Tribal Council approves two land acquisitions

By Dean Rhodes

Smoke Signals editor

Tribal Council approved the purchase of two properties – an apartment building in Salem and forestland in Grand Ronde – during its Wednesday, Nov. 16, meeting.

According to the staff report, Tribal Council OK’d an authorization to proceed in August for the Tribal Lands Department to enter into a purchase and sale agreement to buy a six-unit Salem Transition House property located about six blocks away from the Tribe’s Great Circle Recovery medication-assisted opioid treatment clinic on Commercial Street in Salem.

The property was not specifically identified during the meeting and the purchase price was not revealed. Closing is scheduled for mid-December.

The Evey forestlands are located southwest of Spirit Mountain Casino and includes approximately 122 acres. Tribal Council approved a $2 million supplemental budget in July that included funds to purchase the property from Lillian and Edmond Evey.

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Approved a per capita distribution date of Friday, Dec. 9. Controller Christine O’Day said during the Tuesday, Nov. 15, Legislative Action Committee meeting that the per capita amount will not be known until after Dec. 1;
• Approved Tribal Court purchasing new civil court software from Tyler Tech for $110,764. Tribal Court needs the new software because it is losing support from its previous vendor in July 2023;
• Approved a loan not to exceed $8.9 million to Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. to fund the purchase of new slot machines and the casino’s surveillance system project. The loan will be funded by the Tribe’s line of credit;
• And approved accepting an approximately $240,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Human Services that will be used for substance abuse and family preservation efforts, said Children & Family Services Program Manager Kristi Petite during the Tuesday, Nov. 15, Legislative Action Committee hearing. Petite said she likes the grant funding because it is “flexible,” which will give the Tribe great latitude in how to spend the funds before next summer’s deadline.

Also included in the Nov. 16 Tribal Council packet was an approved authorization to proceed that will allow the purchase of tiny homes to address the homeless housing situation for local Tribal members. The initial purchase will include 10 sleeping units, two bathroom units and two community structures. In addition, it authorizes the site work for the placement of the shelters, the purchase of additional units as needed and creates a case manager position to oversee and manage the tiny home village.

There also will be a community meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 30, in the Tribal gym to discuss development of the tiny home village and to gather input on how to help unsheltered people in Grand Ronde.

To watch the entire meeting, visit the Tribal government’s website at www.grandronde.org and click on the Governments tab and then Videos.