General Council briefed on capital improvement projects, Community Development Plan

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

EUGENE -- Tribal Engineering & Community Development Department Manager Ryan Webb briefed the membership on various capital improvement projects on and off the reservation during a Sunday, April 6, General Council meeting held via Zoom and at the Lane Community College Longhouse in Eugene.

“This was another busy year for my department,” Webb said. “The work that we’ve done doesn’t always correlate to new buildings that you’re seeing on the reservation in Grand Ronde, but there’s a lot of other work that really…allows us not only to do work here today, but in five and 10 years down the road.”

He was joined by Community Development Manager Kristen Svicarovich, who briefed Tribal members on the Tribe’s Community Development Plan.

“It’s a great honor to be here today to talk about the Community Development Plan and a lot of the goals we were able to achieve this year as a part of that,” she said. “For those not familiar with the Community Development Plan, it was adopted by Tribal Council in 2021 and was the result of a three-year community engagement process. When I joined the Tribe three years ago, it had already been adopted and really my goal and task was to do implementation and ensure that progress was being made.”

 The Tribe launched the Community Development Plan effort in May 2018 to help guide the decisions and setting of priorities for the Tribe as the 50-year mark of Restoration approaches in 2033.   

Svicarovich discussed the plan’s 2024 program successes, new offers and amenities, and ground breakings and ribbon cuttings.

Programmatic successes included various Tribal land acquisitions, the new shawash-ili?i skul (Tribal school) opening, Chachalu Tribal Museum & Cultural Center programming, the Tribal Grants Program success rate of 40%, the Spirit Mountain Community Fund reaching $100 million in giving, the 15^th birthday celebration of Tribal plankhouse achaf-hammi and the Gathering of Grand Ronde Tilixam. The multi-day, annual event promotes effective healing and is utilized as a planning model for Tribal communities addressing effects of historical and inter-generational trauma.

“There were a little over 80 participants and really an opportunity for the community to come together and grow and heal, and talk about things that are important to folks in Grand Ronde,” Svicarovich said.

New offerings and amenities in 2024 included a youth GONA event, nature playground construction next to the Elders Activity Center on the Tribal campus, a dog park near Tribal housing, passage of the lineal descent constitutional amendment and the acquisition of Fort Yamhill State Heritage Area near the uyxat powwow grounds.

“It was one of the really big highlights this year,” she said. “The work was happening all throughout 2024 to work with the Oregon state Parks Commission and there was a legislative change that was needed for the land acquisition to happen, so it was a tremendous amount of work that (was completed) by our Lands Department.”

Capital improvement projects

Webb provided the Tribal audience with an update of Creekside Elder housing, the Tribal homeownership development, Wind River Apartments, the Cheryle A. Kennedy Public Health Clinic, Grand Ronde Fire Station remodel, Early Care and Education building, resident and recreation center, electric vehicle charging stations, community paths grant, the tumwata village project in Oregon City, and transportation planning and improvement.  

“I’m really excited to give this presentation today to touch on a lot of the things that we did accomplish last year and are rolling into this year,” Webb said.

Creekside Elder Housing: The 24-unit project located at Creekside Drive and Grand Ronde Road includes 12 two-bedroom, one-bath duplexes. Each unit is 1,120 square feet, with 16 market rate units and eight subsidized units.

Each one has solar panels plus backup battery storage and is rated by the Energy Trust of Oregon as a net-zero home, meaning that over the course of a year, tenants should pay next to nothing in utility bills.

The $7.19 million project was funded with 80% Tribal dollars and 20% federal grant funds. A grand opening was held in January 2024 and all units are now occupied.

Homeownership development phase one: The project is located at McPherson Road east of Grand Ronde Road. Construction began in 2021 and a ribbon cutting for the development was held in spring 2024. Currently, 19 of the 20 homes are sold and occupied. Home sizes range from two- to four-bedroom, 1,200- to 2,000-square-feet on 10,000-square-foot lots. Each unit is solar-ready. The project was funded by federal sources and Spirit Mountain Casino revenues.

Phase two, which will include an additional 32 homes, has been approved for infrastructure and utilities. A groundbreaking will be held in the summer.

Wind River Apartments, phase 3: There will be up to 45 units within 10 apartment buildings located adjacent to the Tribe’s Housing Department offices at 28450 Tyee Road. The apartments will contain a mix of one- and two-bedroom market rate and low-income, solar ready units. There are plans to explore adding solar panels with Energy Trust of Oregon.

