Karuk Tribe of
Council Meeting Minutes
April 26, 2007
Ayukii,
The meeting was called to order at 5:02 PM by Leaf
Hillman, Vice Chairman.
Leaf blessed the meeting with an opening prayer.
The preamble to the Constitution was read aloud by
Robert Goodwin, Member.
Roll Call
Present
Leaf Hillman, Vice Chairman
Leeon Hillman, Treasurer
Roy Arwood, Member
Sonny Davis, Member
Robert Goodwin, Member
Alvis Johnson, Member
Absent
Florrine Super, Secretary –
excused, on leave
Quorum is established.
Approval of the Agenda for April 26, 2007
Robert Goodwin moved and
Leeon Hillman seconded to approve the Agenda with changes for April 26,
2007. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
1) Approval of
the Minutes for March 22, 2007
2) Joe Schuler,
Tribal Member
Not present.
3) Old Business
None at this time.
4) Scott Quinn,
Land/Transportation
Scott states his computer was
down so he did not have a written report this month; he was also on emergency
leave. He gave a brief overview of what
he was involved in over the past month.
Scott requested approval of
Resolution 07-R-058 granting a 50 foot right of way to the BIA for the purposes
of construction and maintenance on the recently approved roads;
Leeon Hillman moved and
Alvis Johnson seconded to approve Resolution 07-R-058. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
He continues to work on the
possibility of KTNET access for the
Leaf states there was a
question regarding the fee-to-trust application for the Tebbe property and if
it has been submitted yet. Scott states
that he cannot submit the package until they decide what they will use the
property for. The next Planning Meeting
will be May 16, 2007 as there will not be a quorum next Wednesday. They can discuss this then.
Bob asked if Scott could
resend the list of fee to trust applications to him as he did not receive it.
Leeon Hillman moved and
Roy Arwood seconded to approve Scott’s report.
6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
5)
Sandi was present to review
her written report with Council.
Her first item is a list that
she received from an
Her next item is a land use
agreement that she has been working on for a GPS unit that will be permanently
constructed at Ishkayish Ranch in Happy Camp.
It will be a system to monitor ground shifts caused by earthquakes and
slow fault slips that occur between earthquakes. A land use fee will be paid to the Tribe in
the amount of $3,500 and the land use agreement will be valid through 2018. It is right next to the air quality station
that is in place and Fred has reviewed the proposed location. Agreement Number 07-A-010 was assigned. Council can decide how that fee would be
deposited.
The next item she distributed
is a request for approval of a funding proposal in the amount of $25,000 from
the Patagonia Foundation to further fund the Bring the Salmon Home
Campaign. Resolution 07-R-060 was
assigned to the proposal. Laura and Erin
have both reviewed the document.
Her next item is
informational regarding an energy assessment that was done at the
Her next item is approval of
a funding proposal with
Robert Goodwin moved and
Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Resolution 07-R-053. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
She requested approval of the
FY 2007 BOR AFA in the amount of $426,696 to continue funding the upcoming
fisheries projects. Toz negotiated the
amount and designed the projects for this year.
Resolution 07-R-051 was assigned to the proposal. It has to sit in Congress for review for 90
days before authorization.
She requested approval of a
Contract Modification to Contract 07-C-011 with Biostream Environmental to
extend the end date through October 30, 2007.
Robert Goodwin moved and
She requested another
extension to Contract 07-C-015 with
Robert Goodwin moved and
Alvis Johnson seconded to approve Addendum #1 to Contract 07-C-015. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
She requested approval of a
funding proposal with USFWS for $10,000 to fund the costs incurred with the
FERC re-licensing and will be used for travel related to those meetings. Resolution 07-R-054 was assigned. They did not request this funding, it was
offered by USFWS to help them with their efforts.
Robert Goodwin moved and
Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Resolution 07-R-054. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
She states she has one closed
session item and will speak to them then.
Leeon Hillman moved and
Alvis Johnson seconded to approve Sandi’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
6) Susan Gehr,
Language
Susan was present to review
her written report with the Council.
She announced that there will
be a Memorial Service for William Bright in
She has one action item which
is out of state travel for herself to attend the Stabilizing Indigenous
Languages Symposium, June 1-4, 2007 in
The Language Restoration
Committee plans to meet on May 18, 2007 in
She thanked Leaf and
Robert Goodwin moved and
The phrase of the month is
teehóotaha – You’re late.
