The Portola City Council held a regularly scheduled meeting on the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 28, with Mayor Pro Tem Tom Cooley and Councilmember Stan Peiler absent.

After the pledge of allegiance, the meeting moved directly into public comment. With none, the meeting moved briskly into city communications.

City Council communications

Councilmember Phil Oels reported that he had attended the recent Burn Wise event held by the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District (NSAQMD) and had spoken.

Councilmember Bill Powers reported that he had attended a recent meeting of the transportation commission, in addition to “last Saturdays’ extravaganza at the memorial hall.” According to Powers, the NSAQMD event was very well attended.

Mayor Pat Morton reported that she had attended a meeting of the Local Emergency Services Study Group, or LESSG, as well as the first meeting of the season with the Eastern Plumas Angel Tree Program.

Interim City Manager Jon Kennedy reported that the Beckwourth Fire Department had responded to a total of 28 calls during the month of August, with seven calls for the Beckwourth division and 21 in Portola. Of the seven calls in Beckwourth area, five were for medical aide, one was for an illegal burn pile and one was for a vehicle accident. Of the calls made for Portola, 15 were for medical aide, one call went out for a lift assist and there was one fire alarm. The department also responded to one traffic accident, a lightning fire, a chimney fire and a vehicle fire in the Portola division.

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Mikki Brown, Targeted Airshed Grant Specialist with the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District (NSAQMD), reported that “the recent Burn Wise event was a pretty good success, people interacted and picked up useful information.”

“Ultimately there are still a lot of grants left- our grant totals are just under 9 million dollars and we have a lot of work to do. Thank you, Bill and Phil, for attending and participating at the event, it was wonderful,” Brown said.

Interim City Manager Jon Kennedy reported that there were nine more properties to add to the community cleanup program list since the last meeting.

Resolution No. 2527 concerning covid remote meetings

“This is our monthly check in to continue with remote meetings under the emergency order,” Kennedy said. Morton clarified that she felt there wasn’t enough space for social distancing in chambers at city hall. Powers made a motion to approve with…