Carol Robertson and Amber Allen, staff with the FSST Economic Development Department, attended the Tribal Transportation Planners Conference at the Civic Center, Bismarck, ND, September 3-5, 2008. They also attended some of the United Tribes Tribal Leaders Summit.
The main reason Carol and Amber attended was to become more familiar with the Indian Reservation Roads (IRR) Programs, part of the Federal-Aid Highway Program and funded from the Highway Trust Funds. This program is jointly administered by the BIA and the Federal Highway Administration. Training and information for Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act-Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) and Public Law 109-59 were also attended by the staff. Carol & Amber also received information and training for funding formula implementation for roads funding, Indian Reservation Roads Inventory and large land base Tribes IRR Program Inventory issues. They also met with the BIA Roads Engineers, Aberdeen Office, to discuss FSST’s long range transportation planning and IRR inventory and YR 2009 projects and remodifications.
On September 15th, Carol and Amber traveled to the Transportation Department, Great Plains Regional Office, Aberdeen, SD, to meet with Tom Croymans and Gerry Foel, BIA Roads Engineers to discuss re-modifying a project for 2008 into Year 2009 funding and obligating the funds to a new project for the Pow Wow grounds.
Carol and Amber will host a BIA Roads meeting for the east river Tribes in October. The BIA Roads Engineers will go over the new fiscal year budgets and roads planning and funding for 2009. The Engineers will set the dates according to their schedules and notify the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe’s Economic Development staff.-Editor |
