Karuk Tribe of California
Council Meeting Minutes
October 28, 2004
Yreka, CA
Ayukii,
The meeting was called to order by 5:03 PM by Arch Super, Chairman.
Roll Call
Present
Arch Super, Chairman
Florrine Super, Secretary
Leeon Hillman, Treasurer
Roy Arwood, Member
Florence Conrad, Member
Robert Goodwin, Member
Absent
Leaf Hillman, Vice Chairman
Quorum is established.
The preamble to the Constitution was read aloud by Robert Goodwin.
Approval of Agenda for October 28, 2004
Florrine Super moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve the Agenda for October 28, 2004. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
1) Approval of the Minutes for September 23, 2004
Leeon Hillman moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve the Minutes for September 23, 2004. 4 haa, 0 puuhara, 1 pupitihara (Florrine Super).
2) Troy Hockaday
Troy was present to ask the Council several questions.
1) Where are the non-gaming distributions going? There have been no articles in the Newsletter regarding this. Laura states they received a $643,000 payment a couple of weeks ago and received two other payments for about $100,000 this fiscal year. They use them for items that program dollars cannot cover such as lawyers to set up a casino, the Tribal Newsletter, any miscellaneous requests for assistance, youth sports, etc. She can do another article detailing it again. He states they should do those on a regular basis to keep the Membership informed about where the dollars are going.
2) What happened in Scotland on the trip? He wants to know why the water was not released through the dams. They want to know what happened during the trip and what happened to the fight for the fishing rights. Arch states the litigation for fishing rights is an ongoing process. Bob states there were some surges of water that came through but they were at the wrong times. They feel like DNR is not helping the Karuk people with their fishing rights. Bob states they are trying; they even did a press release discussing it a couple of days ago.
3) Where has Leaf been? He has been trying to contact him for three weeks in Happy Camp and Orleans but cannot reach him. Robert states they have addressed this and have been receiving updated schedules and he should ask the Receptionist to check his schedule to let him know where he is.
4) He would like to know what is going on with the installation of speed bumps in the Yreka Housing. It has been discussed numerous times but nothing has been done. The problem is finding funding to pay to construct them. Troy feels it should be a priority. Roy states it hasn’t been mentioned in the last couple of Housing meetings.
5) For several days he has been looking for Housing Rules and Regulations and no one has a copy of them. There is no master document around the offices. He would like to know who to ask this for and who would have it. He states there are a lot of policies out there that aren’t documented and it should be looked at and addressed. Josh states they do have a current policies and regulations. The Council states those should be made available to the Residents when they ask for them. Josh can give him a copy tomorrow if he stops by.
6) He announced they will be holding a BINGO on November 5, 2004 to raise funds for the Yreka Christmas Party. They are selling tickets and it will be at the Greenhorn Grange with dinner also.
7) He states he spoke to the principal at Jackson Street School to start the first Native Youth Program at that school. He and Philip Albers are working on this and would like the Council and Housing Authority to support them on getting that started and making it work. Starting this will make it easier to start one at the High School. Arch asked if they are working with Jennifer to set something up at the High School also. Darlene states she just spoke with the High School about a trip and they were very open to activities going on and want to work with them. She states she would be more than willing to help since she has a good rapport with them at the High School. They also allow non-Indians to participate so everyone can learn about each other and learn about the culture.
8) He also thanked them for helping Arron with money to get to the Sacramento Punt, Kick, Pass Competition in Sacramento. Laura states that sponsorship came from those non-gaming dollars and that is the type of things they use it for.
3) Karuk Youth Health Advisory Board
Alma Navarro and Tamara Alexander were present to ask for assistance to do a booth at the Halloween Fair that is being held at the Community Center. They needed assistance to buy prizes to give out so that they can have games. It will give them a chance to get information out to everyone about what they are trying to do which is promote health among youth in the community. She states they have a backup plan but would like to ask for help with this. They don’t want to give out candy because they are aiming their booth at health. They are only requesting like $100. They can do it through a PO to Walmart or Raley’s to buy the items since they have sales going right now.
