Karuk Tribe
Council Meeting Minutes
November 20, 2008
The meeting was called to order at 5:01 pm by Arch
Super, Chairman.
Roll Call
Present
Arch Super, Chairman
Florrine Super, Secretary
Leeon Hillman, Treasurer –
late 5:39 pm – excused
Alvis Johnson, Member
Roy Arwood, Member
Sonny Davis, Member
Absent
Robert Goodwin read the mission statement aloud.
Approval of the Agenda for November 20, 2008
Alvis Johnson moved and
Florrine Super seconded to approve the Agenda for November 20, 2008. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
1) Approval of
the Minutes
Robert Goodwin moved and
2) Swearing in
of Elected Council Members
Michael Thom announced the
finalized Election results. He, Flo
Lopez, Elsa Goodwin, and Scott Quinn were present from the Election Committee
to swear the newly elected and re-elected Council Members in.
Alvis Johnson was re-elected
and Wilverna Reece was newly elected.
They read their oaths aloud and signed their documents.
Arch thanked Sonny for the
years he has served on the Council. They
will miss him and encourage him to continue his work with the Booster Club and
CASA.
2) Earl Crosby
Not present, written report
only, on travel.
Florrine moved and Robert
Goodwin seconded to approve Earl’s report.
5 haa, 0 puuhara, 1 pupitihara (Verna Reece).
3) Scott Quinn
Scott was present to review
his written report with the Council. He
has one action item which was a request that was held over from the Planning
Meeting which was an Addendum to the Contract with Mark Crawford Logging to
adjust where the costs for the hauling of the logs from the Ranch would be
paid.
Originally they agreed to pay
the costs 50/50 from the 60/40 split. It
should have been worded for the haul costs to come off the top of the proceeds
and then they would split the remainder 60/40 between them and the Tribe. There were about 5 loads; Laura states there
are variables that go into it that which will determine what the amounts are. Robert asked if he thinks it is fair; Scott
states he believes it is and should have been worded that way. Laura states this language is how they
usually handle these items.
Scott reviewed the contents
of his report. He states they met with
KCDC last week about rock sales at the Ranch which Bob attended. He states there was a government to
government meeting with Cal Trans and DOT which Arch attended. He thanked them both for their attendance.
Bob asked if they can speak
to Cal Trans about Indian Preference for work on emergency projects that are
awarded within the aboriginal territory for the work to be done. So that when there is an Indian Owned company
they would obtain preference. Scott
states Earl usually handles that; they do have to be a Certified California
Contractor in order to be hired by Cal Trans.
Bob states he thinks such preference is in place but is not being followed
by Cal Trans.
Paula asked if they purchase
some rock from the Tribe could it be delivered.
Scott states they can but the delivery costs are somewhat high. The cost is $18/yard and then $100 per load
for delivery. She states she will go
talk to them about it at KCDC.
Scott requested a time to
meet with the Council to review the schematics for the parking lot
project. Arch states there is a meeting
with Winzler and Kelly scheduled. Scott
states that won’t work because they don’t need to be there. That meeting is scheduled for Wednesday,
December 17, 2008 at 10 am. Bob suggests
having it on December 4, 2008 prior to the Health Board Meeting at 1 pm in the
conference room.
Florrine Super moved and
Robert Goodwin seconded to approve Scott’s report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
4) Jennifer
Goodwin
Bob asked about Alan’s visit
regarding school unification and what the status of that is.
Robert Goodwin moved and
Florrine Super seconded to approve Jennifer’s report. 6 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
5) Dave Wrobleski
Dave was present to review
his written report with the Council. He
does not have any action items. He
states they are starting their 10% off sale on December 1, 2008 for all
merchandise (other than tobacco).
He still needs to know who
should have the alarm codes and be trained.
He is still working on the Tishawnik report for submission. He continues to work on the Oak Bottom issue with
Earl and the attorney. The men’s
Cultural Class has started again now that hunting season is over.
He has been working on
repatriation from two different museums (
He would like permission to
purchase a portable BBQ not to exceed $150 so they can use it and take it with
them to different sites. He can prepare
a formal request if needed. Arch asked
if there is funding for this purchase.
