Smoke Signals 3
FEBRUARY 15, 2004
Tribal Council Hears Public Works Report At
February General Council Meeting
Questions on Tribal land acquisition and the Grand Ronde road-widening project punctuate the meeting.
By Ron Karten
The February General Council meet
ing was held on Sunday, February 1,
at the Tribal Community Center in
Grand Ronde. Here are the highlights:
Tribal Chairwoman Cheryl Kennedy
called the meeting to order; Tribal
Council member Jan D. Reibach of
fered the invocation.
Public Works Director and Tribal
member John Mercier described the
wide range of philosophies, jobs and
employees that keep Tribal facilities
open to the public.
"We have many mission statements,"
he said, quickly showing one after the
other on the overhead projector that
made up the visual part of the presen
tation. They included providing a "safe
and healthy environment" to all who
visit and use Tribal facilities. They
utilized "a team approach." They put
"people first." They valued the Tribe's
human resources. And they focused
on "respect - we respect everyone and
we expect everyone to respect our fa
cilities." And while all statements of
mission appeared worthy of ultimate
inclusion, Mercier promised that the
department would in the future put
together one as the department's offi
cial mission statement.
Twenty seven staff positions do the
work of the department, said Mercier,
including four managers, six mainte
nance technicians, 12 housekeepers,
two cemetery caretakers and two sea
sonal groundskeepers. Twenty five
are Tribal members.
Those workers are responsible for
39 buildings, including 18 that are
open to the public andor serve as of
fices or for other public functions,
seven have limited use, four are for
storage, four are shops and six remain
vacant and boarded up.
Of those, 13 are new construction,
1 1 are modulars, eight are remodels,
and seven are old construction.
"I can't emphasize enough our ad
herence to the land," said Mercier,
and described the Tribe's strategy for
managing its 1,008 acres in Grand
Ronde. One hundred-150 acres are
intensively managed. Two hundred
acres are managed on a limited ba
sis, oixty are managed Dy pint
Mountain Casino. And the rest are
only managed on an "as needed" ba
sis. Questions came up seeking clarifi
cation on the Tribe's land acquisition
policy. Tribal member and Tribal
Land Management Coordinator Mike
Wilson reported that the Tribe is con
tinuously pursuing opportunities to
purchase land particularly in the
core areas of Grand Ronde Road and
along Highway 18 for future uses.
"We've continually outgrown our
plans," said Wilson.
Responding to a question wondering
why the Tribe purchases property long
before any use for it has been decided,
the Tribe's General Manager Cliff
Adams said, "(Some) people are ask
ing six to 10 times what the land is
worth." If the Tribe finds a property
within the core areas that is reason
ably priced, the Tribe takes advantage.
"We want to be proactive," said Adams.
In regard to this, the Public Works
Department continues to work on a
Comprehensive Plan for the Tribe. One
put forth a few years
ago never was ac
cepted by Tribal
Council, said Mercier.
Challenges for the
department include
managing the in
creased use of facili
ties and the infra
structure supporting
it; the growing com
plexity of building
systems such as
sound but also in
cluding sophisticated
heating and cooling
units; the staffing for
many new events,
multiple shifts, pre
venting damage and
misuse of property;
educating the public
and seeking its sup
port. Illegal dumping,
both at the recycling
area and on reserva
tion woodlands,
names the most diffi
cult and immediate of
problems for the department. As re
cently as the night before the meeting
Mercier had a call from an unnamed
Tribal member reporting a pile of gar
bage dumped in the Tribal woods.
"The Tribe is extremely generous in
. y . v-r .n . ?J
x ' I
-'V.-- ra , fc ; -1
General Council Presentation Public Works Director and Tribal member John Mercier
described the jobs and facilities the department handles day-to-day for the Tribe.
:.':.. .l.. .;.v:
......
b"y ....
Tribal Land Management
Coordinator and Tribal
member Mike Wilson
allowing Tribal lands to be used by the
public," said Mercier. "A beautiful com
munity," he said, is the department's
"hugest challenge."
Door prize winners included $50 win
ners: Tribal members Priscilla Lopez,
Jessie Brann and Susan Reyes. Tribal
Member Jeffrey Brooks won the $100
prize.
Tribal Staff Attorney Deneen
Aubertin-Keller won a Valentine's Day
Basket in a drawing benefiting Elders'
Committee programs.
Tribal Elder Betty Bly asked when
the Tribe is going to start widening
Grand Ronde Road. The plans are 90
percent complete, according to the
Tribe's Engineer Eric Scott. "We hope
to start on the southern part (of the
project) this summer," he said.
A question came up about the possi
bility of re-routing the many trucks
that now barrel down Grand Ronde
Road. Unfortunately, according to
Mercier, the state Department of
Transportation's plans to widen
Route 22, an alternate route, have
been set back by a few years, so
other than the widening project on
Grand Ronde Road, and the bike
and pedestrian paths slated to come
with it, relief from the trucks re
mains years in the future.
Tribal member Linda Bean Olson
asked about salary increases for
Tribal Council members. Tribal
Council Chairwoman Cheryle
Kennedy reported a 4. 1 percent cost
of living increase, which all Tribal
employees received. Council mem
bers also received an additional four
percent salary increase, the first in
crease in four years for Tribal
Council members, according to
Tribal Council member Jan D.
Reibach.
Tribal member and Director of
the Spirit Mountain Community
Fund Angie Blackwell, expressed
her disappointment with a staffing
decision by the Tribal Council for
the Community Fund's board and
apologized for a previous outburst
about the decision.
Olson said that election rule changes
leave too little time to campaign. The
new rule limits campaigning to 45 days
between Tribal Council nominations
and the vote.
She asked for the dollar amount be
ing spent by the Tribe for coffee, tea
and sundries supplied free to Tribal
employees and guests.
She also said that the Housing De
partment needs extra staff to take care
of the Tribe's housing facilities.
Tribal member Maxine Leno sought
better conditions for Tribal physicians,
including eating and sleeping facilities
at the clinic. She also asked that phy
sicians receive permanent appoint
ments and raises in pay.
Tribal member Shawn Hostler
sought information about the Tribal
language program currently funded for
pre-schoolers. Although the Culture
Department had submitted an
$800,000 annual price tag for the lan
guage classes to be funded through
high school (when students are en
rolled in the classes in every grade),
Tribal Council is not yet ready to com
mit to that. However, the council is
seeking a proposal for a first grade
class so that those having had the
Chinuk Wawa lessons in pre-school
will be able to continue their studies.
"We won't be a Tribe without cer
tain components," said Hostler, refer
ring to the language classes.
"There will always be a Tribe," said
Reyn Leno.
"It's futile to go part of the way," said
Culture Department Director June
Olson. "If classes stop, kids will for
get everything they have learned."
Tribal Council member Valorie
Sheker-Robertson presented a plaque
to Tribal youth Julian Rock for return
ing to Tribal Council a money order
with substantial value. The plaque
said in part: "Your Tribe and your
Tribal Council acknowledge you for
your honesty and integrity."
"We're very proud of the work that
you're doing raising your children to
be honest citizens," said Tribal Coun
cil Chairwoman Cheryle Kennedy to
the boy's parents.
Kennedy also noted that Tribal mem
ber Tim Holmes and Michaelle
Kimsey, wife of Tribal Elder Marvin
Kimsey, were in the hospital in very
serious condition and that Tribal mem
bers Janelle Haller and Shelly Kent
also faced serious medical problems.
Holmes was recovering well as Smoke
Signals went to press, but sadly,
Michaelle Kimsey, long a force in the
life of the Tribal community, and on
the Tribe's Rodeo Committee, passed
away.