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.