S moke S ignals
SEPTEMBER 1, 2018
5
Tribe will market
property itself
2013 – Tribal Council voted to disenroll 13 members for violating
the dual enrollment provision of the Tribal Constitution. Seventeen
other cases were sent back to the Tribal Enrollment Committee for
re-examination. The meeting began with Tribal Council member
Chris Mercier moving to suspend the process until the Tribe could
find a way to help those facing disenrollment. The motion failed 5-4.
Tribal Council Chair Reyn Leno said it was the current council’s
duty to uphold the Tribal Constitution and clean up the Tribe’s
enrollment files.
2008 – Tribal member Kass Ritchey, 24, became a homeowner us-
ing the Tribe’s Down Payment Assistance Program. He approached
the Housing Authority for assistance at the suggestion of his mother,
and three months later was a homeowner. “I couldn’t have bought
the house without the Tribe,” he said. Due to the program, home-
ownership has become a reality for many Tribal members. At the
time, the program had issued almost 900 grants since its inception
in 1990.
2003 – The Hall of Leg-
ends opened at Spirit
Mountain Casino and in-
cluded 53 feet linking the
casino with the lodge next
door. The hall told the
story of the Tribe. Elaine
LaBonte, Tribal manage-
ment mentee, organized
the project by gathering
2003
File photo
ideas from staffers and
the Tribe’s Cultural Re-
sources Department. They gathered hundreds of artifacts, artwork
and stories for the hall. “Our primary goal was to honor our ances-
tors and their stories,” LaBonte said. “It’s not our interpretation of
history. It’s theirs.”
1998 – The Tribe made a proposal to include certain Tribal prop-
erties as part of the federally recognized Reservation. If passed, the
amended Grand Ronde Reservation Act would redefine the official
status of seven parcels of land purchased after the Tribe was restored
in 1983. The 191 acres, held in trust by the U.S. government, would
officially become part of the Grand Ronde Reservation.
1993 – Oregon Gov. Barbara Roberts signed a gaming compact
with Tribal officials, signifying the end of negotiations. It was the
Tribe’s hope that the gaming facility would be in operation within a
year, employ 600 people and offer a badly needed economic boost to
the area. The gaming facility was to include a 1,000-seat bingo hall,
video machines, keno and a buffet-style restaurant. Future plans
included a hotel, golf course, retail space and other recreational
amenities. Money generated from the gaming facility was to poten-
tially be used to build a Tribal human services clinic and offices, as
well as housing.
1988 – The Tribe celebrated its fourth annual powwow with more
than 1,300 attendees. “Our powwow gets bigger every year and we
are indebted to all who helped prepare for our event,” Tribal Council
Chairman Mark Mercier said. “Believe me, it takes a lot of careful
planning and hard work to make an event of this magnitude a success.”
He noted that a group of employees, Tribal Elders and community
members had gathered weekly to make items for the Tribal giveaways,
as well as those who volunteered to cook for the attendees.
Yesteryears is a look back at Tribal history in five-year in-
crements through the pages of Smoke Signals.
Police Department has
non-emergency text line
The Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department has created a non-emer-
gency text line.
“We learned in our last school meeting that kids would like a different
way to communicate with the police if they have a non-emergency situ-
ation,” Tribal Police Chief Jake McKnight said. “We all know kids love
to text so my officers and I decided this would be a great tool to utilize.”
The new text number is 541-921-2927.
“Even though this is mostly designed for children, I don’t want adults
thinking that they can’t use it as well. If you have a non-emergency situ-
ation or question, feel free to contact my officer via text through this line.
When one of my officers receives the text, they will call you back when
they have time.”
McKnight said that emergency situations still require people to call 911.
For more information, contact McKnight at 503-879-1474. n
WOOD VILLAGE
continued from front page
The Tribe purchased the property
in December 2015. The dilapidated
site, which had not been used for
dog racing since 2004, was listed
for sale at $11.2 million. The Tribe
purchased the property at less than
listed value and will attempt to sell
it for $17.9 million.
In addition to the purchase price,
the Tribe signed an almost $900,000
contract with Konell Construction
& Demolition Corp. of Sandy in
April 2016 to demolish and clear
structures on the site.
