Tribal Council OKs four grant applications on June 14

Tribal Council approved applying for four grants during its Wednesday, June 14, meeting that, if received, would bring the Tribe more than $3 million in funding for various projects.

The first grant application to the Administration for Children and Families Office of Head Start would bring the Tribe approximately $500,000 annually for five years. If received, the grant would help double the number of home-based children who could participate in Tribe’s Early Head Start program and add a 2-year-old classroom that could accommodate eight children.

The second grant application to Spirit Mountain Community Fund is seeking $150,000 to fund child and adolescent psychiatric services at the Health & Wellness Center. If received, the grant would fund a certified part-time child and adolescent psychiatrist. The Tribe currently does not have an employee certified to help patients under 17 years of age.

The third grant application is the Tribe’s annual $62,500 request for a state Emergency Management Performance Grant that helps cover the costs of Tribal Emergency Management staff and operations.

The fourth grant application to the Administration for Native Americans seeks a two-year Social & Economic Development Strategies grant that would bring the Tribe approximately $617,000 to develop an Elder in-home care and nutrition program. Grant funds would help hire a nurse, in-home trainer and two caregivers to provide direct care and train family members to be effective in-home care providers.

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Approved Tribal credit cards for Cultural Resources Department Manager David Harrelson to pay for business travel, training and purchase of culturally significant items, and for Social Services Department Manager Dana Ainam for such items as emergencies related to child protection;

• Approved establishment of the Yoncalla Falls Recreation Area on the Reservation that will set aside approximately 22 acres of older growth timber as a permanent reserve. Tribal Council member Jack Giffen Jr. thanked Timber Committee members, such as Bob Mercier and Gene LaBonte, for their vision in establishing the reserve;

• Approved a Bureau of Land Management seed orchard agreement for 2017;

• Approved establishing a new bank account in which to hold U.S. Housing & Urban Development funds. The current account does not accrue interest and the new account will allow the Tribe to purchase certificates of deposit that earn interest while keeping the funds liquid, Finance Officer Chris Leno said;

• Approved using up to $2 million of the Tribe’s line of credit to fund second-phase construction currently occurring at the Chachalu Tribal Museum & Cultural Center;

• Approved the agenda for the June 25 Special General Council meeting being held at the Tribal Community Center. Only Tribal Council nominations and door prize drawings will be on the agenda;

• Approved releasing an investigatory report on the Spirit Mountain Community Fund coordinator interviews to a mediator as long as all the names other than the involved parties are redacted, the mediator return the report at the end of mediation and neither of the parties nor the mediator release the report or its contents outside of the mediation process;

• And approved the enrollment of six infants into the Tribe because they meet the requirements outlined in the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance.

Cultural Resources employees David Harrelson, Bobby Mercier and Jordan Mercier performed the cultural drumming and singing to open the meeting with Public Affairs Administrative Assistant Chelsea Clark, Youth Council member Izaiah Fisher and Tribal youth Kyoni Mericer.

Also included in the June 14 Tribal Council packet were authorizations to proceed that directed establishment of a Tribal member listserv, approved a job title change to Economic Development manager and requested the recruitment process begin to fill the vacant position, and changed the 10 percent dividend distribution to the Tribal Reserves to the following formula: Elders, 2 percent; Health, 3.5 percent, Cultural Resources, 2 percent, Education, 1.5 percent, and Government Operations, 1 percent.

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