HomeMy WebLinkAboutTribal-County Relations Committee - Minutes - 8/7/2014Tribal Relations Minutes 2014-08-0710
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Minutes of the Bayfield County Tribal Relations Committee Meeting
11:00am, Thursday, August 7, 2014.
Emergency Operations Center (EOC),
Bayfield County Annex, Washburn, WI
Members Present: William Bussey, Bryan Bainbridge
Members Excused: Marvin DeFoe Jr., Beth Meyers
Others Present: Mark Abeles-Allison (Bayfield County Administrator), Kristine Kavajecz, Anita
Haukaas, Dave Ujke, Betty Kerr, Bonnie Chivers, Brenda Spurlock
Called to order at 11:08am by Bussey in place of Meyers.
Public Comment: None
Minutes of the June 5, 2014 County-Tribal Relations Committee Meeting; Deferred until the
next meeting when there is a quorum.
Kerr noted a clarification of the minutes that there are 261 kids cases, which could indicate more
children. Approximately 90 cases where both parents are tribal members residing on the
reservation. There are an additional 30 cases that are clearly tribal jurisdiction. The remaining
cases have at least one parent that is a native American.
It was noted that state court garnishment orders can be enforced in the Tribal Court through a
special process.
Comprehensive Community Support Program (CCS) update was provided by Anita Haukaas,
Bayfield County Department of Human Services. CCS comprises Ashland and Bayfield
Counties. The oversight board is comprised of 6 Bayfield County representatives, 6 Ashland
County representatives. Each county has 2 consumers or family members of consumers on the
committee, which are a part of the 6. CCS meeting notices will be posted on the County Web
site in addition to other local media. Included in the meeting packet was a schedule of future
meetings through the end of 2014. Meetings will be held at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor
Center except for the October meeting, which will be held at the Bayfield County Courthouse.
CCS is a program that will serve people with mental health or substance abuse issues. CCS will
provided a higher level of service than the existing Community Service Program. CCS
participants must have medical assistance to be eligible. Referrals will primarily be made
through local physicians and mental health providers. The program is 100% state/federal
funded. New Horizons will be administering the program. Request was made to make sure Lynn
Basina is noticed about CCS meetings.
Child Support Discussion: Red Cliff expects to have a list of cases they will request to transfer
to their jurisdiction in the next few weeks. Kerr reported that Comprehensive status was granted
effective July 1, 2014. Estimate through the state data match is that 261 cases may be eligible
for transfer from Bayfield County to the Red Cliff Child Support office. An attorney has been
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hired and will start the beginning of September. MOU still needs to be approved by the County
and the Tribe. County and Tribal attorneys are working out the details of this. It is expected that
the MOU will go to the Tribal Council and County Board on August 26th. Bayfield County and
Tribal representatives both expressed importance and interest in developing a strong,
collaborative working relationship going forward. Bainbridge expressed interest in attending the
meeting when the two Child Support offices meet to work out the details of the case transfers
and process for future case assignments.
Criminal Justice: Treatment services have been introduced at the county annex building as part
of the Criminal Justice Program. Spurlock reviewed a couple of the programs that are occurring.
Working on accessing enforcement initiatives for domestic abuse/assault crimes. Spurlock
reported on the potential for working with a dedicated law enforcement officer one day per week
on this topic. Spurlock also explained an effort to provide more cultural education within the
programming. Lynn Basina with the tribe will be approached regarding suggestions for a
speaker to enhance the cultural awareness programming in the re-entry program.
Tribal Gaming Memorandum of Understanding: Ujke explained that the state gaming
compact allows for the tribe to make payments to the county rather than the state once they meet
their revenue threshold. A memorandum of understanding would need to be created in order to
facilitate the payments to the county. Abeles-Allison summarized his suggestions for
modifications to the draft MOU which included:
-One addition that the parties agree to meet and discuss any disputes. (Elimination of the
arbitration clause).
-Item 4 kept the first sentence and delete the remainder of the paragraph.
-Item 5 kept the first sentence and delete the remainder of the paragraph.
The tribe expressed that items 4 and 5 are key initiatives for them and the purpose of the
proposed language is to identify those items as a priority.
Suggested modifications to the agreement will be sent from the County to the Tribe for
consideration.
The group took a short break to partake in a light lunch.
Forestry Memorandum: A handout was provided from the County Forest Administrator on 3
forest related topics: Rowley Road Access Permit, Sand Point Road Timber sale PAC review and
the Memorandum of Understanding. Bainbridge reported that the county and tribe have been
working together on these items. The tribe will continue to review and discuss the MOU draft.
This topic will be discussed at the tribal council retreat later this month. It is anticipated that
several more discussions will take place on the MOU before action will be taken as this is a very
important topic to the tribe.
Concern was expressed that the perception is that Forestry Committee members are involved in
the Forest industry and there is a perceived conflict of interest when dealing with Forestry
matters on lands within the tribal boundaries.
Law Enforcement: Tribal-County Law Enforcement Agreement will begin revision/review in
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the near future. Two topics may be considered to be added to the agreement: Domestic Violence
officer and cultural speakers.
Economic Development: Manufacturing program taking place at WITC tomorrow with the state
Lt. Governor. Business Park being developed at the old Ag Station location. Tribe is continuing
to explore further economic development opportunities and has made this a priority.
Future Agenda Items: Request for a tour of the new Red Cliff medical facility at the next
meeting. Next meeting on October 23 at the new Red Cliff medical facility.
Meeting adjourned at 12:43pm.
Respectfully Submitted by Kristine Kavajecz