MAY 15, 1999
5
TribfU Council Actions
Dear Editor:
As one of the Tribal Council, I am
compelled to give the General Coun
cil information that might help clear
up some confusion that is generated
by the rumor mill. As a Councilman,
it is my job to answer or give direction
to members. Open communication is
necessary for progress to occur.
Spirit Mountain Development Cor
poration has been functioning for
approximately five years. The es
sential purpose of the Corporation
is to make money for the Tribe! The
Tribe has hired a team of experts at
the corporation to make sound busi
ness decisions, keeping in mind what
is best for the Tribe. It is counter
productive to the Tribe when poli
tics or political pressure becomes in
volved in the decision-making. If the
team of experts has to worry about
how the Tribe or Council may react
each time a business decision is
made, eventually mistakes will hap
pen. It is very obvious that this par
ticular team of experts at Spirit
Mountain has shown that they can,
and have, made the Tribe very suc
cessful. That success is measured not
only by profit, but it has allowed the
Tribe to grow in unbelievable mea
surements. An example of political
pressure and lost revenue to the
Tribe was the construction of the
Lodge. Designbuild process versus
the three bid process. Spirit Moun
tain Corporation had selected Drake
Construction to design and build the
hotel. Drake Construction built the
Casino. But due to political pressure
they had to cancel the selection of
Drake and go with a three bid pro
cess. After the three bid process was
completed, it was found that the cost
of building the hotel was more than
if .Drake had done the work as a de
signbuild project. But due to the
involvement of political pressure,
schedules and deadlines were not
met.
The construction of the Lodge took
more than 120 days longer because
of these delays. As much as $2 mil
lion in revenue may have been lost
because of this. Estimates can be
obtained by multiplying the number
of hotel rooms by the average win
per room.
Designbid method added 120
days to the hotel completion.
The hotel occupancy rate is 65.
If you cut the estimated loss in
half, it would still be about $1 mil
lion in lost revenue. We don't have
to look far to see where political in
terference has caused serious prob
lems in other tribes. We should not
make the same mistakes. The cor
poration function is to make a profit
for the Tribe, not to appease politi
cal groups. We need to let people do
their jobs so we can continue to ex
pand and grow. My intention is not
to blame or point the finger, but to
make it very clear that the Tribe has
hired experts. We need to put our
trust in these individuals and let
them do their jobs.
Ed Pearsall
Tribal Council Secretary
Dear Editor:
Tribal member John Flansberg,
age 22, son of Cliff and June Burn
ham, has been sponsored by Ad
vanced American Diving Service to
be an apprentice piledriver for Lo
cal 2416 beginning on April 8. He
will work on the Willamette River
floating walk bridge job. He also has
worked at the Portland Airport for
WTW Piledriving, Inc. Currently he
is working for A.A.D.S. at the Port
of Vancouver Terminal 2 Dock Job.
Thanks to Dale Garland, A.A.D.S.
Piledriving supervisor; Ron Hanson,
WCTC apprentice coordinator; and
Pete Kelly, business agent for
Piledrivers Local 2416.
Congratulations to John Flansberg
on being sponsored for a four-year
apprenticeship.
June Burnham
Roll 1022
EDITORIAL POLICY:
SMOKE SIGNALS, a publication
of the Confederated Tribes of the
Grand Ronde Community of Or
egon, is published twice a month.
We have established an Editorial
Policy to encourage input from read
ers about stories printed In SMOKE
SIGNALS, and other tribal issues.
However, all letters must be re
ceived at the newspaper office with
author's signature, address, and
phone number In order to be con
sidered for publication. SMOKE
SIGNALS reserves the right to edit
any letter for clarity and length, and
to refuse publication of any letter
or any part of a letter that may con
tain libelous statements or personal
attacks. Not ail letters are guaran
teed publication upon submission.
Published letters do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of SMOKE
SIGNALS tribal employees, or
Tribal Council.
1SSULDAIE
JUNE 1
JUNE 15
JULY 1
Submissions must reach the
SMOKE SIGNALS office
by the dates listed.
