1 City of Portola
MINUTES
Regular Meeting
Wednesday, July 08, 2026 06:00 PM
35 Third Ave, Portola, CA 96122
https://www.cityofportola.com/
https://zoom.us/j/3583067836
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 pm by Mayor Bill Powers.
1. Roll Call
Present: Mayor Bill Powers, Mayor Pro Tem Mikki Battaglia, Councilmember Jim Murphy, Councilmember Lauren Miller
Absent: Councilmember Stephan Mangum
Staff Present: City Manager Ryan Bonk, Administrative Services Manager Kristen Schiavone, City Attorney Steve Gross (Zoom), Finance Officer Susan Scarlett (Zoom)
2. Pledge of Allegiance
Led by Mayor Bill Powers
2. Public Comments
No public comment.
3. City Communications
1. City Council Communications
Councilmember Murphy had nothing to report.
Councilmember Miller had nothing to report.
Mayor Pro Tem Battaglia attended the Fire Safe Council meeting on June 11th, 2026. She attended the Lost Sierra Chamber of Commerce meeting on June 17th, 2026 and the Portola Fire Wise meeting on June 18th, 2026. She also mentioned that the next Portola Firewise meeting is taking place on August 20th and Lori Pini with Plumas County OES (Office of Emergency Services) will be presenting on evacuation preparedness.
Mayor Powers attended the Firewise Leads Meeting meeting on July 8th, 2026. He also spoke with Forrest Craig, the organizer of the upcoming Joint Emergency Wildfire Evacuation exercise taking place on July 16th, 2026.
2. Reports: Beckwourth Peak Fire Protection District / Plumas County Sheriff / Northern Sierra Air 2 Quality
Beckwourth Peak Fire Protection District - No report.
Plumas County Sheriff - No report.
Northern Sierra Air Quality - Mayor Pro Tem Battaglia reported that the 2026 Firewood Voucher program is going to end on July 15th, 2026 and that around seventy households in the area received two cords of firewood which is over the fifty households estimated. She also reported on the wood stove change outs for 2026.
3. Staff Communications
No report.
4. City Manager Report
City Manager Bonk reported that no alarms have been recorded on the continuous monitoring equipment installed on the Gulling Street Bridge. He also reported that the City is still awaiting the final Caltrans inspection report.
He provided an update on the Structural Rehabilitation Funding Applications. The United States Department of Transportation grant for preliminary engineering funding was not awarded to the City. On Caltrans's recommendation, the City applied for a third grant through the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), a fully federally funded program. Staff should find out by the end of August 2026 whether the City will be awarded this grant. Funding for the Caltrans Highway Bridge Program (HBP) award will not be known until 2027. He also reported that staff met with Senator Schiff’s office to discuss how critical this funding is to our region, and the Senator’s office promised to share the City’s concerns at the Federal level.
He discussed the upcoming Town Hall meeting at the Portola Veterans’ Hall on Wednesday, July 29th, 2026, from 5:30pm to 7:30pm, with Plumas County Supervisor Dwight Ceresola participating. A press release will be published closer to the meeting.
City Manager Bonk provided an update on the work being done by public works and the admin staff as follows:
Last week, public works completed a water line repair. Residents were sent a message via the Gensys Alert System about a potential water shutoff in the affected area; however, the repairs were made without shutting off the water.
The Golden Springs non-potable water line project is making progress and is expected to be completed by the end of next week.
Next week, the crew will be working on the Riverwalk yoga and meditation garden.
The newly hired accounting technician is doing a great job in the position. Along with the successful hire, the accounting work instructions were consolidated into a single Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), condensing 20 instructions into a streamlined process that enables any staff member to complete accounting tasks.
Staff is currently working on a draft Code Enforcement SOP. They are also reviewing and editing the current Utility Billing Policy. Both of these items will be brought before the council by the end of the year.
The City has launched a new interactive platform on our website that allows people to engage 3 with the City's budget and better understand how it works. The City is also considering launching an interactive platform for the public to view metrics on how the City provides services to people.
4. Consent Agenda
1. Claims:
Adopt Resolution No. 2663. The resolution authorizes payment of payroll from June 13th, 2026 through June 26th, 2026 and accounts payable from June 25th, 2026 through July 8th, 2026 The amount of payroll to be paid is $55,927.65
The amount of accounts payable to be paid is $159,933.59 The total amount to be paid is $215,861.24
2. Minutes
Adopt the minutes of the June 24th, 2026 Regular City Council Meeting.
Councilmember Jim Murphy 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 Lauren Miller Absent Councilmember Stephan Mangum
5. Wildland Fire Evacuation Exercise
City Manager Bonk provided an overview of the materials to be used in next week's joint emergency fire evacuation exercise. He went over the primary goals of the evacuation, which were designed to validate evacuation procedures such as emergency public notifications, traffic management, shelter operations, interagency communications, and healthcare coordination. The exercise is also intended to identify gaps prior to a real evacuation event.
He advised that the evacuation flyer that went out with the utility billing statements will be posted on the City of Portola website and the City’s Facebook page. He also stated that Mayor Powers will be present during the evacuation drill as a representative of the council.
Some other topics discussed included the evacuation drill being centered on the Nakoma, Iron Horse, and South Portola (South of the River). Signs will be placed throughout the area to inform the public of the live drill. Various agency staff and volunteers will be out in public during the event to answer questions, receive feedback from participants, and ease any concerns of those unaware of the planned evacuation drill.
6. Bank Account Signature Authorization and Removal
The motion to add Bill Powers and to remove Pat Morton as signatory authority on the City's Plumas Bank Account ending in 8288 was approved by vote on as follows:
Mayor Pro Tem Mikki Battaglia motioned to approve. Councilmember Lauren Miller seconded the motion.
The motion passed with the following vote:
4 In Favor Opposed
4 Abstained 1 Absent Recused
7. Ad Hoc Committee Consideration
The council discussed creating an Ad Hoc committee to review Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) funding. No decision was made on creating a new Ad Hoc committee for this purpose.
An Ad Hoc Committee consisting of Bill Powers and Mikki Battaglia was created to to make a recommendation on to how to further participate in this program. The Ad Hoc committee will bring their recommendation to the Council at a future regular meeting to either establish an Ad Hoc Committee or designate the function to a standing committee.
8. Adjournment
The regular meeting of the Portola City Council adjourned at 6:40pm.