COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT IS BUZZING WITH RENEWED ENTHUSIASM
By Vivian LaMoore, Inaajimowin Editor
Tracy Burr has been settling in to his new role as Commissioner of Community Development since his swearing-in ceremony in May. "It's been really busy," he said of his first couple of months at Mille Lacs Band. His enthusiasm is electrifying and he is already sparking more involvement in the Community Development Department. "We've got great people and they have done a remarkable job," he said remarking on the fact that there has not been a commissioner overseeing the department for so long. The department has had "no strategic planning. Now things are changing, and it is going to take a full-on effort to get it back to a full functioning division," he said.
Burr grew up in North Dakota and moved to Montana when he was 18 years old and moved to Minnesota at 38 where he spent 20 years refining his skills and experience. He is an enrolled member of the Three Affiliate Tribes, or MHA Nation (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara). Burr has extensive education, licensure, and experience in the fields of infrastructure and housing, including construction, electrical, sewer and water. He has also learned the value of hard work and a good work ethic through living the ranch life as a young man and serving in the Army National Guard.
Back in North Dakota, he said fracking has changed the geological structure of the land. Fracking-is-short for "hydraulic fracturing," which is the process-of creating fractures (cracks) in rocks and rock formations by injecting specialized fluid into cracks to force them to open further for mining purposes. The larger fissures allow more oil and gas to flow out of the formations and into the wellbore. However, it can poison groundwater, pollute surface water, impair wild landscapes, and threaten wildlife. The water wells in North Dakota nearing tracking sites have collapsed. Water needed to be pumped in from other sources. "You really didn't want to drink the well water," Burr said.
Due to his education and experience with Infrastructure, Burr was asked to return to his reservation to assist in the building large commercial buildings and other infrastructure systems. For the water treatment system, water is pumped in from the lake and goes through extensive water filtering and testing before it is pumped out to the communities where people no longer use their wells. Burr oversaw the implementation and operation of the new system.
He has extensive background in electricity in Montana, North Dakota, and Minnesota. He has also worked for Great River Energy as a grid operator as one example. But stepping Into MLB Community Development, at the top of his list has been prioritizing a focus on housing. The number of vacant homes that are damaged and in need of repair are estimated "at a real cost of several million dollars worth of broken homes. That Is just District I," he said. That, coupled with a shortage of crews to do the work and maintenance., will prove to be difficult. "It is going to be a challenge. I look forward to it, because I enjoy it, but I am going to ask government officials to have some patience." A good portion of the housing arena is grant-funded involving federal bureaucracy and regulations. However, Burr has developed several ideas and plans with some already set in motion.
One initiative he hopes to incorporate is to develop an inhouse electrical service division. This program will have longterm effects on the Band itself. By starting an electric service division within the Housing Department with master, journeyman, and apprentice electricians, Band members will learn a valuable skilled trade and all Mille Lacs Band electrical work can be completed in-house rather than contracting out.
Burr has the experience as he started a similar program in North Dakota. "We brought on tribal employees as apprentices. We had to hire a journeyman for them to work under. The Band has a journeyman [electrician] working in this building and we will hire a master electrician to come in to set this up. We will start with three apprentices working under the journeyman and master to get them started in school."
Through this program, the MLB Electrical Service Division will be able to work in all areas of government buildings, in- cluding but not limited to Band housing. They will also be able to subcontract for the casino and other Band businesses. The main goal is to have the three apprentices to gain a wide-range of skills. Once they graduate as an apprentice and have the required hours, they can test for their journeyman license and continue on to earn hours towards the master certification testing. "The goal is to get these kids started," Burr said. Both men and women will be able to apply. The journeyman and apprentices will have the ability to take calls throughout the Mille Lacs Band region including outer districts and the Urban area so the apprentices can obtain the hours needed towards journeyman license. "The ultimate goal is to have a rotating crop of apprentices going through the program. It is an investment up front, but the savings to the Band in the long haul will pay for itself by having an in-house electrical service."
Recent studies have predicted by the end of this decade there is expected to be a major shortage of skilled trade workers, according to Burr. The program he outlined will also have an impact on the lives of the participants as they will have an extremely marketable skill and life long career if they choose. They will have the ability to work for a company outside the Band if they choose, or as they obtain their master license, they can start their own business. According to Indeed.com the starting wage range in the electrician job market in Minnesota is around $35/hour to $57/hour with the average around $37/ hour based on experience and licensure. In addition, electricians can expect to earn overtime pay at an average of around $10,000/year on top of their salary.
Burr is charged up with excitement around the apprentice electrician program. His hope is to have this be a long-lived opportunity for Band members. Thinking bigger, he foresees the electrical apprentice program to be a pilot program which can grow to include HVAC and plumbing apprenticeships and other skilled trades as well to also incorporate into those skilled trades to be performed in-house as well.
Burr has a long list of priorities for Community Development Including but not limited to examining — and revamping, if necessary — the home loan program, and exploring MLB self-insurance with credit, life, and disability built into the loans for the housing program, etc. as another way to save the Band money.
He is also working with the Housing Board to examine cur- rent policy. There are six houses ready to go, but with current policies, they can't be filled by the current applicants because they "don't fit right into the little boxes,” Burr said. An example, he said, is if there is a 3- bedroom home available but the only applicant only qualifies for a 2-bedroom home, they should be able to move a family into the 3-bedroom but only charge for a 2-bedroom. "It is a waste of Band resources to have homes sitting for that long. They deteriorate and end up needing more repair work, like the other 20 empty homes. If we had to replace those 20 homes it would be more than $7 million." It is clear Burr has a passion for training Band members to be self-sufficient, getting more Band members into homes, and saving the Band resources.
Growing up
Burr said his mother died when he was 12 and his father was not around. He was then raised by other members of his family and community and he "bounced around as a 'Rez kid' from couch to-couch," he said until a ranching family took him in. His foster mom was raised in his reservation community, "Her name was Roberta Spotted Bear. She married a white rancher and they took me in at the start of my junior year. Basically, they saved my life," he said. "I learned to work and I had a family again. I had a home. I consider them my parents. When you are appreciated and loved, it makes a huge difference."
Even with the best intentions, life can throw some curve balls. He struggled in his early 20s with drugs and alcohol but went through treatment when he was 24. "I've been sober ever since," he said. "Coming up on 41 years in November in recovery."
"I am one of those people, I never do anything in moderation. It showed in my youth and it also showed in my recovery," Burr said. After he completed his treatment, he went back to mentor and counsel others in every facet of their recovery journey. "I learned everything about the disease and that saved my life again. It became a passion," he said. He has given talks to youth and others on the recovery journey. "I am not perfect. I have made a lot of mistakes in my life, but I have not used again."
"My wife, kids and grandchildren are the lights of my life," Burr said. He is married to Gilda Burr (Judicial Branch) and to- gether they have five children with 10 grandchildren.