Karuk Tribe of California
Tribal Council Meeting Minutes
May 26, 2005
Orleans, California
The meeting was called to order at 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
Alvis Johnson, Member
Absent
Leaf Hillman, Vice-Chairman
Robert Grant, Member
Quorum is established.
The preamble to the Constitution was read aloud by Robert Goodwin.
Robert Goodwin excused himself at 5:07 PM.
Approval of the Agenda for May 26, 2005
Florrine Super moved and Alvis Johnson seconded to approve the Agenda for May 26, 2005. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara. Robert Goodwin not present for voting).
1) Approval of the Minutes for March 24, 2005
Leeon Hillman moved and Florence Conrad seconded to approve the Minutes for March 24, 2005. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara. (Robert Goodwin not present for voting).
2) Approval of the Minutes for April 28, 2005
Leeon Hillman moved and Florence Conrad seconded to approve the Minutes for April 28, 2005. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara. (Robert Goodwin not present for voting).
Robert Goodwin returned at 5:12 PM.
3) Darlene Navarro, Tribal CASA Program
Darlene presented a PowerPoint presentation and introduced Marla Bigboy, a visitor from the National CASA Organization, which is on site doing their program review this week. She distributed copies of the PowerPoint presentation to the Council so that they will have it for future reference.
Marla spoke to the Council and gave them some background on her history and experience with the CASA Programs throughout the Country. The Karuk Tribe has the first Tribal CASA Program in the entire state of California which is an honor and National CASA looks to them to lead other Tribes that wish to pursue the same Tribal CASA Programs throughout the rest of the State. Pit River recently received funding to begin planning their Tribal CASA Program and if they successfully move forward they will be the second Tribal CASA Program in the State. She is looking at the communities on this visit and will come back next year for the fiscal review of the program. She also let them know how well/high thought of their program is throughout National CASA. She thanked them for their time and for allowing them to be on the Agenda at tonight’s meeting.
They set July 11, 2005 from 9 AM to 4 PM for a CASA Planning Meeting with the Council at the Yreka COS Campus.
Florence thanked her for all of the hard work she has done for the program and for the children of the Tribe, Darlene states she does it for the communities.
4) Martha Tilden
Martha was present to address the Council and speak to them regarding the Orleans/Somes Bar children and wanted to let them know what a wonderful job they are doing taking care of their programs but she feels that they need to pay more attention to the children and she sees them having many problems and would like to see help for these kids with counseling, life skills, and activities to keep them from getting into trouble. She does not want to lose any more children to drugs, alcohol, and crime. She states she has always been involved with Head Start and the schools in the Orleans/Somes Bar area for many, many years. She would like them to listen to the kids and pay attention to avoid losing any more of them.
Roy states they are concerned and would like to know if she has any specific ideas or recommendations regarding what they should do. She states there are currently no programs available for teaching them life-skills and trades such as carpentry, plumbing, mechanics, etc. that do not require long range college classes but vocational skills that can help them to support themselves. She states that building up their self-esteem would help them to succeed when they leave the area also. She states she does not have a solution/answer but just wants them to pay attention and try to do something.
Leeon states he agrees that there are problems and they are concerned. He states there are so many aspects that go along with these youth problems that one blanket program will not help them all, it will take a combination of several different types of programs to help different children of different age groups with different issues.
Toni states that recently they had a youth workshop and she plans to put together a report for them that will include a lot of information from the youth that helps to identify what the youth want and what they feel can help them and activities they would like to see in the communities and it helped them to see how the kids feel about the situations they find themselves in. She states that this is good information that can be used for writing grants also.
They thanked her for coming to speak to them.
5) Amos Tripp, Tribal Member
Amos was present to address the Council and speak to them regarding preservation of their culture. He states he participates in the Jump Dance each year and thanks the Council for all of their help with these dances and their support. He states they try to keep to the traditions and uphold the history of the dances. He states that they have been able to avoid having any problems with people drinking and causing problems. They have instances that come up but they deal with them and work through them to preserve their traditions. He states they have consciously kept their distance from the Tribe to ensure that the dance/ceremony is conducted by the People and families. They are VERY thankful to the Tribe for their help with supporting them. He states that the Elders that preceded them were carriers of knowledge in the past and they taught them how to preserve their traditions. He states that if they do not work at preserving their language, territory, and culture they will lose it and it does not take long to lose those things. They need to pass these things on so that they will continue. He states his great-grandmother was a Karuk speaker, then his grandmother could speak Karuk and English, then his mother could understand Karuk but not speak it, and he has limited Karuk language skills. He states this is a great example of how quickly they can lose something if they do not preserve it and work on it all of the time.