7)
Laura states that she does
not have any action items to add to her written report. She can answer any questions they may have.
They inquired about the TANF
numbers. Laura states that they continue
to negotiate with the State and have requested that they send the Tribe
something in writing. They are having
trouble at this time because the State does not want to authorize a number that
is realistic. If they cannot negotiate
with the State, it has to be approved by the Federal Government. Dion will report further on this. Leaf asked if internally they have a number
that they have set as a goal for themselves to trigger seeking Federal
approval. Laura states that in closed
session they can advise what the State number and the Tribal numbers are so
that the Council can set the amount they are willing to negotiate down to or
where they want Federal intervention.
Dion and Daniel will be speaking with Federal representatives in
Robert Goodwin moved and
Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Laura’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
8)
Lisa was present to
distribute her written report to the Council.
She states she has no action items and will answer any questions or
concerns they may have.
Connie Frazier asked if she
has a list of categories of what her program can provide assistance with. She states that yes, it is included on the
cover sheet of the application. If they
ever have any questions they can call her and she can go into more detail with
them. She will mail them an application. She states she still has energy assistance
funding for anyone who is qualified to apply for that assistance. There is a maximum annual amount so they may
be eligible for assistance more than once throughout the year.
Robert Goodwin moved and
Alvis Johnson seconded to approve Lisa’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
9)
Dion was present to review
his written report with the Council. He
states that they are at a point where they need to move forward with their TANF
numbers and that negotiation. He
explained to the group what the TANF negotiations are and what the results may
be. They are potentially ready to assume
operations of the County welfare program for the Tribal families.
There was an inquiry if the
Tribe has a program for the Elders. He
states there is an existing program and they can tie TANF in with that. He hopes to have the program implemented in
August.
Arch states that in the past
Council Members have participated in meetings such as this to help things move
along and wonders if that would help in this situation. Dion states that it does help to have Council
Members at those negotiations because outsiders see Council Members at a higher
level and listen to them more.
Leaf advised Dion of their
earlier discussion regarding the Council discussing the numbers with him and
Laura so that they are aware and can establish the lowest they would be willing
to accept and at what level they would want the Federal officials involved. He agrees and feels that would be a very
important discussion.
Laura states that they have
accepted all of the BIA Census data except for the poverty level percentage
that they are trying to use US Census data for which results in a deflated
amount so the argument is if they will accept BIA Census data for everything
else, they should use the poverty level from the BIA Census data as well.
Dion states the final allocation
has been received for the Childcare Program for a total of $99,688 for this
fiscal year. He states he will resubmit
for the next two years of funding in July and would like to look at raising the
rates that are paid and adjusting the poverty levels according to Tribal data
so that they can serve more clients at that time. Dion states that he solicits public input
each year for this grant before it is submitted. He states that collaboration with TANF and
Head Start is also a requirement for this grant application and Childcare Plan
so he will be working on that.
He states the California
Tribal TANF programs are trying to figure everything out because Childcare and
TANF have been grouped together in
He states that there are many
TERO conferences annually because there are national, state, and regional
conferences. He states that he would
like to speak to them regarding all of these for the next year for himself and
TERO Commissioners for the next year at a Wednesday meeting, May 16, 2007 is
the next date. The conferences will be
coming up very soon and throughout the Summer.
He states the CalTrans issue
continues where they see TERO as an affirmative action/racial issue not as a government
to government agreement. There will be a
meeting on May 14, 2007 and
He states the TERO Program
has established their Summer Youth Program for this Summer and plan to hire 12
youth at 100 hours each (two groups of six working three weeks each) during the
summer. The positions will be posted May
14, 2007 with a closing date of May 21, 2007 and interviews at the end of May
so that work can start on June 18, 2007.
His last item is the Tribal
Reunion and the TERO Commission has approved raffling several items as well as
running the Dunk Tank at the
Robert Goodwin moved and
Leaf Hillman seconded to approve Dion’s report.
7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
10) Jennifer
Goodwin, Education
Jennifer distributed her
written report to the Council.
