Council OKs construction of 15 homes for McPherson Road development

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals assistant editor/staff writer

It’s taken longer than anticipated, but the first phase of a new housing development at McPherson Road is expected to be complete by the end of this year.

Tribal Council adopted a resolution at its Wednesday, Feb. 22, meeting to amend a construction contract with Willamina-based Scholten Construction to include all work for 15 homes in phase one of the project for a cost of $6.85 million.

A previous July 2022 agreement with the company included an allocation of $1.2 million to fund site work only at the Tribe’s home ownership development for all 20 homes. Site work includes things such as laying the foundations and other improvements. However, the other five homes are now being built by Tribal members who purchased the sites.

“Five Tribal members are moving ahead under their own steam to construct those homes,” Tribal Engineering and Planning Manager Ryan Webb said at a Tuesday, Feb. 21, Legislative Action Committee meeting. “So this will build out all 20 of the homes in phase one.”

It’s been 25 years since Grand Meadows, located on Tribal property at McPherson and Grand Ronde roads, opened a 36-lot manufactured home subdivision to Tribal families. Housing Department officials have repeatedly said a second development is long overdue.

In 2020, Reece and Associates of Albany was selected to conduct a property development plan for the new site. The first phase will have 20 single-family homes on 10,000-square-foot lots.

The Tribe’s current housing options typically have occupation rates of 94 percent or higher, and lack of available market-rate homes has been a sticking point in Tribal members moving to Grand Ronde and working in the community.

Tribal Council also set the agenda for the Sunday, March 5, General Council meeting, which will feature a presentation by the Education Department. The 11 a.m. hybrid meeting will be held in Tribal Council Chambers and via Zoom.

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Approved amendments to the Tribal building code. The last update was done in 2010. The amendments will reflect updates to applicable state codes, adhere to current Tribal operations, require contractors to be licensed by the state of Oregon and provide penalties for ordinance violations.
• Approved an agreement with the Department of Housing and Urban Development that awards $2 million to the Tribe for infrastructure and utilities improvements at its Blue Heron property, tumwata village, in Oregon City.
• Approved a third amendment to the Department of the Interior self-governance funding agreement between the Tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs Northwest Regional Office. This year, the Tribe will receive $2.96 million.
• Declared Friday, March 10, to be the next Tribal per capita date to cover the period between Dec. 1 and Feb. 28. The per capita amount will not be known until after March 1.
• Appointed Westley Shaw to serve on the Fish & Wildlife Committee with a term ending on March 31, 2024.
• Enrolled three infants in the Tribe as they meet the enrollment requirements under the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance.

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