Leeon states he is proud of what they are doing because over the last 30 years dances have become something that everyone feels welcome at when they didn’t used to. Amos states he is proud of the Tribe because of everything they are doing and have done for the Tribe and the reason he works at it is for the kids. He states he feels that he would like to be more involved with the Tribe so they can work together. He would like to see more protection of Katimin and other key prayer sites to preserve those sites as they are critical to who they are and what they do. Roy feels that if they work with Hector and Scott they should be able to come up with some strategies to protect these sites and preserve their culturally sensitive areas.
6) Rodney Grant
Rodney was present to update them on his father’s health status. He states they did the scope to determine how far his cancer has spread and it hasn’t, they have gotten it all. Now he just has to recover from the surgery.
He also states he is no longer a crew boss for the Karuk 1 fire crew.
He is present to request sponsorship for his two children to enter two programs. The first is the Gold Beach Football Camp that includes football coaches from all over to help the children learn better playing skills and sportsmanship. The start date is June 18-23, 2005 and the cost is $155. His daughter would like to participate in the Kidder Creek Camp in July and the cost is $293.
Arch states that usually they make these types of decisions on Wednesday so they will let him know the outcome after that meeting.
6a) Old Business
Florrine states they need to keep track of their old business so that they make sure they get everything taken care of.
7) Sami Difuntorum, Karuk Tribe Housing Authority Executive Director
Sami was present to review her Housing report with the Council. She went over the highlights of the report with them. She asked about using the 2005 HUD ICDBG Grant for the renovations to the Old Headway building. The Tribal Council has already issued a Resolution supporting CRIHB applying for this grant to purchase the building they occupy in Sacramento as the Tribe did not plan on writing an ICDBG this year. She gave some updates on other projects that Housing currently has underway and their current construction projects. She explained to the audience what the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) will be and announced that they are recruiting to develop a Board of Directors to oversee this venture and she has not received any letters from Tribal Members that are interested in participating in this. Florrine suggests she send the information to Gerry to put on the website. She also announced that there are openings for a full time Tenant Relations Officer and part time Waiting List Technician that will focus solely on processing applications and verifying eligibility and then work with a committee for placements, they are also working on the audit of the waiting list. Leeon states that this person should spend time with applicants to let them know exactly what is involved in the process and what to expect so that they are informed and are not confused.
July 13, 2005 from 9 AM to 4 PM there will be an all day meeting between the Board and the Council to discuss the Admissions and Occupancy Policy. The meeting will be held at the Happy Camp Council Chambers.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florence Conrad seconded to approve Sami’s report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
8) Dion Wood, Tribal Employment Rights Director
Dion was present to review his written report. He states he is having trouble with CIMC and has a couple of Tribal Members that attended school and then CIMC backed out of the funding they had obligated themselves to. He states he may suggest to the TERO Commission not participating in CIMC’s consortium any longer and have their funds administered through NCIDC instead. Florrine asked if he has spoken to Josh Saxon and Daniel Pratt, they have some ideas of how to get the funding for the Tribe. Dion states he has some ideas too and will talk to them. He gave some information regarding how CIMC works and how it has been administered and how their funding priorities have changed recently.
He states the TANF stats the State has provided are grossly inadequate and April has been assigned to help work on locating accurate information and caseload data. They will meet on June 9, 2005 to bring their research together and respond to the State.
He distributed the draft of the Sales Tax Ordinance that was forwarded from Stephanie Dolan. She would like to meet with available Council Members, Dion, and Sami on June 9, 2005 at 2 PM to discuss the document further prior to their Constitution meeting.
He states he is working on revisions to the Two-Year Childcare Plan and only plans to adjust items such as the payment schedule and the rates that are paid and implement some child development activities. He will have a booth at the Tribal Reunion to get input from the Membership and then submit the plan by the due date of July 1, 2005. Arch asked if Dion has completed his evaluation of the current plan participants and what their level of eligibility is. His plan is to have everyone re-apply by October 1, 2005 and then take the neediest families at that time with the new funding.
They would like Childcare added to the Old Business at the Planning Meeting. Robert Goodwin would like the detail of the $600,000 of proposed changes to the Old Headway Building at that meeting also.
He is requesting the Council authorize up to $3,500 of TERO funds to purchase raffle prizes for the Reunion. They will purchase a 32” television, a generator, and a computer to be raffled off at the reunion. Leeon would like to know how much is brought in from the raffle ticket sales after it is over.