Smoke Signals
Public Information Office
9615 Grand Ronde Road
Grand Ronde, Or 97347
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(503) 879-2254
FAX: (503) 879-2173
DIAP11NE
May 20
June 4
June 21
Wei(ne.sfy,tj, April 14-, till
The meeting was called to order at
5 p.m. by Ed Pearsall, Tribal Coun
cil Secretary. Kathryn Harrison,
Reyn Leno, and Mark Mercier were
all excused.
GOVERNMENT,
MANAGEMENT & BUDGET
SUBCOMMITTEE
D CTGR Trucking, LLC '99 Cal
endar Budget Approval. Bob
Haller moved, Val Grout seconded
to adopt Resolution No. 048-99
approving the proposed '99 Calen
dar Year Budget for CTGR Trucking,
LLC in the amount of $350,306.
Motion Carried 5-0-0.
D Additional Work Request on
Community Center Expansion
Project. Val Grout moved, Bob
Mercier seconded to adopt Resolu
tion No. 049-99 approving the ef
fort to accommodate desperate needs
for office space, the Committee rec
ommends that Tribal Council amend
the Community Center Expansion
Project budget to allow for additional
construction work on the project.
The new budget amounts to
$450,000. Motion carried 5-0-0.
D Honorarium Gift for Theo
dore Strong, Retiring Executive
Director CRITFC. An invitation
was received cordially requesting the
presence of Council at a day-long cel
ebration honoring Theodore Strong,
Retiring Executive Director of the
Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish
Commission (CRITFC). The Coun
cil, by full consensus, approved pre
senting artwork as an honorarium
gift to Mr. Strong and to authorize
executing a check for $250 to help
off set the costs of the celebration
festivities.
Petition to NIGC for Self
Regulation of Class II Gaming.
Bob Mercier moved, Ed Larsen sec
onded to adopt Resolution No. 050
99 approving the filing of a petition
for self-regulation of Class II gam
ing with the National Indian Gam
ing Commission (NIGC). Motion
carried 5-0-0.
0 Special BIA Election
Proposed Constitutional Amendment
On January 27, 1999 the Grand Ronde Tribal Council
passed Resolution No. 005-99 asking for the Bureau of In
dian Affairs (BIA) to conduct a vote of the Grand Ronde tribal mem
bership to amend the Tribe's Constitution, with regard to enrollment
requirements. This process is permitted under Article II, Section 1(e) of
the Tribal Constitution and federal law.
Notice of Grand Ronde Constitutional Election
The Bureau of Indian Affairs, Siletz Agency, has sent out a voters reg
istration packet for the upcoming election to amend the Constitution. THIS
WILL BE A FEDERAL ELECTION, NOT A TRIBAL ELECTION. All
tribal members of voting age will have to register to vote in this federal
election. If you do not register especially for this particular election, you
will not be eligible to vote. A voters registration form will be included in
the voters registration packet. This notice is to inform you of the federal
election, the dates set for conducting the election, and the importance of
registering especially for this election. The following dates have been
established for conducting the election:
MAY 3, 1999: Voters registration packets and registration forms mailed
to all tribal members of voting age.
JUNE 3, 1999: Registration forms must be received by the Siletz BIA
Agency on or before this date. If you do not register especially for this
election, you will not be eligible to vote.
JUNE 7, 1999: The proposed registered voters list will be posted in alpha
betical order for review in several Grand Ronde locations.
JUNE 18, 1999: Last day to challenge list of registered voters.
JUNE 25, 1999: Ballots mailed to registered eligible voters.
JULY 27, 1999: Election day. Ballots are due at the Siletz BIA Agency no
later than noon on this day.
The election results shall be posted on the front doors of the Grand
Ronde Governance Building, the Grand Ronde Community Center and
the BIA Siletz Agency, the Grand Ronde Health and Wellness Center
registration desk and on the posting board at the tribal government
modulars immediately upon completion of the ballot count, and shall con
stitute the official posting date.
Details of how to register and due dates for the election will be included
in the voters registration packet.
NOTE: If you have changed your name or address and have not in
formed the Tribe, please notify the Tribal Enrollment Office at 1-800-422-0232
or (503) 879-2253.
Questions regarding this special election, please call Ron Kortlever
or Mary Bands at the BIA, Siletz Agency Office at (541) 444-2679.