He would like a small grill with charcoal. April states that if there are attendance
sheets regarding who goes and youth are involves she may be able to help with
funding.
Leeon Hillman arrived at 5:39 pm.
6) Sami
Difuntorum
Ann was present to review
Sami’s report. She has some updates on
that report; she reviewed those items; quite a few of the projects are further
along then they were in the written report which was submitted.
She states the energy program
will go forward with a grant cycle in early 2009. The NAHASDA re-authorization bill was
approved; the procurement policy has been updated and approved by the Council. The formula re-allocation workgroup reached a
consensus which will raise the amount of their Housing funding. Yurok will cover the costs for the Tribes who
lost funding. This results in a $600,000
increase to the Housing funding. That
group will meet annually to re-visit this and ensure it continues to be their
best option.
Robert asked about the Happy
Camp Head Start and vehicles that may be broken down near the center and possibly
should be removed. He would like feedback
on that.
7) Rick
Hill/Hester Dillon
Rick was present to review
his written report with the Tribal Council.
He states Hester is continuing to research a grant opportunity for the
radio project and he has been working on bio-mass opportunities to use some
NEPA ready lands for some bio-mass fuels reduction projects. Letters have been drafted regarding the 150
million spent on fire suppression this past season, they should be obligating
funds to do prevention prior to the season.
Emergency preparedness brochures were distributed to the
communities. Hester is researching
vocational rehab grants. He is looking
in an EPA air quality grant as well.
Bob asked about the earmark
process and the funding the House appropriated for the Tribal Energy Grant and
if timelines for submission of that proposal will be discussed at the December
16, 2008 meeting. Rick states they
probably will not have that resolved by that meeting but will be able to
identify what the priorities are for that.
Bob would like to see a timeline for preparing for that grant
opportunity which will be advertised in February 2009 specific to the 4 million
dollars they indicated would be set aside through that grant funding process
for the Karuk Tribe’s project.
Florrine Super moved and
Leeon Hillman seconded to approve the grants program report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
8) Lisa Aubrey/Robert
Attebery
Lisa was present to
distribute her written report. She
states she has no action items. They are
just starting their energy assistance grant services to Tribal Members. This year’s grant was an all time high; they
will also do minimal weatherization work, crisis/disaster assistance as well
through this year’s grant. She states
she appreciates everyone’s patience.
She formally announced that
she is leaving her position (she is transferring to the TANF Program in the
Happy Camp area) and Robert Attebery will be filling her position in the LIAP
office. He is learning the system so
that there will be a smooth transition.
Robert Goodwin moved and
Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Lisa’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
Arch states he has Tuesday,
November 25, 2008 on his calendar for the next LIAP meeting at 1:30. Lisa states that is fine.
Arch took a moment to thank
Lisa for the seventeen years she has worked in that program and the services
she has provided. They appreciate that.
9) Erin Hillman
She was present to review her
written report.
There is one punch list item
remaining for the Orleans Building to finish the flooring seams; the Tribe is
also working on some design changes to the main conference room because there
was an exposed vent that they did not like and will be building a soffit around
that as well as repainting because they did not like the wall color.
She states she was privileged
to attend and present a Power Point presentation at the Region 9 EPA Conference
in
The updated contract language
was distributed to all staff and after tonight’s meeting, if the date at the
bottom of the agreement is not October 30, 2008 they will be rejected since it
is not the most recently approved version.
She has two new staff
members; Ruth Rouvier, Language Program Coordinator and Robert Attebery, LIAP
Administrator.
She has closed out the
disaster preparedness grant from State CSD; she saved funding by having staff
do the ICS Training Online allowing them to purchase CERT (Community Emergency
Response Team) kits for the communities for the individuals who will be working
in the Incident Command Centers. There
are radios, safety vests, hard hats, radios, telephones, flashlights, gloves,
etc in the kits. They will be
distributing kits to the Housing residents through that funding as well.
The HEPA air filters have
been received, inventoried, and will be distributed to the facilities next
week; the others.
Jeanette Quinn has drafted a
proposal to purchase a vehicle for the Environmental Education Program in the
amount of $10,000 with Resolution 08-R-131 authorizing the submission of a
grant to the 2009 Sea World/Busch Gardens Environmental Excellence Awards. It would be a used van to transport the
kids. Support funding would come from BIA
since the
Florrine Super moved and
Robert Goodwin seconded to approve
10) Dion Wood
Dion distributed his written
report; he did not have a computer last week because of technical difficulties.