Roy Arwood moved and Florrine Super seconded to obligate up to $3,500 of funding for the Reunion raffle prizes. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 1 pupitihara (Alvis Johnson).
He states the National TERO Convention is coming up in August and he is requesting out of state travel for himself, Lynn Parton, and Alvis Johnson to Phoenix, Arizona, August 1, 2005 through August 4, 2005.
Roy Arwood moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to send Dion Wood, Lynn Parton, and Alvis Johnson to the National TERO Convention, August 1-4, 2005 in Phoenix, Arizona. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 1 pupitihara (Alvis Johnson).
Florrine Super moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve Dion’s report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
9) Leo Carpenter, People’s Center Museum Director
Not present, written report only.
Florrine Super moved and Alvis Johnson seconded to approve Leo’s report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
10) Toni McLane, Head Start Director
Toni was present to provide a verbal report. She states at the last meeting she had included a copy of the Internal Dispute Resolution procedures which are titled the Karuk Peacemaker Mediation Forum for the Head Start Program that April helped her to prepare to be in compliance with their performance standards. This document provides for disputes between the Tribal Council and the Policy Council when they arise. She would like them to approve the document for use by the program. April states that the Tribal Court procedures they revised for the program meet and exceed the federal guidelines. They would like more time to review the document before they approve it. If they approve it at the next Council Meeting she states that will work. April states items one through five come directly from the regulations and must be included in the document. They will review it at their Wednesday meeting and discuss it further.
Toni presented Resolution 05-R-64 authorizing submission of a funding proposal to the DHHS, ACF in the amount of $4,387 for 1% Cost of Living Adjustment funds for the funding period of January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005. Laura worked with her to put the budget together and allocate the dollars as necessary.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florrine Super seconded to approve Resolution 05-R-64 with the date change. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
She thanked the SWEEP Program for the good workers they have had at Head Start this year.
Robert Goodwin moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Toni’s report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
11) Hector Garcia, Self Governance Director
Not present, written report only.
July 14, 2005 is the next AFA Meeting. There was also discussion about the transportation plan and its status. Scott Quinn is working on it and is on the agenda for tonight. If he does not make it they can discuss it on Wednesday.
Roy Arwood moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve Hector’s report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
12) Lisa Aubrey, Low Income Assistance Programs (LIAP)
Lisa was present to review her written report with the Council and she gave them a summary of the numbers. There was discussion regarding the Adult Services Program and the requirements for Care Givers for that program. There was also further discussion regarding various programs that Lisa has and what the guidelines are.
She distributed a proposed payment schedule for the LIHEAP Program as the Housing Authority is phasing out the utility allowance program for residents. They took the 2004 California Poverty Guidelines for 60% of State Median Income multiplied by the Consumer Price Index Inflation Factor for 2005 which is 1.03% to develop current amounts and then determined what the allowance amounts would be based on various income levels. The assistance will be first come first serve basis and not all Housing residents will qualify. Bob asked what kind of impact that will have on the level of funding and the other Tribal Members that need assistance. Erin and Lisa state there will never be enough funding to help everyone that needs assistance. There are dollars set aside for Energy Assistance, Monitor Stoves, and Air Conditioners – Lisa’s suggestion was to take the Energy Assistance line item and split it 50/50 between Housing Residents and Non-Housing Residents to make it fair.
They would like to see the revision for Housing Residents to be eligible for LIHEAP adopted via Resolution and have that presented at the Wednesday meeting.
Florrine Super moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve Lisa’s report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
13) Larry Jordan, Executive Director of Health and Human Services
Not present, written report only.
Roy Arwood moved and Florrine Super seconded to approve Larry’s report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
14) Erin Hillman, Director of Administrative Programs and Compliance
Erin was present to review her written report with the Council. Her report included updates on all items she has been working on over the past month.
She thanked Suzie Cost for her help with the survey and Ramona Driver for her help with the budget forecasting they did at DNR today. The Council would like to send a letter to Suzie from the Council. Ellen also helped her by stapling all of the raffle tickets to the surveys.
She states that both of the grant writers, Julie Burcell and Rick Hill, have accepted their positions and will start on June 6, 2005.
