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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 15, 2023)
sNok signflz MAY 15, 2023 9 Work on Grand Ronde Road will begin in June MEETING continued from front page Homeownership development phase one: The project is located at McPherson Road east of Grand Ronde Road, with all 20 homes projected to be ready for occu- pancy by early 2024. Home sizes range from two- to four-bedroom, 1,200- to 2,000-square-feet on 10,000-square-foot lots. Each unit is solar-ready. The project is funded by federal sources and Spirit Moun- tain Casino revenues. Men9s transitional housing: The site work is complete on the Or- egon Housing Authority grant-fund- ed project on Ackerson and Grand Ronde roads, and includes utilities and parking for three manufactured homes. Two have been delivered and installed, and residents are starting to move in. Domestic violence shelters: The Oregon Housing Authority grant-funded project includes util- ities and parking for three manu- factured homes. Two of these will serve as a shelter and the third will house a staff ofoce. Wind River Apartments, phase three: There will be up to 60 units within 15 apartment buildings located adjacent to the Photo by Michelle Alaimo The Warriors of Hope program expansion is expected to be completed later this month. It9s a $1.6 million, 2,100-square-foot addition to the Community Center on the Tribal campus. Tribe9s Housing Department ofoces at 28450 Tyee Road. Five units are contingent on federal grant fund- ing. The apartments will contain a mix of one- and two-bedroom solar ready units. There are plans to explore adding solar panels with Energy Trust of Oregon. Design will begin later in the month and construction is expected to start in 2024. Wastewater treatment plant capacity expansion: The $497,000 Tribal nonemergency text line The Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department has a nonemergency text line at 541-921-2927. <If you have a nonemergency situation or question, feel free to contact my ofocer via text through this line,= said Grand Ronde Tribal Police Chief Jake McKnight. <When one of my ofocers receives the text, they will call you back when they have time.= McKnight said that emergency situations still require calling 911. For more information, contact McKnight at 503-879-1474. þ project will include software and hardware upgrades, increasing the capacity from 72,000 gallons per day to 125,000. The software upgrades will allow employees to monitor potential problems from home rather than having to drive into Grand Ronde to troubleshoot. Warriors of Hope program expansion: The $1.6 million, 2,100-square-foot addition to the current Community Center is expected to be complete later this month. The funding breakdown is 50 percent Tribal and 50 percent federal. <It9s a small-sized project that comes with a lot of meaning to it and the services it provides,= Webb said. Warriors of Hope is the Tribe9s program for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Language Education building: The $3.95 million, 6,600-square- foot building will have six class- rooms and ofoce space. It is located behind the existing Education Department complex on the Tribal campus. It is paid for through a combination of Tribal, federal and other funding, with an expected completion date of August. Health care and vaccination clinic: Located adjacent to the current Health & Wellness Clinic, the new 10,000-square-foot build- ing broke ground in March with an expected completion date of November. The $7 million project is primarily grant funded. Grand Ronde Fire Station expansion: This $8 million project is funded through American Rescue Plan Act funds and will include a 20,000-square-foot expansion with ofoce space, classroom, living quarters and four bays for fire equipment and engines. Design will be complete in October with construction expected to start in November. Child development center: The 25,000-square-foot building will include 12 classrooms, a new kitchen, outdoor play areas and support areas, and will be located adjacent to the existing Tribal gym. The project will be paid with feder- al, Tribal and grant funds with a yet-to-be-determined construction cost. Construction is tentatively slated to begin in September and will take at least a year. Resident and recreation cen- ter: The new 20,000-square-foot building will be located at the Smith property across from Tribal Housing Department ofoces with a design cost of $660,000 and con- struction costs undetermined. <We will be putting a heavy amount of community input on this project,= Webb said. <We need as much input as possible.= The project is funded with Indian Health Plan funds. Electric vehicle charging sta- tions: All buildings on campus will have electric vehicle chargers add- ed in the future, with all new build- ings constructed as EV charging ready. Webb is also in the process of developing a charging policy. <We know this need is coming and we need the chargers as soon as possible,= he said. Tumwata Village: Located at the former Blue Heron Paper Mill site in Oregon City, much of the work this year has been focused on environmental cleanup efforts. The project was awarded an $800,000 Brownoeld grant and $2 million in congressional funding. Thus far, 24 structures have been removed and road construction improvements are expected to begin in 2024. Public Works Coordinator John Mercier gave a brief update on the Tribe9s transportation planning with a focus on road construction. Grand Ronde Road work, from highways 18 to 22, will begin in June and is expected to wrap up by the end of September. However, the lengthy repair is also expected to cause trafoc delays during this time. <We will be completely replacing the pavement section so it9s going to be a big project,= Mercier said. Added Webb, <We want to make sure the fix is a permanent one and that9s why it will be a full depth repair that creates a thicker pavement section, but with that, it means it takes longer to do & so I want to let people know this sum- mer will be one of potential delays and impacts.= After the presentation was com- plete, Webb oelded seven questions and comments from the audience. <That was a wonderful presen- tation and I thank you for putting all of the details there,= Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy said. <Serving on the orst post-Restoration Tribal Council, these were really our dreams and they were only dreams then. Now to see these things are taking place, it9s a wonderful thing.= In other action, door prize win- ners were Jack Giffen Jr., Darlene Aaron, Diane Webb, Julie Casner and Brenda Gray, $50 each; and Linda Brandon, Gail Wilkinson and Lorena Rivera, $100 each. Webb donated her winnings to Grand Ronde Royalty fundraising efforts. The next General Council meet- ing for only Tribal Council nom- inations will be held on Sunday, June 25. The entire meeting can be viewed by visiting the Tribal government9s website at www.grandronde.org and clicking on the Government tab and then Videos. þ