Behavioral Health addition contract approved by Tribal Council

Tribal Council approved a $667,000 contract with Seabold Construction Co. of Beaverton to build a 2,100-square-foot addition to the Health & Wellness Center’s Behavioral Health wing during its Wednesday, June 6, meeting.

The Tribe received a federal Indian Community Development Block Grant for the expansion and Seabold garnered the highest score of the two companies that bid on the project.

According to a request for proposals that appeared in the April 1 edition of Smoke Signals, the Behavioral Health Department has outgrown its allocated space in the Health & Wellness Center, which was built in 1997. In 2017, Behavioral Health had 2,570 visits.

The new space will consist of a meeting room, reception area and lobby, an office, consultation room, and renovations to the existing restrooms.

At the Tuesday, June 5, Legislative Action Committee meeting, Tribal Council Chairwoman Cheryle A. Kennedy and Secretary Jon A. George reminded Tribal members that the Health & Wellness Center was constructed in the shape of a medicine wheel to allow for future expansions and holistic care of Tribal members.

“This is a really significant need,” Tribal Council member Kathleen George said during the Legislative Action Committee meeting. “We hear this from the folks who work in the clinic; we hear this from the folks who work with our kids in Education. There is a very high demand for these Behavioral Health services and we are really maxed out.”

In other action, Tribal Council:

• Approved an application for a maximum $15,000 Bureau of Indian Affairs Resilience Grant that would help the Tribe build its capacity to address climate change concerns;

• Approved a $419,766 contract with Cearley Construction of Estacada for the repair and paint project that the Housing Department has planned for Raven Loop buildings, which are more than 10 years old;

• Approved an application to the Oregon Emergency Management Department for a $62,500 grant that would help fund two positions in the Grand Ronde Tribal Police Department. The Tribe would be required to match the grant dollar for dollar;

• Approved the enrollment of three infants and three non-infants into the Tribe because they meet the requirements outlined in the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance;

• Approved Tribal credit cards for Natural Resources Department employees Waylon Rich and Jeramy Trammel, who work as single resource bosses with the Wildland Fire crew. The credit cards will have the standard $5,000 limit and help pay for travel expenses, meals and maintenance of Tribal vehicles and engines;

• Approved amendments to the Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. articles and bylaws that, among other changes, state that the Board of Directors will consist of six nonTribal Council members and up to five directors who are Tribal Council members, and that a Tribal Council member who is not re-elected will have their appointment to the board automatically terminated. According to an executive summary, the amendments seek to standardize past practices for appointments to the board and establish best practices for a future that will include more competition for Spirit Mountain Casino.

Also included in the Wednesday, June 6, packet were approved authorizations to proceed that appointed Education Department Manager Leslie Riggs and Curriculum Specialist Mercedes Jones to the Essential Understandings Advisory Committee, approved using ceremonial fish caught at Willamette Falls for the June 2 First Foods Celebration and approved a $1,000 per capita amount for the June 15 distribution.

Tribal Council Secretary Jon A. George gave the cultural presentation to open the meeting and discussed the Saturday, June 2, First Foods Celebration held at achaf-hammi, the Tribal plankhouse.

The entire meeting can be viewed by visiting the Tribal website at www.grandronde.org and clicking on the News tab and then Video.