Tribal Council transfers money to help Student Rental Assistance Program

Tribal Council approved moving $60,000 from contingency to help provide rental assistance to Tribal members attending higher education institutions at its Aug. 13 meeting.

The transfer will help Tribal members who previously received funding from the Grand Ronde Tribal Housing Authority's Student Rental Assistance Program, but who no longer qualify for the program because of recent changes to federal housing income guidelines.

The Tribal Housing Authority suspended the program in June for the summer months after being informed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that it was tightening its eligibility rules.

The program serves more than 200 low-income Tribal members attending college.

Housing and Urban Development is now insisting that students under 23 years of age include their parents' income in evaluating eligibility and also is requiring that student rentals rates be evaluated in terms of fair market rates for the area.

Since its creation in 2006, the program has grown 10 times in terms of students, from 20 in 2006 to more than 200 in 2013. In terms of funding, the program is more than 20 times as expensive, going from $30,000 in 2006 to $700,000 in 2013.

The program is scheduled to resume in September under the new federal guidelines.

In other action, Tribal Council approved a recommendation from the Tribe's Economic Development Department to purchase preferred stock in MicroGREEN Polymers Inc. of Arlington, Wash.

MicroGREEN will use the Tribe's investment to expand its commercial production capabilities to produce recyclable hot and cold cups for consumer use. The company's commercial production facility in Arlington has the capacity to convert 20 million pounds of recycled water bottles into insulating and temperature-resistant cups.

"We first heard of MicroGREEN from the Stillaguamish Tribe at an Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians meeting and immediately recognized how an investment in MicroGREEN and its InCycle products could be a strategic fit in our economic diversification goals," said Titu Asghar, Tribal Economic Development director.

Tom Malone, president and chief executive officer of MicroGREEN, said that his company's products address a potential $25 billion market.

"We are very excited to have the Grand Ronde as an investor," Malone said. "We have focused our funding efforts toward Tribes where our sustainability ethos and our exciting economic opportunity resonate. … There is a clear alignment with our green mission, our economic goals and the long-term goals of Tribal investors."

"MicroGREEN has a breakthrough technology and customers are jumping on board," Asghar said. "They are a game changer in the cup world; reducing waste while lowering cost and improving product performance. We see a huge opportunity for growth and are delighted to be able to invest at this level."

The investment is the Tribe's fourth recent economic diversification move, including the purchase of Shasta Administrative Services in November 2012, investing in SAM Medical Products in Wilsonville in February of this year and allowing the installation of electric car charging stations at Grand Ronde Station in late 2012.

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Approved the Tribal Housing Authority's annual O-Link memorandum of agreement to allocate fiscal year 2014 Indian Housing Block Grant funding using Tribal enrollment data for the needs component;
• Approved the enrollment of two infants into the Tribe.