The HUD ICDBG sounds very promising but no final award letter has come yet. Erin states it will work similar to a pass through to Housing and she will do Fiscal/Contract Management and then Housing will do the Construction Management on the project.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florrine Super seconded to approve Erin’s report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
15) Chris Kleeman, Information Technology Manager
Chris states the DNR phone system is on the fritz and it may need to be replaced if it cannot be repaired. The Happy Camp Health Services phone system is also starting to go out as well and wearing out. He led them to several different websites to view stats regarding email usage, website usage, etc. He states the Orleans site has been at 100% usage of their bandwidth on a regular basis which means if they plan to add anything to that system they will need to upgrade the lines. He also demonstrated how they can do a web-cast of Council meetings so that people who cannot make it to the meetings can see/hear the meetings. It can also be set up so that you can only access it with a password so everyone cannot get to it. He can save them to a hard drive and archive them for future watching and archival purposes as well.
Hector has his laptop and Florrine’s should be in today or tomorrow or early next week. He also has a laptop order for six or seven more at $1,500 each. The total order would be $9,000-$10,500 to various department budgets to order them from Gateway. He is also researching a possible new Native American company that may be less expensive. Two are for DNR, one for social services, Florrine, Fred Nahwooksy’s possible replacement, and one spare to keep in the office for key personnel – that have to have prior approval from Arch before loaning it out. Fred Burcell has also expressed an interest in having a laptop as well for field work he does. He will order six from Gateway and one from Lakota Technologies to see how they work.
They asked about the tracing software which is about $120 per machine for those employees that travel regularly. He recommends applying the software to the laptops as desktops are not usually stolen and are easily replaceable.
They suggest taking this to Wednesday so it can be approved once the procurement documentation is signed off on. He will also speak to them about a computer support contract for KTHA and KCDC at that time since it has been mentioned several times previously.
Arch also asked him to work toward implementing the Language into the Website.
Florrine Super moved and Alvis Johnson seconded to approve Chris’ report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
16) Susan Gehr, Language Program Director
Susan was present to review her report with the Council. She only has one action item which is out of state travel to the Linguistic Society of America’s Language Documentation Conference, July 9-11, 2005 in Cambridge, Massachusetts for herself. The funding is available in her ANA budget.
Roy Arwood moved and Alvis Johnson seconded to approve out of state travel for Susan Gehr to Cambridge, Massachusetts, July 9-11, 2005 for the Linguistic Society of America’s Language Documentation Conference. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
She states she will be in Bishop next week doing Language Training. She states that she will have the CD Art soon and will have the Language CDs ready for the Reunion to distribute. She will also be doing Language BINGO at the Reunion too.
Florrine Super moved and Roy Arwood seconded to approve Susan’s report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
17) Laura Mayton, Chief Finance Officer
Not present, written report only. Laura’s report included the FY 2005 Indirect Cost Rate which is 60.08% and also a Health Budget update regarding actual expenditures so far for the Fiscal Year. Things are still looking tight.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florence Conrad seconded to approve Laura’s report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
18) Sandi Tripp, Department of Natural Resources
Earl was present to do the DNR report as Sandi is on her way back from Redding.
The first item is Contract 05-C-052 with Western Fishes not to exceed $20,000 for May 26, 2005 through December 30, 2005 to conduct the Klamath Lamprey-Faunal and Field Identification Study to help prioritize management for lamprey in the Klamath River Basin. Funding will come from 2110-11-7600.
Robert Goodwin moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Contract 05-C-052. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
The second item is procurement to purchase rock from Hoopa Valley Aggregate in the amount of $10,185 for 485 tons to be paid for from 5060-14-7500 and 5060-14-7502.
Robert Goodwin moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve the purchase of 485 tons of rock from Hoopa Valley Aggregate. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
The third is Contract 05-C-051 with Redenius Construction not to exceed $9,963 for June 10, 2005 through June 17, 2005 to haul rock from Hoopa to the 12N29 Road. Funding will come from 5060-14-7500 and the USFS Cost Share Agreement.
Robert Goodwin moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Contract 05-C-051. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
The fourth is procurement to rent watershed equipment from Peterson Rentals in the amount of $131,350, he will then meet with Erin Hillman to develop the Contract/Rental Agreement. Funding will come from 5060-14-7500 and the USFS Cost Share Agreement.
Florence Conrad moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve procurement for Peterson Rentals in the amount of $131,350. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
The fifth item is for Contract 05-C-050 with TT Construction not to exceed $25,500 for June 20, 2005 through November 1, 2005 to have an excavator and 10-Yard Dump truck on site at roads 12N08 and 12N29. Funding to come from 5060-14-7500 and the USFS Cost Share Agreement.
Robert Goodwin moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Contract 05-C-050. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
His last item is procurement to purchase seed from Pacific Coast Seed in the amount of $5,507.