He states the funding for
2009 has been received; it is only $5,000 larger so they will only be able to
sustain last years’ families and add a couple of new ones. All Tribal grantees have been challenged to
develop policies and procedures manuals for their programs. He is in the process of drafting that
document.
He was able to attend a
meeting in
He states that all nine of
the TANF Program Staff have been hired.
He has received word that December 1, 2008 will be their start date to
get the staff going and take their first case to serve the membership after
that. He thanked the TERO Commission and
the Council for allowing him to work with Daniel to achieve the goal of getting
TANF started for the Tribe.
The TERO Commission is in the
process of reviewing their ordinance to make updates; he hopes to get a draft
to them for review in the coming months.
He is working to update the Tribal Wage Ordinance as well.
He states the Tribal CCC Crew
did some burning at the Ranch, work at the
He announced there are two
TERO Commission seats expiring next month.
One is the Council Appointed seat, the other is being advertised. The TERO Commission requests that Alvis be
re-appointed to the Commission for that seat.
He will bring the recommendation back for the other position at a future
meeting. Arch would like the Council to
discuss this further.
He will be attending the
National Council for Tribal Employment Rights Legal Conference in
Florrine Super moved and
Robert Goodwin seconded to approve Dion’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
11) Ruth
Rouvier
Written report only, she is
on leave this week, no action items.
Arch read the Phrase of the Month aloud; Puheefyav (Geeze it’s good!).
12) Laura
Mayton
Laura was present to review
her written report.
She announced that Cecilia
Arwood has been hired by the TANF Program; Linda Zink has been selected to fill
that position. She has lived in Happy
Camp for about 30 years and works at Scott Valley Bank.
She states they received
their reimbursement from BIA for the Fire Program; they are now only about
$300,000 short on the amount that has been advanced to them.
Gil Akers of the IRS will be
visiting them to do an audit on the KTHA’s records; he already visited
KCDC. They are attempting to schedule it
for a day when the Council will be available to meet him.
She states there was an error
on the Yreka Smoke Shop costs; they have only spent $91,000 but are not quite
finished with their expenditures.
She continues to work with
KTHA regarding the possibility of KTHA funding at least one position from the
IT Budget to offset their costs and allow them to use the services. She hopes to hear back about that soon and
follow up with KTHA and not let fall behind.
Arch states there is a KTHA Meeting on Monday; possibly she should
attend and speak directly to them. The
meeting is in Happy Camp at 10am. Sheila
Robinson states it was presented and they will be reviewing their budget.
Robert Goodwin moved and
Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Laura’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
13) April
Attebury
They will come back to her
report; when she returns.
14) Jim Berry
Jim is present to review his
written report. He also distributed the
financials for KCDC for their review for the month of October.
He expressed his families’
gratitude to the Tribe and the membership for expressing their condolences with
the passing of his mother. They are very
appreciative.
He states the
He states that the Chipper
Crew which worked over the past season, they were very successful at generating
revenue; they have used that funding to purchase two Toyota Tundra vehicles for
the Fire Program.
Leeon asked about the end of
Rosie’s report where she requested access to grant resources through the Karuk
Tribe. She had spoken to Rick and he is
not sure if she obtained access to Grants.Gov or not. Florrine asked about the other departments
reports.
Patti was present to introduce
herself and distribute the Head Start report to the Council. She thanked them for allowing her to speak at
this meeting. She wanted to thank the
KCDC Board for the support they have given to her, Erin Hillman for her
support, and Sara Spence and Jim Berry also for their help with the
program. She states that Jim has helped
her greatly and she is very appreciative for his support. She thanked Dion for recommending that she
apply for the position, she is honored to be with the Karuk Tribe and working
with the Head Start Program. She thanked
Florrine and Vina for their help with the culture in the
She states they have
appointed their new Policy Council and their first meeting is scheduled for
December 17, 2008. She states she is getting
many emails from the Head Start Program regarding collaborating with different
county programs as well as Childcare programs.