Roy Arwood moved and Florrine Super seconded to assist them with $100. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
They also gave the Council a short update on how their group started and what they are trying to do. They want to promote their group since they only have three people that are interested right now. They would like to have a committee to spread information about preventing obesity and diabetes health problems in their communities. Phil Albers helps them also. Alma is also participating in several State meetings to represent the youth of the area. They pay for those trips for her as a Board member. Phil originally started this while he was a CHR at the Yreka Clinic. Due to the current structure and workload of the CHR it is more a community committee instead of a health committee and they want to focus on youth issues in general and not only health issues. They don’t tell the kids what they should do they just help them when they need it and answer questions when they have them. They are part of a state-wide youth advisory board that works with the governor and advisors in California.
There is also a leadership conference in November that they previously requested assistance with for them to attend in San Diego. Arch suggests they attend more meetings to get information about how they operate. Toni also asked if she would like to attend the Head Start Health Advisory Meetings, she can invite them.
Florrine also has some information for them to expand and build their group so that they can help them and she has a volunteer to work with them also, she gave that information to her to read.
4) Tony Jerry
Tony was present to ask about a conversation he had with someone regarding his home. What he would like to know is if he can get assistance with roofing for his home. It leaks pretty bad and has some tarps on it to stop the leaks. The person he talked to thought that there may be some employees in Yreka that could help work on his home in Montague. He states there are many places that you may fall through the roof in due to deterioration. Erin states that he needs to submit an application to Lisa Aubrey so that they can see which program he qualifies for. She will get his address and phone number from him so she can put him in touch with Lisa. He states he has done paperwork with Lisa and she should have information from him for a wood voucher. Nothing has changed in his household. Erin states she can look it over and then they can get back to him. Erin asked if he has any prices of what it would cost to repair it. He said he was told it would take $2,500 to look at it.
5) Daniel Pratt
Daniel was present to talk to them about Raindancer Youth Services, Inc. It is a non-profit organization out of Utah that works with Native American families. They want to start working with social service agencies in California. They would like to set up three group homes in California in Southern, Central, and Northern regions. They provide residential treatment, and treatment-foster care. He would like to know if they are interested in looking into this further. The Yurok Tribe is very interested in working with them but the organization is more interested in being on the I-5 corridor to service more areas. They are looking at putting in a 33 bed facility with 24 hour coverage. They will build it; they just need the land to put it on. It will service children 8-17. It is mostly drug and alcohol and foster care services. Daniel suggests if they are interested they should contact them and set up a meeting with the Council. They may be able to work with Housing. Robert asked if the Tribe could look into the Beverly Manor facility, it has already been purchased. A comment was made that it should be in a more rural location and not in the City.
6) Old Business
Arch will address his items on Wednesday.
A question was asked about the progress of the Casino project and what is happening. Arch states they are currently at a stumbling block regarding the lands determination and until it is addressed they cannot do anything. An audience member asked what the Tribe will do to get the funding to run the Casino. Arch states they will have to hire investors to loan them the money for it. What is the collateral? Usually there is none because they know they are going to be successful. Usually it is a contract that is paid back within 5 years. Another question was the Tribal Council’s opinion on Proposition 70. They don’t have an official opinion of the group or organization. They are clearly No on 68 but have not come to a conclusion on 70. Any opinions would be individually based. What it will do is reduce their tax rate to a corporate tax of about 9% instead of the higher 15-25% payments to the State for the Casino. It will also remove some of the restrictions on games they can play in the casinos. The general feel is Yes on 70 would be a good decision for this Tribe but cannot be sure how it would affect other Tribes. What about the Darren Rose project, it is their understanding that they cannot build a casino, it would have to be a Tribe that does it. They are trying to use Alturas Rancheria. There has been no news of a Compact being issued to the Alturas Rancheria or Darren Rose. Arch told them to call Hector at the Office if they have more questions about it.
7) Laura Mayton
Laura was present to request approval of her procurement of the FY 2004 Audit. She requests choosing Joseph, Eve and Company.
Florence Conrad moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve the FY 2004 Audit being done by Joseph, Eve and Company in the amount of $43,250 which includes KTOC, KTHA, and KCDC. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Robert Goodwin moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Laura’s report. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
8) Sandi Tripp
Erin was present to request approval of Contract 05-C-003 with Jeanette Quinn in the amount of $25,695 for the period of October 28, 2004 through September 30, 2005.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florence Conrad seconded to approve Contract 05-C-003. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Her written report was included also. Sandi needs to either interoffice the report or email it so they can read it and not fax it anymore. Chris needs to look at the fax line also since they replaced the machines on both ends and it still does not come through clear.
Consensus: To table her report until a clear copy is submitted so they can read it.