They reported on the
Basketweaver’s Gathering. She personally
thanked Robert N. Goodwin,
She requested approval of the
letter to the US Department of Education to be submitted as the formal
complaint against the
At the meeting it was related
that “everything would become clear to them why they did what they did once
they knew where the program was going” this statement should have sparked
consultation with the Tribe because they are required to consult with the
Tribe(s) when making a change to the program.
This indicates that planning has been done and a decision has been made
without any consultation with others.
She will make those changes and email it to the Council and
She states there is funding
available for tutoring services and rent vouchers and she has applications with
her for anyone who is interested. It is
an income based program.
The Indian Club Trip is
scheduled for May 17-20, 2007 to take tours of two colleges and visit Six Flags
Marine World.
She states that there is a
program called Summer Rez where high school students can go down and stay on
campus June 24-27, 2007 with all expenses covered except travel to
11) Rick
Hill/Hester Dillon, Grant Writers
Written report only, not
present. Hester is working on the HRSA
Grant so that it is ready for submission on time.
Robert asked that Rick get a
note of thanks for his hard/last minute work to submit a proposal to Dianne
Feinstein.
12) Erin
Hillman, Administrative Programs/Compliance
She continues reporting on
her attendance at the meetings regarding emergency preparedness and the Hazard
Mitigation Plan and Disaster Planning for the Tribe. The next meeting will be May 10, 2007 to meet
with the County. Her prediction is that
all programs will have to develop business operations plans so they are ready
in the event of a disaster. She has
distributed information to Martha and Dr. Burns regarding training that will be
necessary for this process as well.
The HUD ICDBG Planning Grant
continues. The cost estimate was
received from Joan Briggs and the Facilities Operations and Maintenance Policy
is being revised as part of this process.
The Orleans ICDBG project continues to move forward as does the Yreka
ICDBG project which is on target. The
goal is for the building to be done in November.
Leaf thanked
Arch authorized a phone vote
for next week for the HRSA Grant for five years of continuation funding in the
amount of 3 million dollars.
13) Sami
Difuntorum, Housing
Ann Escobar, the newly hired
Operations Manager was present to review Sami’s report that was distributed is it
was not included in the packets on accident.
The meeting scheduled for May
1, 2007 needs to be rescheduled because there will not be a quorum. May 9, 2007 was proposed which is a Wednesday
at 10 AM in Happy Camp.
Laura states that she is
working with Sami on the agreement for using the
Leeon Hillman moved and
14) Jim Berry,
KCDC
Written report only, not
present.
Leaf Hillman moved and
Alvis Johnson seconded to approve Jim’s report.
7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
15)
His written report was
included in the packets and Hector was present to answer questions. He states he does not having anything to add. He reviewed the contents of his report and
what he has been working on for the Tribe.
He states the non-gaming
funding and its distribution is currently in discussion again and Laura
suggests forwarding their information regarding what they use that non-gaming
distribution for and how important it is to the Tribe again to advocate for
continuing the funding.
He states with the recent
travel problems, he did not attend the CNIGA meeting. Arch states that CNIGA is in support of
taking this issue to the legislative meeting and they are supposed to be
contacted regarding that.
There were questions from the
audience regarding the non-gaming distributions and how they are spent and why
they don’t pay it to the Tribal Members.
Laura states that they use the funding to support Tribal programs and
meet the deficits. There are over nearly
3,500 Tribal Member so if it were distributed it would be a very small amount
per person.
The fact that the gaming
Tribes contributing don’t advocate for the Tribes at the State level is the
problem; they don’t care where the funding goes and the non-gaming Tribes have
to advocate for themselves so that the funding is not taken away by the State. The gaming Tribes feel that when they pay
their money to the State, they feel their obligation is over and don’t advocate
for what is right.
Discussion followed regarding
the non-gaming distribution and what the Tribe uses that for and what they have
done to show appreciation to those Tribes that pay into the fund; newsletter
articles have also been written regarding what the funds have been spent on
several times.
There is a Self Governance
Planning Session scheduled for May 22, 2007 at 1 PM following an 11 AM meeting
with Tom Luebben to discuss Fishing Rights for the Tribe.
Hector states that BIA is
taking the position currently that they will no longer take land into Trust so
he must work on that and Council Members must be involved to ensure that land
continues to be taken into Trust.
