S moke S ignals
APRIL 15, 2016
5
Demolition set for Multnomah Greyhound Park site
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Tribal Council awarded an
$888,777 contract to Konell Con-
struction & Demolition Corp. of
Sandy, Ore., on Wednesday, April
6, to demolish the structures on
the 31-acre site in Wood Village
that used to house Multnomah
Greyhound Park.
The Grand Ronde Tribe pur-
chased the site on Dec. 11, 2015,
and is eyeing the property as a
location on which to diversify its
economic opportunities in Oregon
and to help generate activity in
Wood Village.
The property is located within the
historic homelands of the Cascade
and Clackamas Chinook Tribes,
which confederated to Grand Ronde
in the mid-19th century. The two
Tribes ceded the land to the feder-
al government in the Willamette
Valley Treaty of 1855.
Multnomah Greyhound Park
closed in 2004 and the land has
sat vacant and unused since then.
At its height, the Greyhound Park
attracted more than 611,000 spec-
tators in 1987. The old grandstand
facilities, which are in an advanced
state of disrepair, are still standing.
Demolition will begin on the site
during the week of April 11-15, said
Tribal Engineering Department
Manager Jesse White, with the
start of asbestos and lead abate-
ment work.
White said it will take four
months for the demolition to be
complete with abatement taking
approximately two months followed
by about two months of actually
tearing down of the grandstand
structure and several support
buildings to prepare the site for
future development.
In addition, the Tribe is donat-
ing several items to the Oregon
Greyhound Adoption program, a
nonprofit in Oregon that provides
homes for retired racing grey-
hounds. The program will receive
60 wire crates, as well as cabinets
and countertops from the site.
During the Sunday, April 3,
General Council meeting held in
Eugene, Tribal Council Chairman
Reyn Leno said the Tribe has not
defined plans for the site other than
potentially building a motel as a
centerpiece on the property.
In other action, Tribal Council:
• Approved an amended Funding
and Participation Agreement at
the Astoria Marine cleanup site
on the banks of the Lewis and
Clark River in Astoria. The Tribe
is a Natural Resource trustee for
the site;
• Approved an amended Resto-
ration Credit Agreement for the
Portland Harbor superfund site
cleanup;
• Re-appointed Harold Lyon, Tra-
cy Howerton, Eva Simmons and
John Lillard to the Fish & Wild-
life Committee;
• Re-appointed Gladys Hobbs,
Bernadine Shriver and Patti
Tom-Martin to the Health Com-
mittee;
• Re-appointed Shelby Maerz and
Tammy Cook to the Education
Committee;
• Re-appointed Faye Smith, Mar-
garet Provost, Sarah Ross and
Marcus Gibbons and appointed
Veronica Gaston to the Culture
Committee;
• Re-appointed Bob Mercier, Jon-
Bike helmets available
athan George, Shonn Leno and
Mel Holmes to the Timber Com-
mittee;
• Re-appointed Janel Lara to the
Powwow Special Event Board;
• Re-appointed Deanna Johnston
to the Election Board;
• Re-appointed Marline Groshong
and Shonn Leno and appointed
Steve Rife to the Ceremonial
Hunting Board;
• Re-appointed Reina Nelson, Ray-
mond Petite and Wink Soderberg
and appointed Albert Miller
to the Veterans Special Event
Board;
• Re-appointed Michael Mercier,
Terri Wood and Margaret Provost
to the Enrollment Board during
a special Wednesday, April 13,
Tribal Council meeting;
• Adopted an amendment to the
Tribal Council Operating Pro-
cedures that will move Tribal
Council scheduling of meetings
to Friday instead of the current
Monday;
• And approved the enrollment of
three infants into the Tribe be-
cause they meet the provisions
outlined in the Tribal Constitution
and the Enrollment Ordinance.
Also included in the April 6 Tribal
Council packet were authorizations
to proceed to:
• Authorize the Grand Ronde Trib-
al Police Department to purchase
body cameras for use by its police
officers, as well as vehicle camer-
as;
• Authorize the Natural Resources
Department to accept a $6,570
grant from the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service for telemetry
tags to be used for the Lamprey
Translocation Project;
• Approve a memorandum of agree-
ment between the Tribe and the
American Red Cross;
• Instruct the Tribal Attorney’s
Office to research means by which
Smoke Signals would operate
independently of the control and
influence of Tribal government
and prepare draft documents that
would establish Smoke Signals
as a newspaper with editorial
independence;
• And direct the Tribal Attorney’s
Office to revise the Fiscal Man-
agement and Public Records or-
dinances so that audited financial
statements could be mailed to
Tribal members.
Tribal Council member Jon A.
George joined Culture Department
employees Bobby Mercier, Travis
Stewart and Jordan Mercier and
Public Affairs Administrative As-
sistant Chelsea Clark in perform-
ing the cultural drumming and
singing to open the meeting.
The meeting, in its entirety, can
be viewed on the Tribal website at
www.grandronde.org by clicking
on the News tab and then Video.
Board seeking younger veterans
The Tribal Veterans Special Event Board is recruiting younger veterans
– Iraqi and Afghanistan veterans – to join.
“Our committee is getting older,” said Veterans SEB Chairman Steve
Bobb Sr., who is a Vietnam War-era Marine Corps veteran.
Members of the Special Event Board attend events as flag carriers and
represent the Tribe, as well as their branch of service. Veterans interested
in volunteering should contact Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia Martin
at 503-879-2304 or stacia.martin@grandronde.org.
The Tribe’s Social Services Department has bicycle helmets
available for distribution. Those needing a helmet need to visit the
department and sign a helmet application, as well as get fitted.
For more information, contact Social Services at 503-879-2034.
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where
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9675 Grand Ronde Rd.
Taught indoors with possible
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Registration is required. Contact
Surabhi at 503-581-3855.
Contact Francene Ambrose at 503-
879-3663 for more information.
details
Please plan to attend all 6 classes.
Participants get a free gardening
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