Minutes: October 10, 2018

SAC AND FOX TRIBE OF THE MISSISSIPPI IN IOWA

Tribal Council Meeting – October 10, 2018, 5:00 PM

Sac and Fox Tribal Chambers

  1. Meeting called to order at 5:06 p.m.
  2. Roll Call

Presiding Officer: Anthony Waseskuk, Chairman

Tribal Council present: Adrian Pushetonequa, Vice-Chairman; Delonda Pushetonequa, Treasurer; Troy Wanatee, Jarvis Bear; Harvey Davenport, Jr., Apollo Davenport

Staff present: Bessie Scott, Executive Director; Jay Finch, Attorney General; Bill Thurman, Comptroller; Yolanda Pushetonequa, Tribal Council Secretary; Kent Scheid, Housing Director; Allison Stewart, Enrollment Director.

Visitors: Hilda Youngbear, Lynn Morgan, Leigh Lasley, Vestana Lasley.

  1. Ascertainment of Quorum – A quorum was ascertained with 7 council members present.
  2. Agenda approval

The Chairman asked for any changes or additions to the agenda. Bill Thurman requests to remove Item c. Apollo Davenport requests consideration of the Iowa Juvenile Home. It will be covered with Item G. Delonda Pushetonequa asks for consideration of Item K. Grants Writer. Motion made by Jarvis Bear to approve the agenda with the changes. Delonda Pushetonequa seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.

  1. Minutes –

Motion made by Apollo Davenport to approve the minutes for August 22, 2018 and September 5, 2018 and September 19, 2018 and September 28, 2018. Delonda Pushetonequa seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.

  1. Reports –
    1. Delonda Pushetonequa, Employment Liaison shares that she attended NNAHRA fall conference with the Human Resources Department. Several members of HR staff went, and Meskwaki, Inc. also sent members. It was informative and they brought back valuable ideas for the HR team.
    2. Apollo Davenport, Health Liaison shares that he attended the National Tribal Health Conference and National Indian Gaming Commission training and NAFOA conference. He felt it gave him a good understanding of the Gaming Commission, Behavioral Health issues, IT systems, and legislative items in the works.
    3. Adrian Pushetonequa, Enrollment Liaison shares that he attended the Enrollment Committee Meeting last night and they will present some items today including new enrollments. They will also be presenting a request for travel.
  2. New Business
    1. Cornerstone Government Associates – Political Campaign ContributionAttorney General Jay Finch conference calls Mike Smith of Cornerstone Government Affairs in Washington, D.C. Mike Smith gave an update on the repeal of the legislation they’ve been working on. We’ve cleared the Democratic and Republican hotline meaning all senators now support our bill. We’re waiting to be paired with another bill. We’re looking for a democratic bill to pair ours with, and someone has asked to pair with us. Senator Schumer’s staff met recently with CGA. Mike Andrews states the House has not moved as fast as we’d like. Grassley will talk to Senator Hoven very soon. Hoven is confident our bill will become law by year end. Contributions: The dollar amounts are consistent with the amounts we generally request in an election year. The allocations balance between Democrats and Republicans as the majority of our district is Republican after all. Mike explains which committees various Senators and Representatives on, the capacities in which they can move to support Native American issues. Mike also gives an update on the Farm Bill. Republicans want to make it more restrictive for access to the SNAP program. Democrats have resisted some of those changes. Sen. Tesla today believes that the Farm Bill may be done within 2 or 3 weeks after the elections and the President will sign it. There will be provisions related to Hemp. Jay Finch requests a motion to approve contributions as outlined by Mike Smith. Jarvis Bear makes a motion to approve the political campaign contributions as recommended by Mike Smith of CGA. Harvey Davenport seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.
    2. Enrollment Committee
      1. Approval of 4 Enrollment Recommendations
      2. Kidimi Lynn Morgan presents the enrollment committee’s four recommendations for enrollment. Daven Port Johnson and Ari Savannah Kapayou and Corrick David Keahna and Bradley Ronald Edwin Kapayou are recommended.

Motion by Jarvis Bear to approve the enrollments for Daven Port Johnson and Ari Savannah Kapayou and Corrick David Keahna and Bradley Ronald Edwin Kapayou. Delonda Pushetonequa seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.

      1. 2014 Annual Tribal Membership Report

Kidimi Lynn Morgan presents the 2014 Enrollment Report listing a total membership of 1,386 as of December 31, 2014. In 2014 there were 15 new enrollments and 16 deceased. The final count does not include 18 individuals who have not come in yet for the last audit (2014).

Motion by Delonda Pushetonequa to approve the 2014 Tribal Audit Membership Report. Apollo Davenport seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.

      1. Approval for the Committee to attend 24th Annual Tribal Enrollment Conference

Kidimi Lynn Morgan presents a flyer for the 24th annual enrollment conference. It is November 13-15, 2018 in Palm Springs. The cost is already covered in the budget. The Enrollment Committee and the Enrollment Liaison and the Enrollment Director would attend. The Chairman asks if any Tribal Council would like to go. Apollo is interested and Delonda will consider it.

