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Elders housing on its way soon
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General Council Meetings
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MISSION – If it hasn’t started already,
demolition should begin soon on the old
Tillicum Grange building just east of Mission
Market on the north side of Mission
Highway.
The site will make way for new housing
designed primarily for elders.
And that’s the catch.
Originally, the building was to include
14 attached apartments and a shared
senior center where elders could congregate
for meals.
That could all be changing now that
Umatilla Reservation Housing Authority
has heard from elders about considering
a few other ideas.
“We’re working now with an architectural
firm out of Bremerton, Washington,
on a new design for the elders,” Brook
Kristovich, URHA Director said. “It’s
quite a fun project because we are involving
the elders, different departments
– planning, the fire department, public
safety, the URHA Board of Commissioners
and the Tribes’ Board of Trustees.”
The group will meet in a “charette,”
usually a collaborative session in which a
group of people draft a solution to a problem.
(While the structure of a charrette
varies, depending on the problem and the
individuals in the group, charrettes often
take place in multiple sessions in which
the group divides into sub-groups. Each
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sub-group then presents its work to the
full group as material for future dialogue.
Such charrettes serve as a way of quickly
generating a solution while integrating
the aptitudes and interests of a diverse
group of people.)
“After talking with elders, it seems
they want co-living housing, so we may
go with a single building a couple of
stories up,” Kristovich said.
Kristovich said URHA went into the
project with a preconceived idea that has
evolved with input from elders.
For example, among the topics of discussion
could be whether or not each unit
wants a kitchen or a smaller kitchenette,
or whether residents would be happy to
eat all their meals downstairs in a shared
cafeteria style dining hall.
“We’re going to look at the options.
That’s the fun part about it, seeing how
it all works out,” Kristovich said.
The first charette will take place in
mid-March. In the meantime, Kristovich
wants to have a couple more meetings
with elders “so we get a better feel for
what they’d like to see in a building.”
If all goes well, construction could start
this summer with a completion date by
the end of the year.
In other URHA news, Kristovich reported
that some 150 homes are being
remodeled – on in some cases nearly
rebuilt – because of mold and mildew, or
methamphetamine contamination.
Seven homes have tested positive for
White Swan
enough meth that they require full blown
renovation, but most of the work is being
done on homes built in the 1970s that
have been wrecked by mold and mildew.
Some of the units are considered transfer
homes, where families are moved
while their houses are repaired.
When mold and mildew is found
(caused by leaky bathtubs over the
years), crews have to remove just about
everything in the house – floors, cabinets,
sometimes walls if mold has creeped up
behind the drywall.
“It’s pretty extensive,” Kristovich said.
“Sometimes we’re practically building a
new house; the structure is in place and
we focus on the inside.”
URHA also is encouraging Tribal
members to take advantage of free
homeownership classes so they can be
financially ready when homes become
available for purchase.
He points to two half-acre parcels
that will be the sites of new homes. Several
people have shown and interest and
URHA is hoping to have more by June so
a selection can be made and home development
can start. Tribal members would
go outside for financing, but the Tribes
could help with development, finding a
contractor, lot development and design.
“The Tribal member will finance the
actual construction,” Kristovich said.
“As we get closer, we think more families
will be interested in those two lots so we
want to find additional lots so they can
do the same.”
Continued from Page 2
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asbestos was commonly used in insulation,
drywall and floors. Now, Chairman
Smiskin said, “the mere potential presence
of asbestos among the ashes and
debris now littering White Swan presents
a serious, time-consuming and expensive
environmental dilemma.”
In the immediate term, the Nation is
worried about getting safe housing and
collecting money, food, clothing and
other essentials for those who lost their
homes or are displaced until cleanup and
repair can occur. One of the most pressing
needs is for diapers, formula, bottles,
baby food, clothing, bedding and other
baby supplies. The Indian Health Service
opened after the weekend fire to replace
medicines for survivors, but it will take
far more to help the displaced people
for the months or years that it takes to
rebuild White Swan.
While the Yakama Nation, its people
and its neighbors responded immediately,
the needs in the short term and the
long term are great. The Yakama Nation
looks to the United States to uphold its
trust responsibility, and to the generosity
of the American people to support those
affected by this disaster on Yakama lands.
In addition to the local businesses and
centers that are accepting donations, the
Yakama Nation has set up the following
ways for people across the country to
contribute to the community’s recovery:
• The White Swan Fire Relief Fund
at Bank of America, with donations accepted
at branches nationwide.
• Donations also can be made at the
Toppenish Armory, 326 S. Division St.,
Toppenish, WA 98948.
• Donations can be mailed to Yakama
Nation CFO Henry Roy, P.O. Box 151,
Toppenish, WA 98948.
For more information please contact:
Colleen Reimer, Yakama Nation Tribal
Administrative Director, colleen@yakama.com,
509-388-3300 (cell) or 509-865-
5121 ext. 6004 (office).
Need info about the “Cobell settlement”
www.indiantrust.org
Or, locally, get help from CTUIR staff by calling
541-429-7486
6 Confederated Umatilla Journal
March 2011