9) Erin Hillman
Erin was present to request approval of the revised LIAP Committee Polices and Procedures. The stipend form on the last page is an error, as that committee does not receive stipends. Florence Conrad is the Chair and also there is Arch, Florrine, Florence, Wes, Erin, and Lisa. They meet on the fourth Tuesday of the month at 4 PM. It is a requirement of their CSBG grant to have this committee in place. They are currently working on helping to streamline those programs to help them function better and get assistance faster.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florrine Super seconded to approve the revised policies. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Robert Goodwin moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Erin’s report. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
10) Scott Quinn
Robert would like an update on the property in Happy Camp that the KBC is on. Scott had requested a meeting with the Council to address issues also. Friday, November 5, 2004 at 11 AM was set and they can discuss it then.
Florrine Super moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve Scott’s report. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
11) Dion Wood
Dion was present to address the Council. He has a couple of action items to request approval of. He also gave them an update on his TERO Planning Session that was held last week. They have developed a list of items they will assist with.
They had a lengthy discussion regarding the TERO ranking system. They would like to amend the TERO Ordinance to allow Tribal spouses and Descendents more preference in hiring within the Tribe. There will be some wording changes on job descriptions and postings also to only list that they will observe Tribal Preference in hiring if they are electing to adopt their own.
Item 3 will be re-worded to: Spouses of Karuk Tribal Members or Parents of dependent Karuk Tribal Members.
Roy Arwood moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve the revisions to the TERO Ordinance. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
He also let them know what some of the other items are TERO will be working on in the next year.
Franklin states that he wanted to tell them that he does not think it is right that they withheld dollars from his check when they discovered he had an outstanding debt. Franklin states that it was very hard for him because he was already in a bad situation and they withheld the dollars anyway and it was a hardship for him. Robert states that he does not think the people who withheld the dollars understood what the situation was and what he was going through and apologized.
Dion requested out of state travel for himself and up to two commissioners to a NAIHC Conference in Las Vegas, NV, December 7-10, 2004. It will be paid from the TERO budget. Roy will already be there for Housing and also sits on the TERO Commission.
Robert Goodwin moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve out of state travel for Dion and one Commissioner. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
November 10, 2004 is the next TERO meeting. They changed their meeting time to 1 PM also so that they can have lunch with the Elders before they start their meetings.
The TERO Commission currently is Lynn Parton, Doozie Voyles, Corina Alexander, Elsa Goodwin, Alvis Johnson, Roy Arwood, Cecilia Arwood, and David Nelson.
Robert asked why there is no one from Orleans on the TERO Commission. He may want to look into that when a seat becomes available.
He states the Childcare program has been defunct and not working due to the vacancy in the department. The grant award brought them back to a level where they can continue the same level of services without a discretionary contribution. Dion is doing a program review at this time to make sure it is in order and unfortunately they are unable to take any new families at this time due to funding. He also wanted to discuss the Child Care Program with them. He currently has six people on the waiting list. Many thought there would be more dollars on October 1, 2004 but they did not receive additional funding. He hopes to have the budget finalized within the next month to estimate what is going out and what is available.
Florrine Super moved and Florence Conrad seconded to approve Dion’s report. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
12) Chris Kleeman
Chris was present to address the Council verbally. He states he is happy to report progress is being made in all of the areas they have asked him to pursue. Last Tuesday he attended a meeting in Willow Creek to discuss technology issues in that area. He states Humboldt County is planning to add technology issues into their communication plan to get access to everyone. He met a number of individuals that have services in Humboldt County. The Hoopa Radio station is seeking content creators – they wanted to know if anyone is interested in helping with producing audio/video materials regarding the River projects going on. He told them he would bring the information back to the Tribe. The Radio station will be having one day training near the Orleans area. They would also like to provide programming in Happy Camp and Yreka. The training date has not been set yet. They suggest he pass this information on to DNR so they are aware.
He is very displeased with Dell and their current service; he does not plan to do any business with them in the near future until they are able to improve their technical support and customer service. There was discussion regarding information he can gather for the Orleans area for communication upgrades.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florrine Super seconded to approve Chris’ report. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
13) Trista Parry
Not present, written report only, no action items.
Florrine Super moved and Florence Conrad seconded to approve Trista’s report. 4 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara. Roy not present for voting.
14) Toni McLane
Toni was present to review her report with the Council. She states that Florrine has been involved with Head Start and they would like her to continue to attend the meetings and be a liaison between the Council and the Head Start Policy Council.
