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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2011)
Spily^y Tym oo, Warm Springs, Oregon Pdge 13 Ju ly 13, 2011 Resolutions of Tribal Council (Continued from page 12) Whereas Ventures’ is plan ning on upgrading the Apparel Factory’s roof, HVAC system, Septic and other required repairs to the building to make it us able; and, Whereas due to the critical nature of services to be pro vided by the Tribal Telco timely property m anagem ent is re quired to address p o ten tial building issues that arise from time to time; now, therefore, Be it resolved by the 25th Tribal Council of the Confed erated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, pursu ant to Article V, Section 1 (f), (1) and (o) of the Constitution and By-Laws as amended, that “Ventures” through its affiliated company “Warm Springs Prop erty M anagem ent, L L C ” is hereby assigned the A pparel Factory building in order to im prove and maintain the building, market and lease the property to the Telco and Ventures’ ad ministrative offices in order to further the Tribes economic de velopm ent and em ploym ent goals; and, Be it further resolved that the Tribal Council authorizes Ventures through its affiliated company Warm Springs Prop erty Management to negotiate, approve and execute all appro priate documents, fiscal instru ments or contracts, permits and any amendments as needed to market and lease the above ref erenced property; and, Be it further resolved Tribal Council maintains the right to prohibit any proposal it deems detrimental to Tribal land or it’s Membership. Teleco infrastructure Whereas the Confederated Tribes o f the Warm Springs R eservatio n of O regon (“Tribe”) is a federally recog nized Indian tribe; and, Whereas by Resolution no. 11,181, Tribal Council formed the Warm Springs Telecommu nications Company (“WSTC”), as a subordinate organization pursuant to Article V, Section 1 (o) of the Tribal Constitution for the purpose of providing ex panded and improved telecom m unication services on the Warm Springs Reservation to tribal members, Tribal and pri vate businesses, critical facilities, Tribal and other governments; and, W hereas by R eso lutio n 11,181 Tribal Council recog nized that it is in the best inter est of the Tribes “to provide an effective rnechanism to operate and manage telecommunications on the reservation” through WSTC; and, Whereas the Articles of In corporation of the WSTC state that the purpose of the corpo ration is to, among other things, enter the telecommunications business and become the gen eral telephone provider on the Warm Springs Reservation, to construct, operate and maintain all forms o f telecom m unica tions services including tele phone signals over wire line, microwave, and cellular radio systems, cable television services and electronic data of all types and kinds, and to develop, im prove and manage the telecom munications infrastructure on the reservation and the lands of the Tribes; and, Whereas in August, 2010, the T ribe and W STC w ere awarded a Broadband grant and loan funding under the Ameri can Recovery and Reinvestment A ct in the am ount o f $5,445,920 (“ARRA Funding”) and WSTC plans to begin imple menting infrastructure improve ments and other activities in support of telecommunications services in November of 2010; and, Whereas the WSTC will be responsible for the care and maintenance of its current and future telecommunications in frastructure to a specified de marcation point which includes, but is not limited to communi cations towers, radios, antennas, fiber optic cable, and other out side plant telecommunications facilities associated with the dis tribution of wired and wireless communication services; and, Whereas the Tribe, its de partments and enterprises cur rently manage many existing tele communication assets on the reservation; and, Whereas the Tribe currently funds the maintenance of tele communications infrastructure out of its capital budget; and, Whereas in order to effec tively manage its existing and future telecommunications in frastructure the Tribal Council finds that it is in the best inter est of the Tribe to consolidate the management of the outside plant telecommunication assets on the reservation under the WSTC; now, therefore, Be it resolved by the 25th Tribal Council of the Confed erated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, pursu ant to Article V, Section 1 (f), (1) and (o), that management of the outside plant Tribal telecommu nications infrastructure be as signed to the WSTC; and, Be it further resolved that a written directive shall be issued to all offices, departments, agen cies, employees and agents of the Tribes, its enterprises and subordinate bodies, notifying them of the purposes and re quirements of this resolution. ('Resolution no. 11,411.) Teleco service preference Whereas the Confederated Tribes o f the Warm Springs R eservatio n of O regon (“Tribe”) is a federally recog nized Indian Tribe; and, Whereas by Resolution No. 11,181, Tribal Council formed the Warm Springs Telecommu nications Company (“WSTC”), as a subordinate organization pursuant to Article V, Section 1 (o) of the Tribal Constitution and By-Laws, for the purpose of providing expanded and im proved telecommunication ser vices on the Warm Springs Res ervation to tribal m em bers, Tribal and private businesses, critical facilities, Tribal and other governments; and, Whereas by Resolution No. FI,181 Tribal Council recog nized that it is in the best inter est of the Tribes “to provide an effective mechanism to operate and manage telecommunications on the reservation” through WSTC; and, Whereas the Articles of In corporation of WSTC state that the purpose of the corporation is to enter the telecommunica tions business and become the general telephone provider on the Warm Springs Reservation in order to, among other things: • Construct, operate and maintain telecommunications as a secure, profitable business of the Tribes as it related to all forms of