She is looking forward to the coming year and is feeling like she can
finally settle in to fine tune the program.
Robert Goodwin moved and
Florrine Super seconded to approve Jim’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
14a) April
Attebury
April would like to speak to
them and the community regarding the Youth Conference that was held in Happy
Camp on November 8, 2008. There were
close to 80 or 90 youth who attended.
She has photos for them to review of the activities that took
place. Two youth advisory committees
were started during that conference. She
thanked everyone who helped and assisted with her activities.
She provided two interactive
activities for at the conference. They
were used to gather ideas from the kids about what they have on their
minds. There were two age groups 13 and
under and 14 and over.
She states Florrine worked
very hard to put together an agenda for the day of activities and guest
speakers to come in and speak to the youth.
April read some of the items that the kids wanted to see for them in the
communities aloud for the audience.
The questions for the youth
13 and under were 1) In your opinion what is the role of your Tribal
government, 2) If you were the Tribal Chairperson, what would you do for youth,
3) If you could present a list of recommendations to the Tribal Leaders what
would your top recommendations be.
The
questions for the youth over 14 were 1) What is it like to be a Native youth in
today’s world, 2) When you think about your future, what do you see yourself
doing, 3) What do you do when you have a problem, who do you talk to when
something is bothering you, 4) What influences your self-esteem (confidence,
self-respect).
They
went through a mock Election and nominated for the two Youth Advisory
Councils. She hopes to have these youth
participate in planning next year’s conference.
She has drafted a letter to be distributed to the parents to obtain
parental consent and detailing what will be needed. She hopes to schedule time for these youth
advisory groups to meet with the Tribal Council as well.
She
would like them to review the letter/document and approve it for distribution. It was reviewed by the ICWA Committee and Yav
Pa Anav. Sara, Barbara, and Erin also
reviewed the document.
The
majority of her time has been spent working on the Tribal Youth Program and the
Circles of Care Grant as well. The Court
has presented a Family Relations Ordinance for the Council’s review and Judge
Henry will be meeting with the Council on December 13, 2008 so that the
Lorelei
thanked her for taking the time to work with the children, the ones she knows
who attended had a great time and really enjoyed the activities.
Consensus: To distribute the parental consent letter to
the parents of the youth who were elected to serve on the Advisory Boards.
Florrine
Super moved and Robert Goodwin seconded to approve April’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
15) Hector
Garcia
Hector was present to review
his written report. Carrie was present
along with him; she would like to address the Council and discuss a couple of
items with them. She states they are
individual members of NCAI and are currently individual members; she would like
the Council to join the organization and was able to determine that the cost is
only $110. Resolution 08-R-113 was
drafted authorizing the Karuk Tribe to join the National Congress of American
Indians (NCAI); then three members will need to be appointed as their Delegate
and two Alternates.
She was able to determine
that the membership fee is based on the revenue received through Economic
Development, not grant/program/AFA funding levels, which is low for the Karuk
Tribe.
Arch asked what NCAI does for
the Tribes and what can they provide for them.
Hector states that all of the major issues that the Tribe deals with are
also discussed at a National Level by NCAI.
Hector states that Leaf was just recently invited to participate in the
National budget negotiations and speak to Barack Obama once he assumes office. They want to know what they can do to help
Indian Country that will overlap with their own initiatives. One example is the Healthcare Improvement
Act.
Carrie states that they are
allowed time to speak about the CATG during their caucus at the
Conference. There were 45 Tribes present
at a 7 am meeting which was impressive.
She states that they were able to make many connections while at the
meeting through networking. She was also
able to get a $5,000 donation toward their Community Christmas Party for the
kids that is held each year through a contact she made at that meeting.
Arch would like to discuss
the NCAI membership at the Planning Meeting before they make a decision.
Carrie states she requires
approval of the $500 membership fee for the CATG. They organized it and formed the group, but
have not paid their own fees. Laura
states if it was approved, it needs to be submitted to Finance. Arch states it has been approved, they just
need to submit the paperwork to finance.
Hector thanked Carrie for her
participation in the meetings while they were there. He states that she was in meetings, lunches,
and dinners from 7 am to 3 am the whole time they were there, meeting people
and networking and discussing their issues.
