JANUARY 15, 2005
Smoke Signals 3
Housing Authority Update At January General Council Meeting
New Elders' Committee members named, some Elders seek gastric bypass surgery.
By Ron Karten
The January General Council
meeting was held on Sunday,
January 9, at the Tribal Commu
nity Center in Grand Ronde. Here
are the highlights:
Tribal Chairwoman Cheryle
Kennedy called the meeting to or
der. Tribal Elder Val Grout offered
the invocation.
The Elders' Committee finished
voting and announced the winners
for three committee openings: Tribal
Elders Louise Coulson, Tom
LaChance and Ruth Rickard.
Tribal Housing Authority Execu
tive Director Carina Kistler Ginter
gave detailed information about
Housing Authority programs and
thanked the personnel who keep
the programs going.
The Housing Authority offers
the following home ownership
services to Tribal members:
Both HUD- and Tribal-funded
down payment assistance grants,
coordination and referrals to lend
ers for Section 184 loans,
homeownership counseling, pre
purchase assistance, predatory
lending avoidance tips, home in
spection advice, down payment as
sistance grants, debt counseling,
foreclosure avoidance, home repair
and remodeling programs, property
management, housing develop
ment, HUD administrative services.
The Housing Authority has in
2004:
Awarded $939,972 in Down Pay
ment Assistance (DPA) grants to 80
Tribal members, served Tribal
members in 11 states mostly Or
egon, Washington, Michigan and
California one of four Housing Au
thority grants were funded by
HUD.
Housing opportunities
through the Tribe include:
74 Tribal housing units for Elders
and families, 36 homeownership
manufactured homes, deferrals to
additional housing resources and
developments on Tribal-owned
lands.
In addition to the Tribe's property
in Grand Ronde, the Housing Au
thority is seeking land owned by
Tribal members in the Portland,
Salem and Eugene areas for poten
tial cooperative developments, ac
cording to Kistler Ginter. Potential
joint projects are dependent on the
amount of land, its location and
other factors, she said. Interested
Tribal members should contact the
Housing Authority by phone (503-879-2403,
1-800-422-0232 ext.
2403) or email
(housinggrandronde.org).
HUD funding provided:
$215,513 in administrative costs to
operate the Housing Authority in
2004, $392,285 for 34 Down Pay
ment Assistance grant awards to
Tribal members since October,
2003, 43 percent of Housing Au
thority 2004 staff salaries. This
amount will increase to 60 percent
in 2005 and include the addition of
two new shared staff positions (rec
reation and crime prevention spe
cialists) anticipated for 2005.
Tribal Home Repair and Re
modeling programs:
Home repair grants, medical adap
tation grants, weatherization pro
gram, and in 2005, a home im
provement pilot program.
In 2004, the Housing Authority
provided:
39 Medical Adaptation Grants to
taling $88,637 (215 awarded in the
last nine years), 38 home repair
grants totaling $229,079, 7 weath
erization grants totalling $18,229
(162 grants for both home repair
and weatherization in last nine
years).
In 2004, Indian Health Services
Sanitation Grants provided:
11 projects totalling $97,897 to pro
vide water and sewer capabilities
(169 grants in last nine years).
HUD funding for Tribal Hous
ing Development:
Hip Tilixam, 38 Elder housing
rental units: $3,468,931,
Chxi Musam Illihi, 36
family housing rental
units: $5,816,736, hous
ing Authority office build
ing and shop: $813,513.
Housing and Develop
ment Activities
planned for 2005:
Elder foster homes (see
photos this issue, page 5),
Elder Activity Center,
family housing phases II
and III (currently in ne
gotiations with archi
tects), Sanitation facility
for Tribal housing, plan
ning for market rate El
ders' rentals, development
plans for non-Grand
Ronde areas.
Housing Goals for
2005:
Eliminate housing devel
opment infrastructure
barriers, complete archi
tectural design for Elders'
activity center, administer
Down Payment Assistance, Home
Repair, Medical Adaptation,
Weatherization and Alternative
Housing grants and manage Tribal
housing projects, begin infrastruc
ture Family Housing Phase II and
III, begin housing construction, be
gin architectural design for Elders
rentals, phase II, investigate hous
ing development opportunities out
side the Grand Ronde area, begin
planning for local homeownership
construction development, con
tinue collaboration with Tribal de
partments to develop service refer
rals for housing residents, plan for
recreation activities for GRTHA
housing project residents.
