Council Meeting.
Councilmember Pat Morton motioned to approve. Councilmember Jim Murphy seconded the motion.
The roll call vote:
Aye Mayor Bill Powers Aye Mayor Pro Tem Mikki Battaglia Aye Councilmember Jim Murphy Aye Councilmember Pat Morton Aye Councilmember Lauren Miller
5. State of California, California Natural Resources Agency: Agreement for Water Storage Tanks & Resolution 2643
City of Portola is looking to secure seven (7) 2500-gallon water tanks at no cost to the City through a program offered by the State of California Department of Water Resources. The tanks will be transported to Golden Springs by the Public Works department. The tanks will be used for emergency water storage. The program has been reviewed by City Attorney and staff, and as part of the agreement with the State of California, City Manager Bonk will serve as the authorized signatory for the project.
Mayor Pro Tem Mikki Battaglia motioned to approve. Councilmember Pat Morton seconded the motion.
The roll call vote:
Aye Mayor Bill Powers Aye Mayor Pro Tem Mikki Battaglia Aye Councilmember Jim Murphy Aye Councilmember Pat Morton Aye Councilmember Lauren Miller
6. City Engineer Employment Agreement: Rio Grande Street Pavement Rehabilitation STIP Project This draft agreement is a continuation of the employment agreement with the City Engineer, Dan Bastian, that qualifies the City to continue receiving reimbursement from the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) for the next phase of the Rio Grande Street Pavement Rehabilitation project. There are no financial impacts for this project, as it is 100% reimbursable.
Councilmember Pat Morton motioned to approve. Mayor Pro Tem Mikki Battaglia seconded the motion.
The roll call vote:
Aye Mayor Bill Powers Aye Mayor Pro Tem Mikki Battaglia Aye Councilmember Jim Murphy Aye Councilmember Pat Morton Aye Councilmember Lauren Miller
7. Adjournment
The regular meeting of the Portola City Council adjourned at 6:22pm.