Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 2003)
OCTOBER 15, 2003 Smoke Signals 5 Wednesday, August 20, 2003 Actions continued from page 4 torney, to retain an independent investment manager to invest these funds per GRTHA investment policy guidelines. Motion carried 5-0-0. B Transfer of Accounting Functions Housing Authority to Finance Division. Val Grout moved, Bob Haller seconded to adopt Resolution No. 157- 03 directing the Grand Ronde Tribal Housing Authority (GRTHA) to trans fer all accounting record keeping to the Finance Division, effective January 1, 2004, in order to consolidate all accounting functions and ease the transition to GASB-34. Discussion followed. Motion carried 5-0-0. H Demonstration Grant for Indian Children Office of Indian Educa tion. Jan D. Reibach moved, Ed Pearsall seconded to adopt Resolution No. 158- 03 authorizing application to the Department of Education's Office of Indian Education for up to $400,000 in grant funds from the Demonstration Grants for Indian Children program for a two-year project and authorizing the Tribal Chair to sign the application for funding and the General Manager to execute modifi cations and amendments as necessary and to execute contracts under this project. Motion carried 5-0-0. B Ft. Yamhill Development Project. Valorie Sheker-Robertson moved, Ed Pearsall seconded to adopt Resolution No. 159-03 committing to: 1) providing a road access easement to the State's property using the road course currently under design by the Tribe; 2) providing $12,000 for supplemental road design and $3,500 for Lewis & Clark staging area design from the 2003 Land Acquisition Contingency Budget; 3) seeking non-Tribal funding for construction of a staging area for the Lewis & Clark traveling museum currently estimated at $60,000; and 4) seeking $308,609 in non-Tribal funding to complete a paved access road. Discussion followed. Motion carried 5-0-0. Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIIIEAP) Grant Ap plication. Bob Haller moved, Val Grout seconded to adopt Resolution No. 160-03 authorizing the Tribe's application to DHHS for Low Income Home En ergy Assistance Program grant funding, authorizing the use of a reduced Indi rect cost rate for this grant program, and authorizing the Chair to execute all forms required for this application. Motion carried 5-0-0. Realty MarketingNorthwest Contracts. Valorie Sheker-Robertson moved, Ed Pearsall seconded to adopt a Resolution No. 161-03: 1) approving the agreements with Realty MarketingNorthwest for the marketing and sale of foreclosed properties by sealed and open auctions; 2) authorizing the Finance Officer, with the assistance of the Tribal At torney, to finalize and execute said agreements; and 3) approving a limited waiver of sovereign immunity, which waiver is limited to disputes between the Tribe and Realty MarketingNorthwest regarding payment of commissions aggregating $50,000 or less directly related to each agreement, arbitration of such disputes in accordance with each agreement, and enforcement of a resulting arbitrator award in the Tribal Court of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. Discussion fol lowed. Motion carried 5-0-0. B Spirit Mountain Logistics, LLC use of UBS Line of Credit. Jan D. Reibach moved, Val Grout seconded to adopt Resolution No. 162-03 authoriz ing the use of up to $500,000 of the Tribe's line of credit by Spirit Mountain Logistics, LLC for use as working capital to fulfill current and future require ments under the Hewlett Packard contract. Discussion followed. Motion car ried 5-0-0. 5:47 p.m. Val Grout moved, Bob Haller seconded to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried. Grand Ronde Tribal Members Can Live At Home Now Families move into new 36 unit housing development. By Peta Tinda Families and children have been moving into the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde's new housing de velopment, "Chxi Musam Illihi," a 36 unit housing complex located on Grand Ronde Road, since it opened this past summer. About 23 families have moved in thus far and are quickly becoming accustomed to the close communal living that the development offers. Most of the residents say that the development is a very good place to raise kids. "The dishwasher is awesome," said resident Kimberly Contreras, who moved into a four-bedroom home this summer. "The house is great, it's beauti ful, the neighborhood is fine, and there is lots of kids for my kids to play with," said Contreras. The development, which was built using United States Housing and Urban Development funds, is all new and the tenants say they are doing their best to keep it that way. The Tribal Housing Authority has garnered good reviews for its promptness and responsiveness to the residents' problems. For example, when Contreras's refrigerator broke down, she said, they replaced it the very same day. Tribal Housing Authority Rental Coordinator Larry Leith, who over sees the development, said that most of the residents are quite pleased with their new homes. Most say they are favorably im pressed with the size of the homes, which range from single occupancy homes to four and five bedroom units. Two of the units are com pletely handicapped accessible, with handrails and lowered counters. Leith is at the development almost every day and knows firsthand the residents' concerns. "We've only had a few minor com plaints, like kids running around and a few minor maintenance is sues, like you get with any new con struction, but so far no major prob lems or disturbances." "It's a good group," he added. "It The combination of low traffic, rural setting and communal awareness makes for a very safe environment for children. Joe Ulestad, who works as a Table Games Dealer at Spirit Mountain Casino, said he wants to move in because he thinks it would v n 'Wk- i ir J 7 , ; l y I " iiJ(ti,p : -J, :-' f Safe At Home Tribal member Amber Finney, shown here with her children Raeann Knight, 12, Gabriel Knight, 11 months, and Dillan Knight, 5, is just one of the many Tribal members who have made the Tribe's new housing development home. Finney likes the size of her new house, and says she feels that the development is a safe environment to raise her children. really is." Leith admits that the verification process is sometimes a long one, but it's necessary to ensure that the residents fill the criteria for living at the development. "It's not just ok, you're a Tribal member, you can move in," said Leith. "Part of the reason for the exten sive application process is to coun teract any problems." be good for his two children, Tajia, age 5, and Keenan, age 9. "I want my kids to grow up here," he said. "My son wants to move out here bad, just so he can play with the other kids." The Tribal Housing Authority has plans to build two more hous ing developments in the near fu ture to provide accommodation for families like Ulestads. The houses in the development were designed from the outset to be very energy efficient, which will save the residents money by reduc ing their heating and electricity bills. All of the houses have double pane windows, radiant floor heat ing and energy efficient appli ances. Security is provided by the same Prostar se curity that looks after the Tribal office build ings and most residents say they feel very safe in their new homes. Fire service is pro vided by the local fire department and there are many fire hydrants situated throughout the development. Another feature of the new development is that the Tribe provides the phone service, which means that the resi dents can call the Tribal offices by dialing a 4 digit extension number. The residents still have to pay for their phones, but the rate is very com petitive, said Leith. Tribal member Ray Duran, who lives at the development with his aunt and uncle, said that it is very quiet, and very safe for kids. "There's a lot of families here and everybody knows everybody. The streets are safe for kids to play in no one goes flying around cor ners or anything," said Duran. "It gave a lot of people a place to live, and now they have more money for other things, like their families."
