By Daniel Lapham/Staff Writer

Turmoil that swirled around the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes leadership and splashed over onto the city’s new economic development effort may be clearing, with tribal officials promising a relationship is still possible.

The El Reno Economic Development Authority is moving forward with the El Reno Master Economic Development Plan, approving the lease for an office during its regular meeting Monday. That economic development office at 108 E. Woodson St. is supposed to be open by mid-July, officials say.

The plan calls for the office to be staffed by Community Development Director Robert Coleman, an economic development clerk and a C&A Tribes member. However, conflicts between the executive and legislative branches of the tribal government created confusion at the meeting over whether the tribes would be in partnership at all, said City Manager Tony Rivera.

“I was told by Ramona Tallbear that the process that was followed by the governor to enter into the economic development agreement was not legal,” Rivera said. “She was not belligerent about it. She simply said it was not legal and we would have had to start over from the beginning.”

But, Rivera said, C&A Gov. Darrell Flyingman contacted him later in the week and explained that he was still the tribes’ governor by order of the tribal Supreme Court.

“Since that night, we have had a conversation with Gov. Darrell Flyingman, and his staff has executed the partnership agreement, so we are moving forward with the tribes as an integral part of the El Reno economic development partnership,” Rivera said. “We are concerned because of the issues that have taken place.”

Rivera said if the tribes were to back out, the participants in the partnership will be forced to continue without them and will be responsible for funding the $15,000 the tribe agreed to donate in addition to the staff and office supplies.

“Staffing is not as critical,” he said. “I think it will be more of a loss to the tribe than to us if they decide to back out of this agreement.”

An Economic Development Agreement Board is being organized right now, Rivera said.

“The board will consist of one individual from each of the participants,” he said.

In addition to the city of El Reno and the C&A Tribes, partners include El Reno Main Street, Canadian County, Redlands Community College, El Reno Chamber of Commerce, Oklahoma Manufacturing Alliance, El Reno Economic Development Authority, El Reno Board of Realtors and the Canadian Valley Technology Center.

The partnership board will hold its first meeting sometime after the July City Council meeting, Rivera said. At that meeting, the partners will finalize all decisions and set the specific date to open the office.

“We hope to be opened by the middle of July,” Rivera said. “We are hoping to open on July 16, give or take a week.”