6
S moke S ignals
NOVEMBER 15, 2017
Tribal Council OKs amendments
to Public Records Ordinance
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Tribal Council approved amend-
ments to the Public Records Ordi-
nance on Wednesday, Nov. 1, that
will expand Tribal members’ ability
to request and receive public records
and allow for electronic dissemi-
nation of Tribal records through
e-mail.
“Tribal Council … believes that
Tribal government should be open
and transparent, but recognizes that
the protection of Tribal sovereignty
and culture prevents disclosure of
some Tribal records,” the amended
ordinance states.
The ordinance says that Tribal
records “are generally presumed to
be available to the Tribal member-
ship” except for records considered
confidential under applicable Tribal,
federal or state laws or policies, such
as personnel, medical and individual
financial records, among others.
The amended ordinance limits
obtaining Tribal records to enrolled
Tribal members and allows delivery
of electronic copies of Tribal records
free of charge if possible.
Tribal Staff Attorney Brooks
Wakeland said the proposed amend-
ments received only one comment
when they went out for membership
input.
“The purpose of this is to make
records more available to the Tribal
membership and make it an eas-
ier process,” Tribal Attorney Rob
Greene said during the Tuesday,
Oct. 31, Legislative Action Com-
mittee hearing. “We would like to
see more people requesting those
records and having availability to
them.”
“I think, as a Tribal government,
we’re trying to review our policies
and update some of them,” Tribal
Council member Kathleen George
said during the same meeting. “Ap-
proved records that are available for
sharing, in this day and age there is
no reason that we can’t share those
via e-mail.
“We needed to update our practic-
es because, without intentionally,
we were making these kind of obsta-
cles to Tribal members getting infor-
mation that there is no reason that
they shouldn’t have access to. These
amendments will really modernize
the ways our Tribal members can
get information, and make it much
easier for them and much easier for
our staff.”
The Nov. 1 meeting was the last 5
p.m. meeting of 2017. With the end
of Daylight Saving Time on Sunday,
Nov. 5, Tribal Council meetings will
start being held at 4 p.m. every other
Wednesday to allow staff and meet-
ing attendees to get home earlier
during the shorter daylight hours
of winter. Tribal Council meetings
usually return to 5 p.m. in April.
In other action, Tribal Council
approved the Nov. 5 General Coun-
cil agenda, which was held mostly
in executive session. Before lunch
there was a hearing on the 2018 pro-
posed budget and after lunch there
was a Tribal member-only briefing
on Spirit Mountain at Wood Village.
Also included in the Nov. 1 Trib-
al Council packet were approved
authorizations to proceed that set
the 35th Restoration Celebration
for Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018, to avoid
a conflict with Thanksgiving Day;
permits staff to proceed with the
Early Childhood Building expansion
project with a construction budget
set at $740,000; authorizes Audit
Services Director Trudi Yoshikawa
to conduct a six-week review the
2017 Tribal Election process and
make recommendations on how
to improve the process and create
efficiencies; and transferred $8,680
from contingency to fund the pur-
chase of 560 turkey/ham certificates
for employees and committee and
special event board members for the
holiday season.
General Manager David Fullerton
also announced that Tribal Council
approved viewing parties of General
Council meetings in the Portland
area office, 4445 S.W. Barbur Blvd.,
starting with the Dec. 3 meeting.
The entire meeting can be viewed
by visiting the Tribal website at
www.grandronde.org and clicking
on the News tab and then Video.
General Council briefed
on 2018 draft budget
Second session provides update on Wood Village site
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Approximately 60 Tribal mem-
bers attended two executive ses-
sions in the Tribal gym on Sunday,
Nov. 5, that provided confidential
updates on the proposed 2018
Tribal budget and an update on
Tribal development plans for
Spirit Mountain at Wood Village.
Since both briefings were deliv-
ered in executive session, Smoke
Signals cannot report on the
details.
Tribal Finance Officer Chris
Leno gave a 36-minute briefing on
the proposed budget for 2018 and
then fielded comments and ques-
tions from nine Tribal members.
The membership input lasted
approximately 53 minutes.
Comments on the 2018 draft
budget are due by 5 p.m. Monday,
Dec. 4. The Tilixam Wawa draft
budget edition was mailed first
class to all Tribal member house-
holds at the end of October.
After lunch, the general mem-
bership received an update on
Spirit Mountain at Wood Village,
the Grand Ronde Tribe-owned
site that used to be Multnomah
Greyhound Park.
The 31-acre property in the east-
ern suburb of Portland was pur-
chased by the Tribe in December
2015 after it had been mentioned
as a possible site for a private
casino in Oregon.
In June 2016, the Tribe held an
event at the site and announced
that Spirit Mountain at Wood
Village would possibly become a
mixture of lodging, entertainment
and housing, as well as comple-
ment the Tribe’s Spirit Mountain
Casino in Grand Ronde.
Tribal members interested in
obtaining videos of the two execu-
tive session presentations should
contact Tribal Council Chief of
Staff Stacia Hernandez at 503-
879-2304 or via e-mail at stacia.
martin@grandronde.org.
In open session, Tribal Council
Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy
opened the meeting with a cul-
tural discussion about the 34th
Restoration celebration sched-
uled for Wednesday, Nov. 22, in
the Tribal gym and how “culture
was the backbone” for the Tribe’s
Restoration efforts in the late
1970s and early 1980s.
Tribal Elder and former Tribal
Council member Steve Bobb Sr.
volunteered to provide the invo-
cation.
Shane Partridge, Ann Lewis
and Dorothy Leno won the $100
door prizes and Raymond Tu-
omi, Dawson Partridge, Louise
Coulson, Bernadine Shriver and
Michelle Anderson won the $50
door prizes.
The next General Council meet-
ing will be held at 10 a.m. Sunday,
Dec. 3, in the Tribal Community
Center to accommodate the Tribal
Council Christmas Party, which
will be held shortly afterward in
the Tribal gym.
An edited video of the General
Council meeting, without the ex-
ecutive session briefings, can be
viewed on the Tribal website at
www.grandronde.org by clicking
on the News tab and then Video.
Supplemental Fish Distribution
Natural Resources Department
Fish Lab
47010 S.W. Hebo Road
Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347
503-879-2424
GRAND RONDE LIVING and
ENROLLED TRIBAL MEMBERS
Must show current photo I.D.
Adult Foster Program
Monday, Dec. 11, 2017
8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Elders will have a special line established to expediently fill their requests. To ensure this, only Elder
orders will be filled using this line. Thank you for understanding and consideration of others.
NO PORTLAND OFFICE DISTRIBUTION
IF PICKING UP FOR ANOTHER TRIBAL MEMBER THE BELOW
signed release AND copy of Tribal ID or CIB is required! No
Exceptions!
No early or late pickup - Fish will NOT be mailed
If you have any questions please call the Natural Resources Department 503-879-2424.
DECEMBER 2017 Salmon Distribution Release
The Tribe’s Adult Foster Care lodges are committed to offering quality
care to our Elders and helping them remain as independent as possible, while
providing the personalized assistance they need. At our lodges, a wide range
of services is available in a comfortable setting where privacy is respected
and maximum independence is supported. For information, contact Adult
Foster Program Director Peggy Shaver at 503-879-1694.
I
give
Signature of Tribal member:
, Roll Number
,
permission to pick up my salmon.
Date:
A copy of Tribal ID or CIB MUST accompany this release. No exceptions!