A Union Pacific Railroad “Big Boy” is coming to town. Portola Interim City Manager Susan Scarlett reported to the Portola City Council May 22 that one of the company’s articulated 4-8-8-4 steam locomotives will be at the Portola railroad museum in July.
“This happens to be the biggest steam engine in the world,” Scarlett said with a smile.
She and City Public Works Director Todd Roberts got the news at a recent meeting with the Western Pacific Railroad Museum. The rare historic locomotive, designed for mountain rail lines, will be in Portola July 10, with “quite a few folks expected to be in town that day for the event at WPRM,” Scarlett said. Planning is being coordinated with the city to develop signage and event details.
The city council discussed Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s settlement funds for local fire departments, briefly reviewing the balance of the funds and their use. Scarlett noted that the funds were a product of the 2022 settlement after the Dixie Fire, negotiated by the Plumas County District Attorney’s Office. Settlement of the civil case included $50,000 to each fire department in Plumas County.
“We feel that sending the remainder of that balance to the newly formed Beckwourth Peak Protection District is the right thing to do,” said Scarlett. With no public comment, councilmembers moved to approve the plan unanimously by roll call vote.
Nearly $54,000 in road maintenance fund
On the topic of road maintenance and rehabilitation, Scarlett explained that in 2017 the California legislature signed the Road Repair and Accountability Act, Senate Bill 1, into law. It created the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account to address deferred maintenance on both the state highway system and local streets and roads. SB 1 requires the city to adopt a list of projects planned to be completed with SB1 RMRA funding annually, with the list to be approved by the city council at a public meeting.
Scarlett placed Resolution 2578 on the May 22 agenda to address this state requirement. Portola will receive an estimated $53,744 in RMRA funding in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. Proposed projects listed in the resolution include rehabilitation of the Middle Fork Feather River bridge on South Gulling Street, and neighborhood rehabilitation projects in locations to be determined around the city. The annual resolution was adopted unanimously by roll call vote by all councilmembers.
City councilmember reports
In councilmember reports, Councilmember Bill Powers gave a “shout-out” to the Music in the Park team for all of their hard work in getting the summer musical lineup prepared for the months ahead during council communications. Mayor Pat Morton reported that she had attended a recent meeting of the Transportation Commission with discussion of finances and budgeting on that agenda. Morton also reported that for fire department–related news, there had been 33 calls in the City of Portola in the last month, with one for fire and 32 for medical-related incidents.
The Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District reported that green waste disposal would be ongoing from June 1 through June 25 for residents of the city. About 16 vouchers are left for curbside pickup for those disabled or low-income residents in need. Very few people attended the NSAQMD Wood Stove Fair, but the air-quality representative thanked those who had made the time to stop in. The NSAQMD chimney sweep voucher program has had a good response, with over 100 of those vouchers being utilized this year thus far.
City council vacancy
Portola still has a vacancy on the city council, Scarlett reported. “We still have employment opportunities at the city that are listed on the website, such as city manager, community engagement officer and public works,” she said. Scarlett also reported that the pool is cleaned and filled, and a swim lesson schedule should be public soon.
She also reported on a meeting held with the Beckwourth Peak Fire Protection District and that city public works had been hard at work on painting projects, with road repair and maintenance next on the list.
City Clerk Jason Shaw presented the Workplace Violence Protection Plan to council after a quick introduction from Scarlett. The plan would bring the city into compliance with California law SB 553, which requires formal training for city employees on potential violence in the workplace. SB 553 also addresses putting safety plans in place in the event of such violence.
Shaw reported that he participated in the generation of a comprehensive WVPP and associated training program, based on a template provided by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health. It was tailored to the needs of the City of Portola and its employees. After some minimal discussion, councilmembers approved the plan unanimously. “Everyone has to have an annual training,” Shaw said.
The city council held a quick discussion on the topic of tax lien purchase of property through Plumas County. Scarlett noted that the topic had been raised repeatedly at council meetings, and that she needed one more approval to finalize the process and allow the county to move forward. This was approved unanimously by roll call vote.
The council also unanimously approved the consent agenda and claims before moving on to a quick discussion of a resolution from the 2018 California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate, Coastal Protection and Outdoor Access for All Act. It is related to California Proposition 68.
“This is from the way-back machine; we have known about it for some time,” Scarlett said. “I know some ideas were kicked around early on about what type of project might work.”
Scarlett and Roberts discussed the project and suggested that bathrooms for the Riverwalk near the disc golf course might be a good fit for the grant funding. “We do come up as a severely disadvantaged community,” Scarlett noted. Councilmembers agreed unanimously by roll call vote, allowing Scarlett to move forward with the grant application process.
The final item on the agenda was informational, with Intermountain Disposal giving notice that there would be a change of service day for the south side of Portola. The south side residents that receive residential service will no longer be serviced on Thursdays; instead, solid waste and recycling will be collected on Mondays, the same collection day for north Portola residents.