He states they are gearing up
for next year’s legislation for the 1.1 million in non-gaming distributions
which the Tribe receives. They have
meetings scheduled to meet with other Tribes as well as legislative
contacts. They need to get an author for
the bill to again sponsor it and get the large Tribes behind them. The problem has not been with the Tribal
Leadership, it has been with staff at the Tribal Offices who have de-railed
their initiatives.
Florrine asked about the
Council Directive. Hector states he
distributed information regarding how he feels the issue should be handled; he
presented the information at the meeting with managers this week. He will be meeting with individual directors
during the month of December to continue to work on the initiative. He states that one of the comments received
was excellent regarding presenting video information to congress when they meet
with them. He did not receive any
negative feedback on the subject and expects it to move forward as directed.
They discussed how they will
address all of the priorities that will come forward from the Directors when
this process starts moving. They will
have to be constantly be adjusting their priorities and efforts as things
change both within the organization and at the national level.
Robert Goodwin moved and
Florrine Super seconded to approve Hector’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
16) TJ Day
Written report only, not
present, no action items.
Robert Goodwin moved and
Leeon Hillman seconded to approve TJ’s report.
7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
17) Fred
Burcell
Written report only, not
present, no action items.
Alvis Johnson moved and
18) Sara Spence
The written report was
included in the packets for their review.
She has one action item which is a request from Martha for approval of
an Agreement with CRIHB for Susan Dahl who recently spoke at the Bi-Annual
Health Meeting regarding compliance. The
cost was $1,200 from Third Party.
Florrine Super moved and
Leeon Hillman seconded to approve Agreement 09-A-007 with CRIHB in the amount
of $1,200 from Third Party. 7 haa, 0
puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
The California Highway Patrol
visited and did a review of the commercial vehicle and driver files and all of
the paperwork was determined to be in compliance for the Tribe, Head Start, and
the Fire Program.
Sara states that the date for
the 13th Annual Tribal Reunion has been tentatively set for August
29, 2008 in Happy Camp. The year 2009 is
the 30th Anniversary of the Karuk Tribe’s federal recognition being
revitalized.
She states that Newsletter
articles for the Winter edition will be due February 15, 2008. The deadlines have been shifted to February,
May, August, and November so they do not continue to conflict with Rosie’s
grant reporting deadlines.
Florrine Super moved and
Robert Goodwin seconded to approve Sara’s report. 7 haa, 0 puuhara, 0 pupitihara.
19) Requests
None at this time.
20) Phone Votes
21)
Informational
None at this time.
22) Committee
Reports
The NCIDC Meeting Minutes
were included for their information.
Closed Session from 8:35 pm to 11:00 pm.
Robert Goodwin moved and Alvis
Johnson seconded to approve Resolution 08-R-132 enrolling eight (8) members
into the Karuk Tribe. 7 haa, 0 puuhara,
0 pupitihara.
Consensus: To refer the matter involving Employees
#8819, 7317, 4939, and 1328 to the Executive Director of HHS for further
information to be reported back Wednesday.
Consensus: To refer Tribal Member #510 to social
services to attempt to assist him with 1) working to determine if KTHA would be
open to another payment agreement, 2) identifying alternative resources to assist
with back rent or as a last resort 3) identify alternative housing to avoid
homelessness.
Roy Arwood moved and
Consensus: To table the request from Tribal Member #949 to
Wednesday for further information.
Consensus: To table the loan request from Tribal Member
#531 to Wednesday.
Consensus: To deny the remaining request from Tribal
Member #503 for assistance.
Consensus: To deny the loan request from Employee.
Consensus: To deny the loan request from Tribal Member #390.
Consensus: To review the EDHHS position applications on
Wednesday.
Consensus: To review the Council Appointed TERO Seat at
the Wednesday meeting. Roy Arwood and
Alvis Johnson are both interested.
Consensus: To issue the People’s Center Alarm System
access code to Sara Spence, Erin Hillman, and Barbara Snider.
Next Meeting Date:
December 18, 2008 at 2 PM in
Happy Camp.
Meeting adjourned at 11:03 PM.
Submitted by,
_____________________________________
Arch Super, Chairman
Recording Secretary, Sara Spence