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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 2006)
4 FEBRUARY 1, 2006 Smoke Signals Friday, December 28, 2005 4:00 p.m. Meeting was called to order by Tribal Council Chairwoman, Cheryle Kennedy. A quorum was present. Present was Jack GifTen, Jr., Cheryle Kennedy, Reyn Leno, Chris Mercier, Kathleen Tom, Wink Soderberg and Wesley "Buddy" West. Excused was Angie Blackwell (personal leave) and Jan D. Reibach (personal leave). Invocation was done by Wesley "Buddy" West. PREVIOUS MINUTES APPROVEAMEND Reyn Leno moved, Wink Soderberg seconded to approve the December 14, 2005, Tribal Council regular meeting ml, lea as presented. Motion carried 6-0-0. NEW BUSINESS 1. General Council Meeting January 8, 2006, Agenda Items Public Affairs Director's Year in Review Report Door Prizes $250 (1 at $100 and 3 at $50) Announcements: 1. Elders Committee Election 2. The next General Council meeting is Sunday, February 12, 2006, at 11 a.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel Portland Airport, 7900 82nd Avenue, Port land, Oregon. Jack Giffen, Jr. moved, Reyn Leno seconded to adopt a motion approving the General Council meeting January 8, 2006 agenda items as presented. Motion carried 6-0-0. '!' ,,. j LEGISLATIVE ACTION COMMITTEE Rodeo Special Event Board Re-Appointment. Chris Mercier moved, Reyn Leno seconded to adopt Resolution No. 197-05 re-appointing Harold Lyon to the Rodeo Special Event Board for a two year term ending December 31, 2007. Motion carried 6-0-0. Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments Board of Directors Appointments. Wesley "Buddy" West moved, Jack Giffen, Jr. seconded to adopt Resolution No. 198-05 appointing Chris Mercier and Kathleen Tom as the of ficial representative(s) for the Tribe to the Mid-Willamette Valley Council of Governments Board of Directors. Motion carried 4-0-2. Chris Mercier and Kathleen Tom both abstained. Extension of Committee and Special Event Board Membership. Chris Mercier moved, Reyn Leno seconded to adopt Resolution No. 199-05 extending the terms of current members of Tribal Committees and Special Event Boards to January 31, 2006, to allow time for Committees and Special Event Boards to sub mit recommendations. Motion carried 6-0-0. Calendar Year 2006 Operating Budget. Jack Giffen, Jr. moved, Chris Mercier seconded to adopt Resolution No. 200-05 approving the 2006 Calendar Year Operating Budget, effective January 1, 2006. Motion carried 5-1-0. Kathleen Tom voted no. NOTICES Reminders ( Council Members attending. . .Listed in BoldItalics) B Tribal Leadership Forum is scheduled for Sycuan Resort & Casino, February 6-7, 2006, in San Diego, California. Room, airlines, and registrations need to be made. Contact information: www.tribalselfgov.orgtriballeadershipforum.asp Wink Soderberg and Wesley "Buddy" West B ATNI Winter Session, February 13-16, 2006, at the Embassy Suites Hotel Portland Airport. Room and registrations need to be made. Jack Giffen, Jr., Cheryle Kennedy, Reyn Leno, Chris Mercier, Wink Soderberg, Kathleen Tom and Wesley "Buddy" West B Indian Gaming '06 Trade Show, April 2-5, 2006. More information to follow. Cheryle Kennedy, Jack Giffen, Jr. and Reyn Leno UPCOMING EVENTS IN GRAND RONDE Tribal Committees and Special Event Board member Summit is scheduled for Monday, February 6, 2006, at Spirit Mountain Casino. For more information, contact Dakota Whitecloud, Tribal Council Relations Coordinator by phone 503-879-1309 or by e-mail dakota.whitecloudgrandronde.org ADDITIONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS Presentation of an honorarium gift from Clay and MJ Kesterson of a bronze miniature sculpture of the Afghan-Iraq Freedom Memorial on behalf of the Tribe's donation towards the sculpture to be placed on the grounds of the Oregon State Capitol. The sculpture is to be completed by memorial day in 2006. In addition, honorarium plaques were bestowed upon Gene LaBonte and Carl Lambert of the Grand Ronde Veterans in recognition of their efforts assisting the family in fundraising. Their son was killed in the Iraq conflict in 2003. B Tribal member and Veteran Gene LaBonte and spouse Billie LaBonte presented a beaded Native American Veterans medal to the Kestersons. OTHER BUSINESS Jack Giffen, Jr. moved, Wesley "Buddy" West seconded to adopt Resolu tion No. 201-05 approving the following; 1) the designation of the Grand Ronde Road Improvement Project from Highway 18 to 22 as the Tribe's high est priority road project; 2) application to the Bureau of Indian Affairs for $745,679 in Indian Reservation Roads High Priority Project funding for road widening, bike lane and sidewalk improvements along Grand Ronde Road from Highway 18 to Highway 22; 3) commitment of the Grand Ronde Tribe's 2005 and 2006 Bureau of Indian Affairs Indian Reservation Roads alloca tions to the Grand Ronde Road Improvement Project; 4) commitment of the Tribe's $500,000 2003 Indian Community Development Block Grant as matching funds for this Indian Reservation Roads High Priority Project funding application; 5) commitment of $197,000 in Grand Ronde Tribal General Contingency funds as matching funds for this project; 6) authori zation for the Bureau of Indian Affairs to place this project on an IRR HPP Transportation Improvement Program if such project is selected and ap proved; 7) authorizing the Tribal Council Chairwoman, or in her absence, the Vice-Chairperson to execute the forms