Robert Goodwin moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve procurement for Pacific Coast Seed in the amount of $5,507 to purchase seed. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
The DNR Mid-Month Meeting was set for June 6, 2005 at 10 AM in Happy Camp.
Bob states the Council would like to have a full explanation of the potential of the Ti-Bar Demo Project at their next Mid Month meeting so they can have a detailed discussion regarding where the Council wants to see the Project go. Earl states there is a concept paper that he can email to them so they can read it. Robert would like to have a presentation from all of the DNR staff so that they can give the Council an idea of where they plan on taking it.
Leeon Hillman moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve the DNR report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
19) Jennifer Goodwin, Education Program Coordinator
Not present, written report only. Will be discussed in closed session.
20) Scott Quinn, NEPA/Land Manager
Scott was present in case they had any questions on his written report.
Florrine Super moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Scott’s report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
21) Fred Burcell, Maintenance Director
Not present, written report only.
Florrine Super moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Fred’s report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
22) April Attebury, Tribal Court Administrator
April was present to give a verbal report. She states there is a training scheduled for the Wellness Planning Initiative for the Drug Court Planning Grant. The group is Arch, April, Joe, and Marlene Rodriguez and the location is Tuscon, Arizona. The costs are reimbursable. The dates are June 21-25, 2005. Sherile was going to go but has moved away, they may be able to substitute someone else but she is not sure, she might still go.
Florrine Super moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve out of state travel for Arch Super, April Attebury, Joe Snapp, Marlene Rodriguez, and Sherile Grant (possibly) to Tucson, Arizona, June 21-25, 2005. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Her next item is approval of a Lease Agreement to move into a unit that is $350 per month and around the corner from where they are currently. She would also like to try and get the CASA Program moved into the office next door which is $330 per month and then they can be right next to each other. It is right across the street from the Courthouse and County Counsel. CASA does not have funding for rent though so it would have to be funded from discretionary. April has the funding in her budget for her rental agreement. They can discuss the CASA request on Wednesday.
Leeon Hillman moved and Florrine Super seconded to approve Contract 05-C-053 at the rate of $350 per month for the Tribal Court to relocate to 214 Lane Street in Yreka. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Roy Arwood moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve April’s report. 6 haa, 0 puuahra, 0 pupitihara.
23) NCIDC Meeting Minutes
Informational.
24) Thank You Letter From Tribal Member
A thank you letter was included from Mikayla Caughran thanking them for the Birthday card she received from the Tribe.
26) Karuk Restoration Committee Meeting Minutes
Informational.
Closed Session from 10:30 PM to 12:20 AM
Florence Conrad moved and Alvis Johnson seconded to approve Resolution 05-R-65 enrolling six Tribal Members. 4 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara (Robert Goodwin and Roy Arwood not present for voting).
Leeon Hillman moved and Roy Arwood seconded to uphold the ICWA Committee’s recommendation and approve Resolution 05-R-63 for Case #SCJVSQ-05-50282. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara (Robert Goodwin not present for voting).
Florence Conrad excused herself from the meeting.
Tribal Member #2953 was advised to contact CHS and request that her medical bills be appealed to the Health Board at the June 9, 2005 meeting.
Florence Conrad returned to the meeting.
Consensus: To table the position description changes to Wednesday so that there is a current funding breakdown and a projected funding breakdown from Laura before they make a decision.
Robert Goodwin moved and Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Resolutions 05-R-66 and 05-R-67 requesting that the Blue House properties be accepted into Trust. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florence Conrad seconded to approve the Environmental Compliance Procedure for Housing and Urban Development Projects. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Directive: For Sara to work with Dan on two-week notice to employee and then work with him on changes to Store schedule. Employee’s last day will be June 10, 2005. Store will be closed the week of June 13-18, 2005 to re-organize the inventory. When store re-opens on June 21, 2005 it will be open Tuesday through Saturday five hours per day (10 AM to 3 PM) and Danny’s hours will be cut back to 25 per week. The Council needs to review it in a month or so.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florence Conrad seconded to approve up to $150 for volleyballs and nets for Reunion. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Robert Goodwin moved and Florence Conrad seconded to approve $577.32 for minor repairs to septic system. 5 haa, 0 puuhara, 1 pupitihara.
Health Board Meeting Date: June 8, 2005 at 5 PM in Happy Camp.
Next Meeting Date: June 23, 2005 at 5 PM in Happy Camp.
Florence Conrad moved and Florrine Super seconded to adjourn at 12:22 AM. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Yootva,
__________________________
Arch Super, Chairman
Recording Secretary, Sara Spence