FAA makes decision on discrimination investigation against City of Pocatello

A federal investigation into the City of Pocatello for possible discrimination is now complete.

Back in 2016, the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes asked the Federal Aviation Administration to investigate possible discrimination by the city in its lease agreement at the airport.

Changes have since been made, and the FAA has now made its decision.

The City of Pocatello has a lease agreement with the Pocatello Regional Airport where it wants any third party tenants dealing with land or operations at the airport to go through the city first.

The wording of the agreement in 2016 read:

I. Tribal Issues. Lessee agrees to immediately provide Lessor with a copy of any written correspondence or verbal and/or written demands delivered to Lessee by representatives of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes. Moreover, Lessee shall not enter into any agreement with the Tribes regarding the leased premises or Lessee’s operations thereon without first obtaining Lessor’s written consent to do so.

The Tribes felt that language was discriminatory toward them and that it prohibited people from doing business with the Tribes.

Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad said the discriminatory language was never intentional on the city’s part.

“The concern before was that we were focused and directed only at one entity and that was not the case and it is not the case, and so it was very simple for us to change the language, to change the wording and we’ve done that,” Blad said.

So in march of 2017, the city changed the agreement to instead read:

I. Third Party Governmental Agencies. Lessee acknowledges and agrees to immediately provide Lessor with a copy of any written correspondence or verbal and/or written demands provided to Lessee regarding the leased demise by any third-party governmental agency including, but not an exhaustive list, any county, local taxing district or any tribal authority. Moreover, Lessee shall not enter into any written agreement with any third-party governmental agency regarding the leased premises or Lessee’s operations thereon without first obtaining lessor’s written consent to do so.

In a statement, the city said the language has been amended on all lease agreements:

“It was never the City of Pocatello’s intent or policy to discriminate. In March 2017 , the City of Pocatello amended its airport lease terms to meet the Federal Aviation Administration’s requirements as well as clarify any perceived miscommunication over the language. The amended terms have been included on all lease agreements created after March 2017 . As leases are renewed or expire, the new terms will be included.”

Because the city owns the airport, Blad said the regulations are in place so that they city is always informed of what is happening with the airport.

“They still have to get permission from the city, any time they meet with any third party group, government entity, any third party,” he explained. “That includes anyone and everyone. The City of Pocatello needs to know what’s happening with their tenants there at the airport.”

In a press release from the Tribes, it says it pursued an informal complaint process to get the issue corrected and to start a dialogue with the city about it.

The press release said, “Now that the FFA has determined the City’s actions were discriminatory, the Tribes hope the mayor will publicly apologize to the Tribes for the racial discrimination and pledge to make stronger efforts to work with the Tribes in the future. The FFA decision is an opportunity for the City and Mayor to realize that business as usual is not a proper path forward.”

The chairman of the tribal council, Nathan Small, said, “We hope the FAA’s findings of discrimination will help facilitate a dialogue with the City of Pocatello on how to better recognize and remedy discrimination within their municipality, their business dealings, and within themselves.”

Blad said the investigation does not leave the city with any hard feelings.

“They can address anything any way they want to,” he said of the investigation. “It’s not going to offend us or make us feel like we’re being targeted or any of that stuff. We’ve always tried to keep good communication with the Tribe, we’ve always tried to do what is beneficial for both the Tribe and the city and so we always have and we’re going to continue to do so.”

He said the wording and language has already been changed to fix the problem and the city is continuing to work with the FAA to make sure it meets all other standards and requirements.

You can read the Tribe’s full press release below:

FAA Finds City of Pocatello Discriminated the Tribes in Lease Agreements

Fort Hall, Idaho- On June 8 , 2016, the Tribes issued an official Press Release informing the public of a federal investigation on the City of Pocatello (“City”) for violating federal funding provisions related to the City’s lease language at the Pocatello Regional Airport (“Airport”). On August 3 , 2018, the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”) issued the results of the investigation of discrimination by the City against the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes (“Tribes”). The City’s contract states anyone renting land from the City at the airport shall “not enter into any written agreement with the Tribes” without the City’s approval. Further, the agreement provides if the City’s tenant receives communications from the Tribes, the tenant must “immediately provide” the City “with a copy of any written correspondence or material” received from the Tribes.

The FAA investigation concluded the [lease] provision violates civil right laws by discriminating against the Tribes on the basis of race and national origin. Further, the FAA stated the City must take corrective action within 30 days to modify or remove the discriminatory language from all their current and future contractual agreements. The City received more than $3 million in federal funds for the airport.

Mayor Blad informed the FAA it routinely includes that discriminatory language in Lease Agreements. Instead of taking responsibility for the discriminatory language and correcting the problem in consultation with the Tribes, Mayor Blad informed the media “it’s ludicrous to think that we are discriminating against them [the Tribes] in my opinion. . . . (KPVI News Report May 2 , 2016). The City paid a national law firm to represent it in the investigation. The City argued it was proper to discriminate against the Tribes and “if the Tribes’ arguments were accepted, then it would follow that the countries of Iran or Sudan could sue for discrimination.” The Tribes are not sure why the City’s attorneys used a comparison of predominantly Islamic nations to an American Indian Tribe, but believe cultural sensitivity training for their law firm and city would be appropriate.

Now that the FAA has determined the City’s actions were discriminatory, the Tribes hope the Mayor will publicly apologize to the Tribes for the racial discrimination and pledge to make stronger efforts to work with the Tribes in the future. The FAA decision is an opportunity for the City and Mayor to realize that business as usual is not a proper path forward. Chairman Small stated, “If the City utilizes this opportunity to work together, we could foster the shared understanding of both communities, which benefits our citizens for better opportunities and management of our shared resources.”

The Tribes pursued an informal complaint process with the FAA because it wanted to create a forum for the City to correct the discrimination that would not affect federal funding received for the airport. The Tribes hope the City will take advantage of the Tribes kind gesture and avoid possible corrective action. Chairman Small further stated, “We hope the FAA’s findings of discrimination will help facilitate a dialogue with the City of Pocatello on how to better recognize and remedy discrimination within their municipality, their business dealings, and within themselves.”

The city of Pocatello is 14 miles south of the Fort Hall Reservation and is named after one of the Shoshone Chiefs who according to the cities website, granted the railroad a right-of-way through the reservation. The city of Pocatello is also home of many tribal members who reside, dine, shop, and attend the public schools (K-college).