She asked where they would like to have their joint Council/Policy Council meeting. They agree to have it in Happy Camp. It will not be until January probably and will be about 1-2 days, partially on a Saturday. Her budget is only $4,000.
November 29-December 3, 2004 is the schedule for the Head Start Program Review. She distributed a draft of what they will do and when she needs them there. She needs the Council to all be present on November 29, 2004 at 9 AM until 12:00 PM and then December 3, 2004 at 9:30 AM.
Toni commended the Housing for the way they keep their communities as they are the cleanest she has seen compared to several other areas she has seen.
She states she is working on compiling the information the Council requested. She would like to go through some of that before the reviewers come in to try and talk to them while they are in their offices. They may also know where they can get more dollars for a Head Start facility.
Florrine Super moved and Florence Conrad seconded to approve Toni’s report. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
15) Susan Gehr
Not present, written report only, no action items.
Florrine Super moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Susan’s report. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
16) Hector Garcia
Not present, written report only, no action items.
Florrine Super moved and Roy Arwood seconded to approve Hector’s report. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
17) Fred Nahwooksy
Not present, written report only, no action items. Arch states that one of Fred’s grants was awarded but now they need to determine who will administer it. It is $4500 for the next basket weaver’s gathering. The new director will oversee this.
Florrine would like to have the Happy Camp polling place be in the People’s Center instead of the multi-purpose room. The Council said that is OK. There also needs to be a phone in each polling station. Wes will open the building at 7 AM so they can get in.
Roy Arwood moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Fred’s report. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
18) Lisa Aubrey
Not present, written report only, no action items.
Florence Conrad moved and Florrine Super seconded to approve Lisa’s report. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Daylene asked if there is an easier way to get a hold of Lisa Aubrey because she cannot ever get her on the phone. They told her she can email her, come to the office, or contact Wes Valentine her Supervisor.
Directive: For Lisa Aubrey to call Daylene tomorrow.
Lisa Goodwin states if they need applications they can get them at the Social Services Office. She states she needs an answer on an application that is in already.
19) April Attebury
April distributed her written report for their review and went over the information with them. She updated them on the Judicial Oversight Committee and their activities. Current members are David Arwood (Chair), Marlene Rodriguez (Vice Chair), Sherile Grant (Co-Secretary), Amanda Alexander (Co-Secretary), Melinda Avechuco (Treasurer), Florrine Super, Nancy Super (Elder), and Judge Flies-Away. They will have a strategic planning session on 11/16 at 4 PM in Yreka.
She distributed brochures regarding the CASA program and the services available. There will be training in Yreka October 29-30, 2004.
Judge Flies-Away also gave an update on the Court and its activities.
Florrine Super moved and Florence Conrad seconded to approve April’s report. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
20) Wes Valentine
Wes was present to review his written report. His only action item is out of state travel to the Area on Aging Title VI Training Conference. It is a national conference in Washington, DC, April 24-28, 2004. He would like permission for himself and Babbie Peterson to attend. A Council Member would be good also because there will be opportunity to talk to Tommy Thompson’s representative regarding their Elder’s program. Florence Conrad would like to attend.
Florrine Super moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve out of state travel for Wes Valentine, Babbie Peterson, and Florence Conrad. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
On Monday they met to see what they can do to speed the Foster Family Agency along. April has received additional funding and they feel that bringing in a contractor to develop the policies and procedures to get it going would be the best way to go. She has contacted a qualified individual and they will be doing a conference call next week. They have also found out that subsidizing the rent for the home through CSD is an allowable expense if they write it into their plan for January. That will keep the family from having to pay the rent. Florrine also states they have a potential foster family so she is excited.
Wes gave the audience an overview of the recently received HRSA grant and what they will be able to do with the 1.9 million dollars over the next three years. It will allow them to expand services and be able to apply for additional funding now that they are a HRSA clinic.
Wes also clarified that the only Tribal Members counted for funding in the Health Clinics are those that live in the area and use the facilities. This is a common misconception; they are only counted if they are an active user at their facilities. For example Tribal Members living out of the area and not using their services do not get counted for IHS funding purposes.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florrine Super seconded to approve Wes’ report. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
21) Sami Difuntorum
The Elders would like to know what is going on with the development in Yreka? Roy states that any day now they are supposed to start working on the area to have the homes put in. It will go rather quickly after that. They hope that they will be completed with all of the site construction by December 22, 2004. The weather can extend that of course, and then the homes will be brought in.