Design and permitting is complete, and construction is expected to start this summer. The project will cost approximately $15.5 million and is funded through Tribal and grant funds.  

Cheryle A. Kennedy Public Health Clinic: Located adjacent to the current Health & Wellness Clinic, the new 10,000-square-foot building broke ground in March 2023 and was completed in 2024. The $7 million project is primarily grant funded.

The 8,400-square-foot interior includes a reception area with vaulted ceiling and children’s play area, spacious medical and dental exam rooms, high-tech labs, a break room and administrative offices.

Outside space includes an 800-square-foot concrete patio and a covered, 700-square-foot fish pit area. Adjacent but indoor next to the fish pit is a community kitchen that is set up to accommodate streaming nutrition classes with offsite Tribal members.

Grand Ronde Fire Station expansion: This $8 million project was funded through American Rescue Plan Act funds and includes a 20,000-square-foot expansion with office space, classroom, living quarters and four bays for fire equipment and engines. Construction began in May 2023 and was complete in 2024.

Early Care and Education: The 26,000-square-foot building includes 12 classrooms, a new kitchen, outdoor play areas and support areas, and is located behind the old powwow grounds near the existing Tribal gym.

The project was funded with federal, Tribal and grant funds and was approximately $16 million. Construction began in December 2023 and was completed in March.

Resident and recreation center: The new 48,000-square-foot building will be located at the Smith property across from Tribal Housing Department offices. Design is underway and expected to be complete in summer, with a groundbreaking in the fall. So far, the Tribe has secured $27.5 million in grants for the project.  

It will include a gym, recreation center, training rooms, event space, craft room, swimming and therapy pools. Outdoor facilities will include athletic fields, a skate park, splash pad and a playground.

Electric vehicle charging stations: All buildings on campus will have electric vehicle chargers added in the future, with all new buildings constructed as EV charging ready. One solar charging station was installed at the Tribal Governance Center in 2023. Two more will be purchased with six chargers located on campus and two electric vehicles added to the Tribal fleet for employee use.

The chargers and stations are being funded through an Oregon Department of Transportation Carbon Reduction Grant. 

Multi-use path from Grand Ronde to Spirit Mountain Casino:

The Tribe received a $206,000 grant from the Oregon Department of Transportation’s Community Paths Program for a feasibility study for a pedestrian/bike connection between Grand Ronde Road and Spirit Mountain Casino.

tumwata village: Located at the former Blue Heron Paper Mill site in Oregon City, much of the work this year has been focused on getting a land use decision and approval for the Tribe to redevelop the property. The plan was adopted by the city at the beginning of 2025.

At the same time, work has been ongoing for designing the infrastructure and utility improvements that will be phase one. The Tribe was awarded $2 million in federal funding to assist with the efforts. 

 Additionally, environmental cleanup efforts continue. So far, 28 structures have been removed with 16 more planned for 2025, which will make demolition approximately 75% complete.

Webb also gave a brief update about the projects Public Works Coordinator John Mercier has been working on during the past year. Mercier completed the Long-Range Transportation Plan update from 2019 and that was approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Approximately $98 million is projected to be spent on transportation planning in the next 20 years.

In the area of transportation improvement, a culvert on Agency Creek was upsized to allow for better fish passage. Several LED  street light upgrades were completed as well, with an estimated annual savings of $40,000.

After his presentation concluded, Webb fielded 12 questions and comments from the audience.

“Thank you for sharing all of the amazing work that you do,” Tribal Council member Lisa Leno said. “We really appreciate it.”

In other action, door prize winners were Leroy Good, Josephine Ingraham, Daniel Stroebel (donated winnings to the Veterans Committee), Misty Carl and Darlene Aaron, $50 each; and Kayla Leno, Albert Jeffers and Patty Jenness, $100 each.

Additionally, Terri Warren won a camas gift basket donated by Cultural Resources Department Manager David Harrelson.

The next General Council meeting will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday, May 4, in Tribal Council Chambers and via Zoom, with a program report from the Emergency Services Department/Resiliency Program.

The entire meeting can be viewed by visiting the Tribal government’s website at www.grandronde.org and clicking on the Government tab and then Videos.