Engineering & Public Works
Manager Jesse White said the
Tribe added “substantial value”
to the property in clearing the site
and making it development ready,
as well as working with the city to
create a development master plan.
At the time of purchase, Tribal
Council representatives led by
then-Chairman Reyn Leno said the
site would be developed to diversify
the Tribe’s economy.
In June 2016, the Tribe held a
well-attended event that featured
the initial tearing down of the iconic
glass-enclosed grandstand and the
announcement of Spirit Mountain
at Wood Village, a development
that would be a mixture of lodging,
entertainment and housing that
would complement the Tribe’s ca-
sino in Grand Ronde.
Hernandez said one factor that
convinced current Tribal Council
members to sell the site was that
the Tribe wants any investment
to generate more than is currently
being made in the Tribal portfolio.
“They looked a lot at the return
on investment and the overall time
frame for the recouping of any de-
velopment costs, and they thought
overall that it would be in the best
interest to take advantage of the
booming market to hopefully real-
ize a profit,” Hernandez said.
“I think it’s a good move because
I know what we hope to get and
the amount of money we put in,
and I think if we can get near to
what we want it will end up being a
pretty profitable investment,” Mer-
cier said before meeting with the
Wood Village City Council. “We’ve
met with developers and looked a
schematics for an entertainment
center, a brew pub, retail and all
that, and it could be profitable, but
it would just take a while before
it became profitable. It would just
take too long for our tastes. This is
an opportunity perhaps best in the
hands of someone else.”
Grand Ronde Tribal members be-
came keenly aware of the moribund
property east of Portland when two
Lake Oswego businessmen identi-
fied it as the possible location for
Oregon’s first privately operated
casino. Oregon Tribes successfully
rebuffed two attempts to change
the state Constitution in 2010 and
’12 that would have allowed a pri-
vate casino at the former racetrack.
For the city’s part, Mayor Tim-
othy Clark said in the prepared
press release that it “appreciates
the relationship that we have
developed with the Grand Ronde
Tribe over the past three years
and look forward to continuing
that partnership through cultural
celebration and recognition of the
Tribe’s history in the area.”
To maximize profit, the Tribe
will market the property itself with
Tribal Lands Manager Jan Looking
Wolf Reibach heading the effort. He
can be contacted at 503-879-2394 or
Lands@grandronde.org.
Reibach said selling the property
is a “good strategic move” for the
Tribe.
Tribal briefing
A briefing for the Tribal mem-
bership held at 6 p.m. in the Em-
ployment Services Building on the
Tribal campus attracted 31 Tribal
members and spouses.
Tribal Council members Brenda
Tuomi, Michael Langley and Kath-
leen George attended, as did Her-
nandez and Deputy Press Secretary
Sara Thompson.
The meeting ran almost 90 min-
utes and at times a few audience
members became so rancorous that
Tribal police were called and chil-
dren were ushered from the room.
“One of the options always on the
table was to dispose of the prop-
erty,” Hernandez said. “Timing is
a big factor here and we want to
maximize the profit.”
Some Tribal members ques-
tioned why the meeting was being
held when it had already been an-
nounced earlier in the day that the
property was for sale.
Hernandez said that state pub-
lic meeting laws required Wood
Village to notify its local media,
which sent a reporter to attend the
meeting held earlier between the
Tribe and City Council.
“We had hoped to inform the
membership first, but unfortu-
nately it didn’t work out that way,”
Hernandez said.
Shawn Hostler-Jones said selling
the property puts the Tribe into an
asset management position instead
of economic development.
“An opportunity is getting sold for
a pot of money,” she said.
Tiny Gibbons said she was glad
an informational meeting was be-
ing held.
“You’re definitely trying to get
the membership’s input,” she said.
“I appreciate this.”
Leno voted to approve the Grey-
hound Park property purchase
when he was chairman. At the time,
Tribal Council hoped to develop a
business plan for the property that
would help diversify the Tribe’s
economic base, he said.
“I think you could almost treat
this (sale) as a settlement and
a part could be dispensed to the
membership,” he said.
Frank Hostler II said council’s
See WOOD VILLAGE
continued on page 7