Elder Housing Rent and Income
Information (Fair Market Rents)
Fair market rents (FMR) published
in the Federal Register vary by
area 2004 FMR for Polk County is
$671 for a two-bedroom unit (all
Elder housing units have two bed
rooms), GRTHA uses 80 percent of
FMR for maximum rent determina
tions maximum rent is calculated
using 80 percent FMR minus $128
utility amount Hip Tilixam current
maximum rent is $409month.
Elder Housing Rent and Income
Information (Income Informa
tion) Timber revenue payments are not
included in income Elder benefit of
$l,000month is not included in
monthly rent calculation. Per
capita payments ($431.75month
for 2004 ($5,181), $480.83month
for 2005 ($5,770) are included in
monthly rent calculation (a HUD
requirement).
Elder Housing Rent and Income
Information (Factoids):
No Elders presently pay the maxi
mum rent of $409. Average rent
paid is $99.00month. Highest rent
paid is $286.00month. Lowest rent
paid is $0month (4 of 37 pay no
rent). As of March, 2004, Elder
rents were reduced by 33 percent
5
jllf in i ii
Housing Authority Executive
Director Carina Kistler Ginter
(The percent of adjusted income
was reduced from 30 percent to 20
percent). Utility allowance of $128
month is deducted from calculated
rent bi-annual rent determinations
are based on occupancy date.
Many questions were raised
about HUD and NAHASDA regu
lations. As a result, the Tribe will
have a HUD and NAHASDA expert
at the March General Council meet
ing. Questions also came up about
whether the Tribe is required to col
lect rents, what rent, if any, is ap
propriate to charge Elders, and
whether the Housing Authority
employs too many staff members for
the job.
"I'm offended that we're making
our Elders pay to live on our land,"
said Tribal member Rod Bly.
The council considers all Tribal
members and all Tribal Elders
when making decisions like the cost
of housing, and that it was not fair
to make decisions for Grand Ronde
Tribal Elders without looking at the
big picture said Tribal Council mem
ber Angie Blackwell. Only 10 per
cent of Tribal Elders live in Grand
Ronde.
"I think our Elders have it better
than they've ever had it," said
Tribal Elder and former Tribal
Council member Val Grout.
"People, its got to be fair across the
board."
Tribal member Linda Olson ad
vised that county roads running
through some of the housing units
are not Trust property and as a re
sult, youngsters without driving li
censes should be aware that driv
ing on these roads is not legal.
She also suggested the Housing
Authority employ a counselor to
work with troubled families in
Tribal housing. "There are things
that go on after hours that concern
me," she said, while also indicating
that counselors from Social Services
may result in more stigma than
help.
A question came up about the
Tribe helping disabled Veterans.
There is no question of the Tribe
supporting Veterans said Tribal
Council member Valorie Sheker
Robertson. "We just want to make sure that
it doesn't damage their other ben
efits," she said.
Questions came up about the
Tribe funding gastric bypass sur
gery, sought by a number of Tribal
Elders. Two procedures have been
approved by council, said Mike
Watkins, Health Clinic Director,
and 10 others are going through the
evaluation process. The clinic is
seeking Tribal Council approval to
have three more bypasses done this
year.
The Tribe works with the Portland
Clinic to do the bypass evaluations
and operations. The $20,000-
$40,000 operation has been effec
tive in eliminating diabetes, a ma
jor health problem among Tribal
members, according to Tribal Elder
Patty Tom-Martin, chair of the
Health Committee.
Bypasses have been delayed so
long that some Tribal Elders ap
proved for the operation are now
no longer healthy enough to get it.
The $50 door prizes went to
Tribal Elders Nadine McNutt, Char
lotte Gray and Tribal member Lewis
Younger, who donated his prize to
the local Veterans Association.
Tribal member Myriah Shandy
won the $100 prize.
A drawing also was held for free
tickets to the U.S. National Figure
Skating Championships held in
Portland this month. The Spirit
Mountain Casino is a major spon
sor of the event (See story this is
sue, page 6).
Announcements:
The next General Council Meeting
will be Sunday, February 6, 2005,
at 11 a.m. at the Embassy Suites
Hotel at Portland Airport, 7900
N.E. 82nd Avenue. Originally
scheduled for Eugene, the meeting
was changed to accommodate an
ATNI meeting in Portland the fol
lowing day.