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NOVEMBER 1, 2022
5
Grant may fund 10 electric vehicle charging units on Tribal campus
By Dean Rhodes
Smoke Signals editor
Tribal Council approved applying
for a U.S. Department of Energy
grant during its Wednesday, Oct.
26 meeting that, if received, would
fund the installation of 10 electric
vehicle charging stations on the
Tribal campus over a five-year
period.
The federal grid resiliency grant
would allow the Tribe to purchase
two charging units a year.
The solar-powered units are
standalone and do not require
infrastructure or utilities to serve
them, according to the staff execu-
tive summary. In addition, they can
also provide backup power during
power outages.
According to the manufacturer,
Beam Global of San Diego, the
units are already in use by Google,
New York City and in the state of
California. The current unit price is
approximately $65,000 each.
Tribal Council member Kathleen
George said during the Tuesday,
Oct. 25, Legislative Action Commit-
tee hearing that she is “excited” to
see the Tribe investing in electric
vehicle charging technology. She
added that Spirit Mountain Casino
also will be investing in electric
vehicle charging stations to help
make the technology widespread
throughout the state of Oregon and
also in rural areas such as Grand
Ronde.
In other action, Tribal Council:
• Re-appointed Lori Sterling and
Kalene Contreras as alternates
to the Election Board with terms
expiring in March 2024;
• Appointed Flicka Lucero to the
Enrollment Committee with a
term expiring in March 2024;
• Approved the Housing Depart-
ment purchasing two properties
in Grand Meadows that are HUD
Section 184-guaranteed proper-
ties at the discounted rate of $10
per property. The owners have
defaulted on their loans and the
lenders have assigned the loans
to the Housing and Urban Devel-
opment Department;
• Approved the Housing Depart-
ment purchasing new housing
management software from Yardi
based in Santa Barbara, Calif.,
for approximately $25,000;
• Approved the purchase of the
12.36-acre Lynn Freeman prop-
erty at 28075 McPherson Road.
Tribal Council OK’d a purchase
price of $265,000 during its Sept.
7 meeting;
• And approved Tribal Court Chief
Judge Patrick Melendy signing a
memorandum of understanding
with the Tribal, State and Fed-
eral Court Forum that has been
updated to include the federal
court as a member and allows
the forum to hold more than one
meeting annually. The original
Tribal and State Court Forum
was created in 2016 when the
Oregon Justice Department and
nine federally recognized Tribes
in the state signed a memoran-
executive session brief-
ing from Finance Officer
Chris Leno regarding
next year’s draft budget.
The meeting will be hy-
brid on Zoom and with
in-person attendance al-
lowed in Tribal Council
Chambers.
Also included in the
Oct. 26 Tribal Council
packet were two approved
authorizations to proceed
that appointed Tribal
Council member Bren-
da Tuomi to the Spirit
Mountain Community
Fund Board of Trustees
through September 2023
and approved applying
Contributed photo
for a $500,000 grant from
Tribal Council approved applying for a federal
the Oregon Department
Department of Energy grant that, if received,
of Education’s Office of
would fund the eventual placement of 10 solar-
Equity, Diversity and In-
clusion to fund expanded
power electric vehicle charging stations on the
Tribal campus over the next five years during its capacity and services in
the Tribe’s Youth Enrich-
Wednesday, Oct. 26, meeting.
ment Program.
To watch the entire meeting, visit
dum of understanding.
the Tribal government’s website
Tribal Council also approved the
at www.grandronde.org and click
agenda for the 11 a.m. Sunday,
on the Government tab and then
Nov. 6, General Council meeting,
Videos.
which will feature the traditional
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