Tribal Council awards contract to construct police station

Tribal Council approved a contract with Cearley Construction of Estacada to build a Tribal police station during its Wednesday, May 18, meeting.

The 4,400-square-foot police station will be constructed south of the Food Bank on the west side of Grand Ronde Road.

According to the May 18 Tribal Council packet, the Tribal police station will cost $1.153 million to build and is being funded through two Housing and Urban Development grants totaling $667,000, an expected $237,000 U.S. Department of Justice grant and approximately $260,000 in Tribal funds.

The station will include a sally port, holding cell, controlled water closet, audio visual room and storage area, as well as offices for Tribal police staff.

Construction should start on June 1 and take about five months to complete, said Tribal Engineering and Public Works Manager Jesse White.

Tribal police are currently housed in a cramped modular adjacent to Spirit Mountain Casino.

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Re-appointed Toby McClary and Steve Bobb Sr. to the Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. Board of Directors with terms that will expire in June 2019;

• Approved paying a negotiated amount of up to $25,000 in annual membership dues to rejoin the National Congress of American Indians;

• Approved an application for a $378,148 Tribal Homeland Security Grant that would, if received, pay for radio equipment, an emergency tent with heating and air conditioning, a trailer and a small drone;

• Approved an application for a $62,500 Oregon Emergency Management Performance Grant that helps pay for the Tribe’s Emergency Operations staff members;

• Declared June 10 as the next per capita payment date;

• And amended bylaws for the new Youth Council that would make membership open to enrolled Grand Ronde Tribal members, direct descendants of enrolled Tribal members or enrolled members of another federally recognized Tribe receiving services from the Grand Ronde Tribe.

Also included in the May 18 Tribal Council packet were authorizations to proceed to live audio stream Tribal Council work sessions, appoint Tribal Council member Brenda Tuomi to the Salem Mayor’s International Council, authorize Nutrition Program Manager Kristy DeLoe to execute all documents for the Tribe’s requested funding from the Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service for the Community Garden project, and authorize Tribal Council Chief of Staff Stacia Martin and Tribal Attorney Rob Greene to develop a plan for meetings and negotiations with British Museum staff regarding possible return to Grand Ronde of the Summers Collection.

Cultural Outreach Coordinator Bobby Mercier and his family and Public Affairs Administrative Assistant Chelsea Clark performed the cultural singing to open the meeting.

The meeting, in its entirety, can be viewed by visiting the Tribal website at www.grandronde.org, clicking on the News tab and then Video.