10
S moke S ignals
MAY 15, 2017
Tribal Council OKs grant application to expand Behavioral Health
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Tribal Council approved applying
for a $500,000 Indian Community
Development Block Grant that,
if received, would help the Tribe
expand behavioral health services
offered by the Health & Wellness
Center.
But not without some hesitancy.
The federal grant would help de-
sign and construct a 1,900-square-
foot addition that would provide
space for group counseling rooms,
offices and confidential lobby space.
According to the resolution ap-
proved by Tribal Council in a 5-2
vote, the current Behavioral Health
Department offices are small and
cannot effectively accommodate
family counseling and large group
sessions. The demand for drug and
alcohol group sessions has almost
doubled, the resolution adds.
If the grant is received, the Tribe
would need to fund a $167,000
minimum match in 2018. Building
operation and maintenance costs
are estimated at $15,000 annually.
The proposed matching grants
funds and annual operating costs
prompted Tribal Council Secretary
Jon A. George and Tribal Council
member Denise Harvey to vote
against the application, citing cur-
rent review of the Tribal budget
and the unknown revenue effect of
the opening of the Cowlitz casino
in southwestern Washington in
late April.
George and Harvey also said they
were concerned that the public com-
ment period was still occurring at the
time of Tribal Council consideration.
Tribal Council member Kathleen
George said she was originally op-
posed to applying for the grant for
the same reasons, but supported it
after finding out that the Tribe can
decline the grant if it is awarded
and the Tribe has determined that
it cannot afford to assume the add-
ed yearly expenses. Tribal Council
member Brenda Tuomi also sup-
ported the application based on
the opportunity to have another
discussion later.
“I don’t think there is anybody
on this Tribal Council who doesn’t
want more mental health services
for this Tribe,” Kathleen George
said. “I don’t think that is the issue
at all. I think what you are seeing
is Tribal Council people struggling
with a little bit is that if this grant
were awarded it would commit us
to $167,000 in matching funds and
$15,000 per year to support the new
construction.
“The issue is simply that we are
in the process of doing contingency
budgeting and making plans for
what at this point is still an un-
known impact to our revenue from
the new facility.”
During the Tuesday, May 2, Leg-
islative Action Committee meeting,
Jon A. George said that the Health
& Wellness Center was originally
designed so that the four wings can
be extended.
“It was a medicine wheel when
you have an aerial view,” Tribal
Council Vice Chair Cheryle A.
Kennedy, who was the first Health
Department director for the Tribe,
said. “The top of it is a cedar basket.
The tiles were changed so it has
a little bit different look now, but
that was always the idea, but each
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of the corridors were all built to be
expanded so we would not have a
different shape.”
Tribal Council Chairman Reyn
Leno also reported that revenues at
Spirit Mountain Casino during the
first week of the Cowlitz casino’s
opening were even with those of the
same week in 2016, which is good
news since the Tribe estimated
annual revenues of more than $70
million in 2016 and substantially
less in 2017.
In other action, Tribal Council:
• Approved an amendment to a con-
tract with Industrial Economics,
the Tribe’s technical consultant
for Portland Harbor and related
cleanup and natural resources
damage activities, that would
update the two scopes of work to
reflect current tasks;
• Approved the agenda for the
Sunday, May 7, General Coun-
cil meeting, which will give the
membership an overview on the
Tribe’s strategy for dealing with
effects of the Cowlitz casino;
• Re-appointed Jerri Schmidt to
the Grand Ronde Gaming Com-
mission for a three-year term;
• And approved a three-year agree-
ment with Automated Elections
Services of Rio Rancho, N.M., to
provide the Tribe with continued
technical support services during
Tribal elections.
Also included in the May 3 Tribal
Council packet were authorizations
to proceed that allow the University
of Oregon to use the Tribal logo for
its science campus funding endeav-
ors and directs the Tribal Cannabis
Economic Opportunities Team to
work with the Tribal Attorney’s Of-
fice and Finance Officer to conduct
a risk analysis and identify issues
that may arise if the Tribe decided
to engage in different sectors of the
cannabis industry.
Cultural Resources Department
employees Jordan Mercier and
Brian Krehbiel and Tribal youth
Kailiyah Krehbiel performed the
cultural drumming and singing to
open the meeting.
The entire meeting can be viewed
on the Tribal website, www.gran-
dronde.org, by clicking on the News
tab and then Video.
We Want To Hear From You!
That’s right, the Grand Ronde
Health & Wellness Center
Comment Box is located at the
entrance of the Health &
Wellness Center, next to the
drinking fountain.
Share your
experience, good
or bad with us!
We look forward to
hearing what you
have to say.