telecommunications services, including the receipt and transmission of telephone signals over wire line, micro- wave, and cellular radio systems; the provision of cable television services and electronic data of all types and kinds; • To develop, improve and manage the telecommunications infrastructure on the reserva tion and the lands of the Tribes; • Enable the Tribes to de velop its resources for the ben efit of Tribal members; and • To assist the Tribes in de veloping its Reservation into an economically viable home land for present and future gen erations of our people; and Whereas WSTC will provide the Reservation with new, state of the art, telecommunications that will support new economic development opportunities, edu cational benefits and improved health care for tribal members that would not be achieved with out creation of the WSTC; and, W hereas the success o f WSTC, its ability to improve telecommunications infrastruc ture on the Reservation and to achieve the purposes and ben efits identified in the WSTC Ar ticles of Incorporation relies on the support of the Tribe, acting through its tribal administration and various departments, enter prises, subordinate bodies and tribal members; and, Whereas in August and Sep tember, 2010, the Tribe and WSTC were awarded a Broad band grant and loan funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in the amount of $5,445,920 (“ARRA Funding”) and a technical assis tance grant of $200,000 through the U.S. Department of Agricul ture Rural Utility Service (“RUS Grant”); and, W hereas the ab ility for W STC to repay the ARRA Funding loan and to meet the ARRA Funding and RUS Grant requirem en ts is th reaten ed when WSTC is not considered or consulted regarding the pro vision of telecommunications services to and for the Tribe and this undermines the ability of WSTC to provide benefits and services to the Tribe and the tribal membership; and, Whereas in order to best support the growth of WSTC and ensure its success for the benefit of the Tribe and tribal members, all tribal offices, de partm ents, agencies, E nter prises, employees and agents of the Tribe must consider WSTC as a possible provider of tele communications services to the extent that WSTC provides the required services; and Whereas in the event the WSTC cannot provide required services or the service does not meet the requirements of the Tribe, then tribal offices, depart ments, agencies, Enterprises, employees and agents of the Tribe must enlist the consulting services of the WSTC in mak ing telecommunications deci sions in order to ensure that any product or service selected is compatible with the technology u tilized by the W STC; now therefore, Be it resolved by the 25th Tribal Council of the Confed erated Tribes of Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, pursu ant to Article V, Section 1(f), (1) and (o), that all tribal offices, de partm ents, agencies, E nter prises, employees and agents of the Tribe are directed to give preference to W STC in the award of telecommunications contracts for services to and on the Warm Springs Reservation pursuant to tribal guidelines for Indian Preference of Indian- owned economic enterprises; and Be it further resolved that all tribal offices, departments, agencies, Enterprises, employees and agents of the Tribe are di rected to consult WSTC regard ing any telecommunications ser vice or product to be purchased by a tribal entity and to, in any such purchase, maintain compat ibility with WSTC to the extent feasible; and Be it further resolved that a written directive shall be issued to all offices, departments, agen cies, Enterprises, employees and agents of the Tribe notifying them of the purposes and re quirements of this resolution. (Resolution no. 11,412.) Bio-mass Agreement, attached hereto as Exhibit “A,” with any minor modifications deemed necessary by the Secretary-Treasurer; and Be it further resolved that the Tribal Council hereby ap proves a waiver of sovereign im munity for the Memorandum of Agreement to become effec tive upon execution o f said docum ents. (R esolution no. 11,415.) Reburial W hereas certain N ative American human remains and funerary objects were unearthed from United States Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (“District”) lands that are sub ject to the requirements of the Native American Graves Pro tection and Repatriation Act (“NAGPRA”); and W hereas the D istrict has agreed to facilitate the reburial of Native American human re mains and funerary objects on District fee-title land southeast of Le Page Park near the John Day River, Sherm an County, Oregon;, and Whereas the Memorandum of Agreement (“MOA”), exhibit “A,” between the District, the Tribe, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Na tion, and Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reser vation, Oregon is intended to facilitate the reburial; and Whereas the MOA is limited in scope solely to the designa tion and use of a reburial site for N ative Am erican human remains and funerary objects that were unearthed from Dis trict fee-title lands; and Whereas the Tribe desires to enter into the MOA attached as Exhibit “A”; now therefore, Be it resolved by the 25th Tribal Council of the Confed erated T ribes o f the W arm Springs Reservation of Oregon, pursuant to Article V, section 1(a) and (1) of the Tribal Con stitution and By-Laws, hereby authorizes the Secretary-Trea- surer/C E O to execute the MOA, attached hereto as Exhibit “A,” with any minor modifica tions deemed necessary by thé Secretary-Treasurer/CEO; and Be it further resolved that the Tribal Council hereby ap proves a limited waiver of sov ereign immunity for the MOA, attached hereto as Exhibit “B” and authorizes the Secretary- Treasurer/CEO to insert the same into the MOA or to oth erwise execute any necessary docum ents to effectuate the same for the MOA, such waiver to become effective upon ex ecution o f said docum ents. (Resolution no. 11,416.) Whereas Tribal Council be lieves that a biomass fueled en ergy