Sara distributed information to them regarding the Oak Knoll property for them to review before their meeting with Housing next week. The plan is to Quit Claim Deed the property to Housing and they will lease it back to the Tribe with the option to buy so they can use the facility for transitional housing.
Leeon Hillman moved and Roy Arwood seconded to approve Sami’s report. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
22) Fred Burcell
Not present, written only, no action items.
Florence Conrad moved and Florrine Super seconded to approve Fred’s report. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
23) Jennifer Goodwin
Not present, written only, no action items.
Florrine Super moved and Florence Conrad seconded to approve Jennifer’s report. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
24) Phone Votes
Florence Conrad read the phone votes aloud:
a) Approval to purchase a monitor heater for the Happy Camp Pharmacy in the amount of $2,435.02 from Frank’s Fuel, funding to come from the Health Program. Passed.
b) Request for out of state travel for Nicole Hokanson to Chicago, IL, October 13-16, 2004 to give a presentation to the Joint Commissions at the National Conference on Nitrous Oxide. Passed.
25) NCIDC Minutes
Informational. Florence announced the Inter-Tribal Elder’s Gathering will be in Eureka on November 13, 2004 from 10-10. Dinner will be Noon to 4 PM.
The Council would like this posted on the website and information gathered regarding how many Elders would like to go and need help getting there. Wes will talk to Flo tomorrow.
26) Committee Reports
LIAP will be putting their applications on the website as soon as they are revised.
Leeon Hillman - Next KCDC Meeting is November 15, 2004 at 5:30 PM in Happy Camp. They have hired a CFO by the name of James Berry who is a Tribal Member from Yreka and he is doing very well. The goal is to get KCDC up and running so they can run more programs through there.
Election will be November 2, 2004. There are two seats open and Alvis Johnson and Robert Grant, Sr. are the only two running. Bob suggests that the Election Committee review pending legislation each year to be able to inform their membership how they should vote. They can work with Hector to get more information out to them and get them registered for national elections.
Closed Session from 9:15 PM to 12:50 AM
Consensus: To meet with the Maintenance Supervisor to see what his staffing needs are to avoid using the Mechanics for Maintenance tasks and to ensure safety at the Mechanic Shop.
Tribal Member #1673 would like something in writing stating that they are taking steps to address the situation appropriately as they cannot tell him what the specific personnel action taken was. The Tribal Member left while Council was coming to a decision. They will discuss it with the Housing Committee at their meeting.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florrine Super seconded to approve Resolution 04-R-106 for ICW Case SCJV-SQ00-0183. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Florrine Super moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve Resolution 04-R-107 for Placer County ICW Case 53-001566. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florrine Super seconded to approve Resolution 04-R-108 for ICW Case P077134. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florence Conrad seconded to approve Resolution 04-R-034 for ICW Case #3622. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Consensus: To approve the re-unification letter of support at the request of the ICWA Committee.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florence Conrad seconded to approve paternity test funding from discretionary in the amount of $460. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Consensus: For the Maintenance Department to continue trying to get the trailer moved with internal resources.
Directive: To have Wes transfer the case from Lisa Goodwin to Daniel Pratt for Tribal Member #651.
Directive – For Lisa Aubrey to look at Tribal Member #1445’s clothing voucher request and food request tomorrow.
Tribal Member #558 would like a written letter explaining why her rent assistance request last year was denied by the Council.
Robert Goodwin moved and Roy Arwood seconded to allow exempt employees 8628 and 3770 to be paid a stipend if they take annual leave for Election Day. 4 haa, 0 puuhara, 1 pupitihara (Florrine Super).
Consensus: To allow Florrine and Sara to order awards for employees 2815 and 3413 for their work in the Health Program.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florrine Super seconded to approve the revised Contract 04-C-047. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Consensus: To allow the Maintenance Staff to cut the tree down during work hours if he signs a waiver releasing the Tribe of liability.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florrine Super seconded to approve $1,000 toward travel to San Diego for the Youth Advisory Board. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Directive: For Hector to help KCDC with their legal issues.
Next Meeting Date: November 18, 2004 at 5 PM in Orleans.
Meeting adjourned at 12:55 AM.
Yootva,
___________________________________
Arch Super, Chairman
Recording Secretary, Sara Spence