Motion by Delonda Pushetonequa to approve the Enrollment Committee and the Enrollment Liaison and the Enrollment Director and a delegation of the Tribal Council to attend the 24th Annual Tribal Enrollment Conference in Palm Springs. Jarvis Bear seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.

    1. Fiscal/ Procurement – Approval of System Assessment of Clinic
      1. This item was removed at the beginning of the meeting.
    2. Fiscal – Approval of Powwow Donations FY 2019

Bill Thurman, Comptroller presents a list of the annual recurring community powwows and the dollar amount they were approved for last year. Bill suggests doing one large request for the Fiscal Year up front and then if there are overages by a committee they could address the council at that time. Bill also suggests that this may streamline the process of reporting and accounting for the committees. The Halloween Masquerade is the exception with a slightly larger budget request submitted than last year.

The budget provided by Fiscal was derived from last years’ numbers. It totals $42,150. Jarvis Bear suggests an alternative set of budets totaling $38,000. Arrived at this total by reducing the following budgets: Halloween budget to $2,500 and New Years Day to $2,500, Proclamation Day to $5,000 and Annual Powwow to $20,000.

Adrian Pushetonequa expresses disappointment in low participation for that day. Other Council members agree and are concerned that people don’t take as much pride in the day as we’d like to see. Someone suggests maybe the reason was the hot weather that day.

Motion by Apollo Davenport to approve the suggested numbers. Harvey Davenport seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.

    1. Veteran’s Day Powwow Committee
      1. This item will be skipped because it was rolled into the Fiscal budget request.
    2. Masquerade Powwow Community Planning Committee
      1. The Masquerade Powwow Committee presents their budget. Although the Fiscal budget approved a Halloween budget, it included a downward adjustment by Council. Masquerade Committee would like an opportunity to explain the basis for their budget numbers and why they need the amount requested. Vestana Lasley, Leigh Lasley, and Tashina Azure and Francine Youngbear are on the committee. Vestana and Leigh and Tashina wish to express their reason for an increased budget amount back to the original request. $2,500 amount is not enough due to: 1) The youth department is sponsoring $2,500. Last year over 400 people attended and the previous year over 400 people also attended. The dollar amount also is neglecting to include the children’s contest. There was a recruitment effort and it ends up being the same individuals who are all employees doing it as employees because no community members have stepped up to help do these types of events. Fundraising is not an option due to it being a lot to ask. There is a hardship in recruiting youth volunteers. Leigh

Motion by Delonda Pushetonequa to approve the full requested amount. Troy Wanatee seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.

    1. Housing – Approval of Purchase of Mobile Office Unit
      1. Kent Scheid, Housing Director and Tashina Azure, Youth Department present a proposal for acquiring a mobile unit for temporary office space. Tashina explains they’ve already started working with the Settlement School for using the building. Kay has worked with Meskwaki, Inc. and they will allow the Youth House to use space for storage while a new location is considered. Kent Scheid explains that there is a 24’x70’ unit up for consideration. The media department would also share half the building. The budget for three total buildings is $113,605.

Motion by Apollo Davenport to approve the purchase of 3 mobile units for temporary office space. Delonda Pushetonequa seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.

The Tribal Council raises discussion on the Iowa Juvenile Home. The others verify they had a consensus on moving forward with IJH acquisition.

Jarvis Bear motion to pursue the purchase of the Iowa Juvenile Home for $1.00. Apollo Davenport seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.

    1. Housing Committee – 2 Open Seats and Brief Update
      1. Yolanda Pushetonequa, a Housing Committee member presents a short report of recent Housing Committee activity. A Committee meeting was scheduled for last night, October 9, 2018. There was no quorum. Two seats are open on the Housing Committee. One of the members whose term expired is interested in remaining on the committee. Tribal Council requests to post the two vacancies and take letters of interest to consider all those interested.
    2. Community Request – Oliviah Walker Lease Location Change
      1. Bessie Scott presents Oliviah’s letter and description of her issue regarding the rental unit which is now owned by the Tribe after acquiring the unit from Meskwaki, Inc.

Motion by Apollo Davenport to approve Oliviah Walker’s request for a change to her lease. Harvey Davenport seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.

    1. Attorney General MattersAn investment policy must be in place.
    2. Jay Finch, Attorney General, presents a request to create 3 resolutions that will replace the single resolution 10-2018. The Great Western Bank requires three separate resolutions. The first one states that the Council approves of the investment policy statement. The investment account will need to be funded by moving money from Pinnacle to this investment account. It may change a little bit about how they write loans but it won’t substantially change the bank. Monies will be recouped. There is actually a loss by leaving the cash amount in the bank as opposed to the investment policy.

Motion by Delonda Pushetonequa to approve the passing of Resolution 17-2018 and 18-2018 and 19-2018. Apollo Davenport seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried.

    1. Grants Writer
    2. Tribal Council would like to initiate the hiring process for a grants writer that would be dedicated to pursuing projects that the tribal council is interested in.

Bessie Scott explains that she is in contact with Carrington, North Dakota regarding a visit to the hemp processing plant. Jarvis Bear and Delonda Pushetonequa are interested.

  1. Adjourn

Motion made by Jarvis Bear to adjourn. Harvey Davenport seconded. Vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned at 7:56 p.m.