Tribal Council approves third agreement for Portland Harbor cleanup, contract for homeownership development construction

By Danielle Harrison

Smoke Signals editor

Tribal Council approved a third agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency for the ongoing Portland Harbor cleanup at its Wednesday, Sept. 17, meeting.

Since 2004, the Tribe has had agreements with the EPA through which the agency has funded Grand Ronde’s involvement in the Portland Harbor Superfund site. The Tribe began a new cooperative agreement in 2019 to continue the work. The third cooperative agreement will fund Tribal staff and a technical consultant for up to $603,529.

“Is there any type of timeline for when we can actually say that the Portland Harbor will actually be clean?” Tribal Council Secretary Jon A. George said during a Tuesday, Sept. 16, Legislative Action Committee meeting. “It’s been 20 years already, a long time.”

Tribal Lands Department Project Administrator Brandy Humphreys agreed that it has taken a long time and progress is being made.

“The record of decision (selecting a cleanup plan) was released in 2017 and the whole foundation of it is to have cleanup done by 2034,” she said. “It’s a massive site and they have to do it piece by piece…We shall see as we move forward.”

In other action, Tribal Council approved a $2.9 million contract with Scholten Construction Inc. of Willamina for phase two construction of the Tipsu-ili’i Tribal homeownership development. Specifically, the work will involve building roads and underground utilities to serve the next phase of 32 homes.

“We’re excited to get this project underway so we can get phase two completed,” Tribal Engineering & Community Development Department Manager Ryan Webb said during a Tuesday, Sept. 23, Legislative Action Committee meeting.

Webb said he expects utilities and roads to be complete in approximately 15 months.

“There’s no exact date on when we will begin building homes but it’s not unreasonable to see construction work on those begin in late 2026 or early 2027,” he said.

Phase one, which includes 20 homes, is fully occupied.

Additionally, Tribal Council:  

• Approved renewing its annual Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians membership dues for $7,500 and appointed Jon A. George as ATNI delegate and all remaining Tribal Council members as alternates.
• Approved a $120,000 grant application to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Victims Services for its Services to Domestic and Sexual Violence Survivors grant;
• Approved a $596,000 grant application to Indian Health Service for Addressing Dementia in Tribal and Urban Indian Communities: Enhancing Sustainable Models of Care grant;
• Approved a $45,000 grant application to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Victims Services for its Violence on Crime Act grant;
• Approved a $242,000 grant application to the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Victims Services for its Tribal Victims Services Set-Aside grant for domestic violence services;
• Approved reappointing Tribal Council member Kathleen George and appointing Tribal Council members Lisa Leno and Matthew Haller to the Spirit Mountain Community Fund Board of Trustees with terms ending Sept. 30, 2027;
• Approved appointing Tribal Council members Toby McClary and Pete Wakeland as authorized signers on the Tribe’s bank, sweep and investment accounts; and authorizing the use of a Tribal credit card for both of them. Additionally, Tribal Council approved removing past council members Brenda Tuomi and Denise Harvey from the accounts and Tribal credit card;
• Approved granting Controller Trish Squires signing authority on the Tribe’s line of credit with TriState Capital Bank and removing Executive Assistant Christine O’Day as an authorized signer;
• Approved reappointing Matthew Kirkland and appointing Harris Reibach and Tribal Council members Toby McClary and Pete Wakeland to the Spirit Mountain Gaming Inc. Board of Directors with terms ending Sept. 30, 2028;
• And approved enrolling seven infants into the Tribe because they meet the requirements under the Tribal Constitution and Enrollment Ordinance.

Tribal Council also set the agenda for the next General Council meeting. It will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 5, and include a report about the Tribe’s investment accounts in executive session.  

To watch the entire meeting, visit www.grandronde.org and click on the Videos tab.