for this application. Discussion followed. Motion carried 5-0-1. Chris Mercier abstained. Rebecca Crocker 1807 commented the following: 1. Commented on the layout and articles written by the Tribal Council in the first edition of the Tilixam Wawa. 2. Regarding an article authored by Tribal Council member Wesley "Buddy" West in the Tilixam Wawa on the perceived impact of off res ervation gaming, what does council member West see as the Tribe's future economic strategy? Council member West stated that the council is strate gically planning possible cost reductions in Tribal programs dependent on future gaming revenues. Chairwoman Kennedy stated that one casino on reservation land is the current policy and many Oregonians support this policy. Many obstacles would have to be overcome before a casino would be built off reservation or by a non-Tribal entity. The council is looking at economic di versification, for instance, ventures with other Tribal nations. In addition, educating Tribal members and the public on issues before the Tribe must continue. Finally, securing the kind of consultant(s) to look out for the needs of the Tribe is being looked into, but will cost money for the caliber needed. Council member Wink Soderberg advised the membership that (in his own opinion) it is a likely outcome that off reservation gaming will reduce the Spirit Mountain Casino's gaming revenue. This may mean cuts in Tribal programs, lower per capita, etc. Council member Chris Mercier stated that the council is looking at the endowments. They need to be fully funded, as this may be the cushion needed in the future for the Tribe's economic health. Council member Soderberg stated that he would not approve another operating bud get for the Tribe, if presented in the same manner as this year's budget. Council member West stated he was appalled with the CY2006 operating budget as presented, thus making it hard for Tribal members to provide comments when council is still working on the budget. Rebecca Crocker 1807 asked which of the council members voted no at the Legislative Action Committee meeting. Council member Kathleen Tom, who voted no, stated that further reductions are needed in some programs and that not all programs were addressed by council. Chairwoman Kennedy advised that the council focused on programs covered predominately by Tribal dollars not from outside funding, i.e. grants. However, the council did bal ance the CY2006 Operating budget prior to approving it. Council member Leno commented that a lot of the scheduled budget review meetings were canceled due to lack of attendance on the part of Tribal Council. Council member Tom stated that she was not absent for those meetings. A motion requesting to go into Executive Session to provide confidential financial fig ures to Tribal members only, failed as no second was. received. Finance Officer Larry Kovach advised that a summary of the CY2006 Operating Bud get may be obtained from Nancy Renfrow following the meeting. Council member Mercier affirmed that cost of the Tribal Administration budget has lowered from 16 to 10 over the last years. Chairwoman Kennedy advised that beginning in January of 2006, the council is looking into developing new procedures regarding the CY2007 Operating budget. Bryan Mercier 1357 raised concerns about the sustainability of Tribal programs. Council needs to look to a way of gaining feedback from Tribal members on prioritizing program needs in light of potential gaming revenue reductions. Betty Bly 3544 asked the following: 1. Asked council member Soderberg to clarify his comment regarding not approving another operating budget if pre sented in the same manner as CY2006 budget. Council member Soderberg stated that as a new council member you step right into reviewing the budget without the program knowledge and the process. Next budget he will attempt more changes with the gained knowledge from this year's review. 2. Asked council member West's for source of 40 loss figure in his article. Council member West stated there were two different outside groups that have analyzed the impact of off reservation gaming on the casino. There is a possibility that the 40 reduc tion in gaming revenue could be low. 3. Asked what steps are being taken to fill the vacancies on the Enrollment Requirement Ad Hoc Committee. Chairwoman Kennedy stated that there will be a meeting before the Legislative Action Com mittee on January 18, 2006 to recommend appointments to fill the vacancies on the committee. Discussion followed. B Perri McDaniel 2524 asked the following: 1. Asked that council consider sharing the evaluations of Tribal programs with the membership. Discus sion followed. Acting General Manager Chris Leno advised that the Tribe is meeting with the consultant on Thursday, December 29, 2006, and will pre pare a version for Tribal members, protecting the confidentiality of certain information garnered from the program evaluations. 2. Asked for an update on the Tribe's involvement with Oregon Cultural Trust. Has the Tribe pur sued obtaining funds? Is the Culture Committee the membership's contact on this? Discussion followed. Council member Tom asked that Ms. McDaniel provide any materials she may have for review. Chairwoman Kennedy re quested the Kim Rogers of Policy & Planning contact the Oregon Cultural Trust and report back to the council. 5:01 p.m. Wink Soderberg moved, Chris Mercier seconded to adjourn the meeting. Motion Carried.