generation facility located on the Reservation will provide economic, environmental and social opportunities for the Tribe and tribal members; and W hereas W arm Springs Bio-Resources LLC (“WSBR”) is an Oregon limited liability com pany w h o lly ow ned by Warm Springs Power and Wa ter Enterprises (“WSPWE”), a chartered business enterprise w holly owned by the Tribe, which was formed for the pur poses of developing and partici pating in a biomass-fired power generation facility on the Res1 ervation and/or other activities associated with the Project; and Whereas Northwest Energy Systems Company (“NESCO”) a Washington limited liability company, is an experienced de veloper o f power generation facilities in the Pacific North west, has substantial experience in power plant development, fi nancing and operation, and has expressed interest in having its affiliate O regon B ioE nergy (“OBE”), an Oregon limited li ability company, develop a 38 MW biomass-fired power gen eration facility, on approxi mately 100 acres of land located within the Warm Springs Reser vation (the “Project”); and Whereas the Tribal Council, through Resolution 11,351, has previously granted a limited du ration site license to OBE to facilitate OBE’s ability to access the Site and undertake necessary permitting, feasibility and due diligence activities; and Whereas the Memorandum of Agreement, attached hereto as Exhibit “A,” sets forth the business terms agreeable to the Tribe for the good faith nego tiations regarding the develop ment of the Project and of de finitive business agreements re lated to the Project that are nec essary to permit and govern the location, financing, construction, operation and ownership of the Project on the Reservation; and Whereas the Tribe desires to Whereas the Warm Springs develop a long term and mutu Reservation is reserved for the ally beneficial relationship re exclusive benefit of the mem garding the Project; bers of the Confederated Tribes W hereas the W SPW E of the Warm Springs Reserva Board o f D irectors has ap tion of Oregon; and, proved the terms of the Memo Whereas the agriculture land randum of Agreement pursuant of the Confederated Tribes of to Resolution No, 11-1; now the Warm Springs Reservation therefore, of Oregon, is of significant cul Be it resolved by the 25th tural and traditional value to the Tribal Council of the Confed people of the tribes; and, erated Tribes o f the W arm Whereas that the Range and Springs Reservation of Oregon, Agriculture Committee and the pursuant to Article V, section 1 (0 Land Use C om -m ittee have and (1), of the Tribal Constitu been working with an Ad Hoc tion and By-Laws, Section 5(f) Cropland Planning Group com of the Tribal Corporate Char posed of tribal mem-bers and ter, the Tribe hereby authorizes technical staff, representatives the Secretary-Treasurer to ex from Oregon State University, ecute the M em orandum o f Oregon State University Exten Tribal farm sion Natural Resources Conser vation Service, m em bers o f C ultural and H eritage Commit-tee, Water Board, and Indian Health Services (IHS), whose purpose has been to pro vide perspect-ives, study issues, and develop recommendations to assist the Range and Agricul ture Manager in the establish ment and operation of the Tribal Farm; and, W hereas the B ranch o f Natural Resources is charged with the responsibility of man aging preserving and enhancing the Tribe’s natural, cultural re sources and sovereignty for the benefit o f the Confederated Tribes and its tribal members; and, Whereas the Range and Ag riculture D epartm ent w ithin the B ranch o f N atural R e sources has the responsibility of tribal agriculture land and the implementation of the Restora tion Plan, and development of a Farm Business Plan, that will provide opportunities for tribal member employment, and with an in teg rated approach to project planning consistent with Integrated Resource M anage ment Plan (IRMP); and, Whereas the Tribes will be using their adjudicated water rights; and, N ow therefore be it re solved by the 25th Tribal Coun cil of the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reserva tion of Oregon, that pursuant to Article V, Section I (a), (c), (d), (f), (1), and (o), (u) of the Tribal C onstitution and By- Laws, consistent with Range and Agriculture Restoration, that the Range and Agriculture Depart ment establish a Tribal Farm by re-establishing irrigation on all irrigable lands in the area known as Moody and to be expanded to other tribally owned land as practicable and desirable; and, Be it further resolved that the Range and Agriculture De partment will hire a tribal farm m anager, answ erable to the Range and Agriculture Manager, who will develop and operate the tribally owned farm profitably to increase tribal member em ployment and gener-ate needed income from tribal lands; and, Be it further resolved that all revenues generated by the Tribal Farm will be placed into a revenue account to be man aged by the Range and Agricul ture Department. The monies from this account will be car ried forward each year neces sary for the con tinued op-eration of the Tribal Farm; and, Be it further resolved, the Tribal Council authorizes, on a continuing basis, the release of funds upon the request of the G eneral M anager o f the Branch o f Natural Resources pursuant to an annual budget and use plan to assure funds are available in amounts at times said m anager determ ines are necessary to expeditiously ex ecute the work detailed in the Restoration Plan, as set forth in the Trust Settlement Agreement. Be it further resolved the Tribal Council directs and au thorizes the Secretary-T rea- surer/CEO and Chief Opera tions O fficer to w ork collaboratively with the Branch o f N atural Resources/Range and Agriculture Department, affected Tribal Com m ittees, BIA, IHS, USD A and other agencies to seek and secure the necessary agreements and finan cial resources, subject to Tribal Council re-view and concur rence, to implement the intent of this resolution. (Resolution no 11,441.)