4 OCTOBER 15, 2001
Smoke Signals
October General Council Meeting
Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc., Education and Cultural
programs give presentations to the membership.
By Brent Merrill
The October General Council
meeting was held on Sunday the
7th at the Tribal Community Cen
ter in Grand Ronde. Spirit Moun
tain Casino President and CEO
Michael Moore gave a presentation
to the membership about the cur
rent status of the Tribe's most suc
cessful business. Education Direc
tor Marion Mercier and Cultural
Resources Director June Olson also
gave presentations about their re
spective programs.
Tribal Elder and council member
Val Grout gave the invocation and
the minutes for the September
meeting were approved. Here are
the highlights from the October
General Council meeting:
D Elder Committee
It was explained to the member
ship that Tribal Council would ap
point the new Tribal Elders' Com
mittee at their meeting on Wednes
day, October 10. Council appointed
Elders Cherie Butler, Clarice Ellison
and Ruby Bigoni to the committee
for two years each and appointed
Arlene Giffen-Beck, Louise
Maderios and Donna Casey to the
committee for one year each. Nomi
nations were made for the Elder's
Committee at the September Gen
eral Council meeting.
D SMGI
Tribal member and Chairman of
the Spirit Mountain Gaming, Inc.
(SMGI) Board of Directors Mike
Larsen introduced Moore to the
membership and he updated every
one about how the events of Sep
tember 11 affected the casino.
Larsen also introduced Tribal
members Monty Parazoo and Ron
Lampard as the newest members of
the SMGI Board of Directors.
Moore said that numbers for the
casino were down during the days
surrounding the recent tragic
events on the east coast, but over
all numbers were up from the same
time last year.
D Education
Mercier said her program is ex
panding and getting ready to move
to their new building when it is
completed. Mercier went over the
individual educational opportuni
ties that are offered to the member
ship through her department.
Mercier also detailed the program's
accomplishments for the year and
their goals for the future.
Mercier introduced new Adult
Education staff member Joanne
Carr to the membership. Carr
started her new position on Sep
tember 17.
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RESTORATION CELEBRATION
Saturday, November 24 Community Center
10am - Sharing of Old Photos 11 am - Opening Noon - Lunch
WATCH FOR MORE DETAILS.
According to Mercier, the Tribe's
Adult Education program had five
GED graduates and members
earned four Associates degrees and
one Bachelor's degree.
Mercier said the Tribe's Small
Business Department is now part
of her Education program.
The Small Business Department
graduated 25 people from their con
tinuing "Starting a Successful
Business" classes held in Grand
Ronde. The classes also produced
14 completed Tribal member busi
ness plans.
Mercier then introduced Tribal
Education Committee Chair Candy
Robertson who explained to the mem
bership that she and the other com
mittee members appreciated being
part of the overall education process.
D Grand Marshals Honored
Tribal Council honored the Grand
Marshals for this year's pow-wow by
giving them each blankets. This
year's Pow-wow Grand Marshals
were Dorothy Greene, Emma Sell,
Pearl Lyons and Cookie Jensen.
Tribal Elder Ruby Bigoni then
gave a special gift to Elder Dorothy
Lawe for all her hard work on the
Elder's Committee over the years.
fl Cultural Resources
Next, Olson introduced members
of her staff at the Tribe's Cultural
Resources department. Olson said
that Tribal members Jackie Whisler
and Bobby Mercier had accepted
positions with the department as
Chinuk language teachers.
Cultural department staff members
Lindy Trolan (Collections), Perri
McDaniel (Protection), Connie
Schultz (Grand Ronde Cemetery Pro
tection) and Josh Levy (Geographi
cal Information Systems Mapping)
each detailed their individual assign
ments for the membership.
Olson informed the membership
that over 900 culturally significant
items have been logged into her
department.
D Door Prizes
The door prizes were won by
Brenda Toumi, Jeff Gregg, Lynn
Hillman (each won $50) and Betty
Reed ($100). Reed donated her
winnings toward the planned
Veteran's Memorial.
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Tribal Investments: Gregory Lofts Project
Continued from front page
SMDC was invited to be a minor
ity owner in the project 18 months
ago by the developer AspenCarroll,
Limited Liability Company. And
though they share project owner
ship with six other investors, the
venture has been, thus far, very
lucrative.
"I'd say this has been extremely
profitable for the Tribe." said Blum.
His observation is backed up by
the simple fact that even though
the Gregory Lofts has not yet been
finished, 131 of the 133 residential
units have already been sold.
The building in its entirety com
prises 12 stories, with the top eight
floors making up the living spaces.
The second through fourth floors
will be devoted to office space and
parking, and the ground level spe
cifically designed for retail.
The size of the residential units
varies considerably, from simple 1
and 2-bedroom spaces on the lower
levels to penthouses on the 11th
and 12th floors. All units feature
hardwood floors, cherry cabinetry,
natural gas cooktops, high ceilings
and large spacious windows.
The space of the residential units
will also differ, from 750 to 3,350
square feet, as do the prices. Loft
spaces range from $190,000 to
$494,000, while penthouses are
typically $495,000 to $1,700,000.
The ground floor houses 20,000
square feet, and already proposals
have been made for restaurants, a
pharmacy, a jeweler and a barber
shop.
The construction of new lofts has
become extremely profitable the
last few years throughout the
United States, though it is not the
first time that large spacious stu
dios have been en vogue, accord
ing to a Metropolitan Home maga
zine article from 1999. Cities like
San Francisco and Boston experi
enced a resurgence of residential
loft development following the exo
dus of manufacturing companies.
Large, unoccupied warehouses and
former factories became the abodes
of painters and sculptors who
needed the space, as well as the
ability to exercise creative liberties
within their new homes.
By the 1990's, developers saw the
potential in the market and set about
erecting new loft buildings country
wide, targeting such artistic commu
nities as Portland's Pearl District.
The area is actually quite a good
example of the loft resurrection.
Originally an industrial area, the
northwest Portland neighborhood fell
into hard times back in the 1980's,
Inside View The new Gregory Lofts
project in Portland's Pearl District is just one of
the Tribe's investments. The Tribe's Spirit Moun
tain Development Corporation is a partner with
AspenCarroll, L.L.C. in the development. The
residential building is just minutes from down
town Portland and located near art galleries,
coffee houses and bookstores. The units range
from 750 to 3,350 square feet of space.
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only to be reinvigorated by the res
toration of many warehouses and
empty buildings, which in turn nur
tured the vibrant artistic community.
Presently, the Pearl District houses
scores of art galleries and cafes, and
is also home to intellectual hangouts
like the massive Powell's Books, in
addition to small coffee houses. The
area is also only a few blocks from
downtown Portland.
Many of the new lofts and stu
dios boast 90 percent occupancy
rates. Waiting lists for would-be
residents are not unheard of.
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