Tribal Council OKs March 16 per capita distribution date

Tribal Council set the first per capita payment date of 2018 as Friday, March 16, during its Wednesday, Feb. 21, meeting.

Finance Officer Chris Leno said that the amount of the distribution will not be known until after the Tribe receives revenue numbers from Spirit Mountain Casino in early March.

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Set the agenda for the Sunday, March 4, General Council meeting to be held in the Tribal Community Center in Grand Ronde. Presentations from the Housing and Social Services departments will occur and after the meeting a Community Input session will be held seeking Tribal member opinions on possible advisory votes to be placed on the September Tribal Council election ballot.

• Adopted a schedule of prevailing wages for 2018-19 as prepared by the Human Resources Department. The schedule took effect on Feb. 21.

• Approved the enrollment of two minors into the Tribe because they meet the requirements outlined in the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance.

• Approved Marion-Polk Food Share to continue operating the Grand Ronde Food Bank for two more years, as well as provide other community food-related services.

• Approved applying for a grant not to exceed $13,000 from the Oregon Youth Conservation Corps that funds Natural Resources Department summer youth crews. The Tribe has applied for and received the grant for more than 20 years.

• And approved a Long Range Transportation Plan services agreement with AKANA for professional transportation planning services. The project budget is $124,970.

Also included in the Feb. 21 Tribal Council packet were two authorizations to proceed that directed staff to proceed with building the Behavioral Health addition to the Health & Wellness Center and gave Grand Ronde Police Chief Jake McKnight permission to travel to Canada for an FBI National Training Conference in July.

Cultural Resources Department Manager David Harrelson gave a cultural presentation on wapato, or Indian potato, and its cultural importance to open the meeting.

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