Spilyay Tymoo, Warm Springs, Oregon
February 14, 2018
Page 3
Question of value with Buy-Back
The value of certain al-
lotments on the reserva-
tion—properties that could
be sold back to the tribes
through the Land Buy-Back
program—was a point of
discussion at Tribal Council
last week.
Council met with ap-
praisers from the Office of
Appraisal Services, an office
of the Department of the
Interior. Appraisers from
the office are working with
tribes and the BIA to imple-
ment the Buy-Back compo-
nent of the Cobell settle-
ment.
One-hundred and five
reser vations, including
Warm Springs, are identified
in the 10-year Cobell Land
Buy-Back process.
The Office of Appraisal
Services last year used a
process called ‘mass ap-
praisal’ to come up with fair
market value calculations
for more than 340 tracts on
the reservation.
Acquisition offers to the
allottes will be the fair mar-
ket value, as determined by
the Office of Appraisal Ser-
vices.
Council members and
In some cases the
mass appraisal figure
for a tract can be
significantly differ-
ent—much lower, for
instance—from the
figure derived from a
site specific ap-
praisal.
staff last week expressed
some concern about the fair
market value figures that
the office had calculated for
at least some of the tracts.
The mass appraisal pro-
cess is defined as: “The pro-
cess of valuing a universe
of properties as of a given
date using standard method-
ology, employing common
data, and allowing for statis-
tical testing.” In this process,
details of hundreds or even
thousands of land transac-
tions from the surrounding
region are collected.
The information is then
applied to a certain tract,
with adjustments if neces-
sary, in order to determine
its fair market value. Valu-
ation factors can include
acreage, road access, timber,
urban rating, etc.
Another appraisal process
is ‘site specific,’ defined as:
“An appraisal process that
analyzes one tract at a time,
based on the physical and
economic characteristics of
the subject property com-
pared to similar properties.”
In some cases the mass
appraisal figure for a tract
can be significantly differ-
ent—much lower, for in-
stance—from the figure de-
rived from a site specific
appraisal. The goal then is
to reconcile the figures.
The plan has been to mail
offers to more than 300
allottees as early as this week.
The Office of the Special
Tr ustee, and the War m
Springs Land Buy-Back rep-
resentative Randy Scott have
suggested delaying the mail-
ing until some fair market
valuation questions have
been clarified.
The appraisals that were
done last September, though,
are valid for nine months; so
there is a time element.
Council will address the issue
again soon.
Dave McMechan/Spilyay
The Plateau Travel Plaza is set to open in early March. For tribal members the
Plateau will open on Friday, March 2. The opening for the general public will be
on Saturday, March 3. The official Grand Opening will be in early April. Picture
below is the store area facing the main cashier desk.
41st Lincoln’s Birthday Powwow
Veterans Memorial Park
Committee working on funding
Courtesy Lana Shike
Having some fun at Lincoln’s last weekend:
Anilese Roselyn Danzuka (above), 18
months, daughter of Owen and Arlena
Danzuka; and Boreena Stwyer, Miss
Lincoln’s Powwow 2018.
Courtesy Honey-Rose Butler
Individuals, businesses
and other organizations can
take a true part in the Warm
Springs Veterans Memorial
Park.
Personalized, engraved
bricks—honoring War m
Springs veterans—will be
incorporated into the me-
morial park pathway and
central memorial feature.
These would be perfect for
family members of the vet-
erans.
The memorial park com-
mittee has different size and
style bricks to choose from:
The 4x8 bricks are $150, and
the 8x8 bricks are $250. You
can have just words on the
brick—the veteran’s name,
branch and years of service
for instance—or add a mili-
tary design.
The committee members
to speak with about the
bricks are Johnathan
Courtney, Tamera Calhoun,
Charles Tailfeathers or Dan
Martinez. You can reach
Mr. Courtney at:
Coujw196@gmail.com
The memorial park com-
mittee met with Tribal Coun-
cil this week for an update.
The group has the prelimi-
nary drawings for the me-
morial and park, and are
now working toward design
engineering blueprints.
The committee, working
with the community devel-
opment director, last year
secured a large grant from
the Spirit Mountain Commu-
nity Fund. The tribal capital
fund and the bricks will add
to the needed funding.
Veteran and family volun-
teers are already planning to
help with the work, with
Warm Springs Construction
ready to do the site prepara-
tion work.
The design of the memo-
rial, by architects of the Mu-
seum at Warm Springs, in-
cludes an elevated mound,
and walkways leading up to
the central feature. Seven
flags of the military branches,
large basalt pillars with veter-
ans names, a central fountain
and flame feature, a bronze
Warrior, and the Soldier’s
Cross add to the memorial.
Note from Warm Springs Sanitation
Warm Springs Sanita-
tion has reported an in-
crease of tires and haz-
ardous materials such as
motor oil and hydraulic
fluid at the tribal landfill
transfer stations.
They remind folks
that tires cannot be left
Courtesy Marge Kalama
at the transfer stations, and
must be taken to the com-
mercial entrance to be dis-
posed of.
There is a cost to dispose
of tires. The tribes pay an
outside disposal company
for this, and the prices have
increased.
If anyone sees non-
Warm Springs residents
using the landfill and
transfer stations, please
report it to Russell Gra-
ham at 541-553-4943,
or call the War m
Springs Police Depart-
ment.