Hector feels that it is not
necessary to attend the meeting in Arcata regarding the CalTrans issue but they
should contact an official that can do something about the situation and
coordinate a meeting between the Tribes over the telephone to discuss this.
16)
April submitted a written
report and Judge Henry was present to address the Council along with Kayla
Super. He introduced her to the
audience. She started three weeks ago
and has been working very close with April and the Judge and is doing an
excellent job so far.
He updated them on meetings
that he has attended recently on behalf of the
April states that she also
wanted to update them on the CASA Program.
They have received the laptop that was approved but they have not
received the software as of yet. She
states that their Finance Department is still working on their $10,000 contract
at this time.
Leeon Hillman moved and
Robert Goodwin seconded to approve April’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
17) Davey
Davis, Maintenance
Written report only, not
present.
Roy Arwood moved and
18) Fred
Burcell, Construction/Automotive
Written report only, not
present.
19) Sara
Spence, Human Resources
Her written report was
included and distributed to those who did not have a copy. There are no action items.
Robert Goodwin moved and
20) Requests
None at this time.
21) Phone Votes
a) Request approval for
b) Request approval for Michael Thom to attend
EDA-CEDS training May 23-24, 2007 in
c) Request approval for procurement with Larry
Alameda in the amount of $1,400 to install gutters at the two residences in
Somes Bar. Passed.
d) Request approval for Resolution 07-R-048
authorizing Scott Quinn to sign applications and accept terms of applications
in relation to the Karuk Tribe’s parking permit request with the City of
e) Request approval for
f) Request approval for Resolution 07-R-046
authorizing the acceptance of Contract Number 07F-4829 with the Department of
Community Services and Development in the amount of $30,000. Passed.
g) Request approval to purchase wire from
Grover’s Electric for the new modular building in the amount of $2,176.20. Passed.
22)
Informational
None at this time.
23) Committee
Reports
None at this time.
Closed Session from 8:36 PM to 10:50 PM
Robert Goodwin moved and
Alvis Johnson seconded to approve Resolution 07-R-055 enrolling eight new
members. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Salary and Fringe funding
is needed by DNR for Employees #5541 and #4315.
The deficit is currently $82,554.59 for both positions. There is the possibility of
negotiation/litigation funding through BIA but it has not been authorized by
Congress but a proposal was requested; the Tribe received $40,000 last year
which could offset this amount.
Leaf Hillman moved and Robert
Goodwin seconded to authorize $82,554.59 to fund these two positions. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Consensus: To request a stay of the eviction pending for
Tribal Member #3199 pending a review of additional information on May 30, 2007.
Leeon Hillman excused himself at 8:43 PM.
Robert Goodwin moved and
Leaf Hillman seconded to cover the DNA testing expense from discretionary for
ICWA Case and obtain necessary Court Order to remove the child from the home
until guardian is deemed fit. 6 haa, 0
puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Consensus: To reinstate Tribal Member #998’s privileges
in Karuk Tribal Health Clinics. Staff
and providers shall be advised that patient is to be afforded the same respect
as any other patient with no negative treatment based on past issues.
Consensus: To not authorize Barbara Norman’s services
for Tribal Member #3223.
Consensus: Tribal Member #3222 needs to speak to the
Housing Committee regarding his issues.
Leaf Hillman moved and
Robert Goodwin seconded to approve $300 from Third Party for medical expenses
for Tribal Member #3788. 6 haa, 0
puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Robert Goodwin moved and
Leaf Hillman seconded to uphold the Managed Care denial and approve $349.23 for
CHS Case #177 from Third Party. 6 haa ,
0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Consensus: To table CHS Case #176 until the Health Board
for more information.
Robert Goodwin moved and
Robert Goodwin moved and
Alvis Johnson seconded to approve a $250 to NICWA. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Consensus: Melodee Conrad will provide transportation for
Tribal Member #3176 to the
Consensus: To offer Elder/Full Blood transportation
assistance and then bring back the list of needs to the Council for review and
possible approval.
Next Meeting Date: May
24, 2007 at 5 PM in
Meeting adjourned at 10:55 PM.
Yootva,
___________________________
Recording Secretary, Sara Spence