Tribal Council approves home removal in Grand Meadows

By Danielle Harrison and Nicole Montesano

Smoke Signals staff

Tribal Council approved the removal of a home deemed uninhabitable and approved removal of any other homes that don’t meet livable standards in its Grand Meadows manufactured home subdivision during its Wednesday, July 24, meeting.

The Tribe is in the process of purchasing back some of homes in that have been in financial distress and/or the homeowners are deceased.

Housing staff received an estimate of $100,000 to repair the unit and also researched removal. During that process, they found a company that will remove the home for free and attempt to rehab it for sale.

“It’s been vacant for years,” Housing Department Manager Shonn Leno said at a Tuesday, July 23, Legislative Action Committee meeting. “It didn’t make any sense to improve the home based on the cost of the repairs that were presented.”

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Approved an intergovernmental agreement with the city of Milwaukie for the First Fish Herons cultural art program;
• Approved starting the process of transferring the nearly six-acre Agency Block 1 property located northwest of Highway 22 and the Grand Ronde Road intersection into trust;
• Approved entering into a memorandum of understanding between the Tribal Employment Rights Office and the Oregon Department of Transportation. The MOU will run from 2024-29 and has been in place since 2014;
• Approved a 2-year contract renewal for Court of Appeals Judges Patricia Davis, Patricia Paul and Robert Miller.
• Approved renewing a 2-year contract for Tribal Court Chief Judge Patrick S. Melendy;
• Approved an application for a $675,000 Office on Violence Against Women Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program grant;
• Approved a first reading of two proposed amendments to the Independent Tribal Press Ordinance which would provide that no member of the Editorial Board be currently serving on Tribal Council and allow for an Editorial Board member to retain their seat while running for council provided that it become immediately vacated upon being sworn in to Tribal Council; and amend all references to the Native American Journalists Association to the Indigenous Journalists Association;
• Approved an amendment to the General Council ordinance changing the date on which Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. presents an overview of its operations from September to March;
• Approved an amendment to the Government Corporations Ordinance changing the budget reporting date for corporate boards from October 31 to October 1;
• Approved an amendment to the Freedom of Information Ordinance reducing the number of years in which certain documents would be declassified from 15 years to 3 years;
• And approved enrolling one infant into the Tribe because they meet the enrollment requirements outlined in 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 Videos tab.