Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 3, March 1, 2024
The County Opportunity Grant Program shall be administered as
follows:
(1) Eligible projects -Grant
funds are to be used specifically for the acquisition, development,
rehabilitation, and planning of county park and recreation areas that provide
camping facilities.
(2) Matching
requirements -Grants from counties 30,000 population and under shall require a
25 percent local match. Grants from counties over 30,000 population shall
require a 50 percent local match. Matching funds for specific projects may be
reduced or eliminated as determined by the Director, based on demonstrated need
for the project, lack of local funding, and upon recom-mendation by the
Advisory Committee. Local funds may include local budget funds, federal revenue
sharing funds, local agency labor or equipment, other grants, donations of
land, labor, equipment, or any combination of the above.
(3) Application procedure:
(a) On or about July 1 of the first year of
each biennium, the Department shall make an estimate of revenues available to
be distributed through the Grant Program during the biennium and shall notify
each county of the estimate. Estimate shall include unassigned moneys from
previous bienniums and project cancellations and underruns.
(b) By October 1 of the first year of each
biennium, grant applications shall be sent to the Department on forms supplied
by the Department and shall contain:
(A)
Program Narrative - including all information necessary to determine the
criteria under section (4) of this rule or other items as the Department
requires;
(B) Vicinity
Map;
(C) Park Master Plan/Project
Boundary Map;
(D) Ownership
Statement;
(E) Cost
Estimates;
(F) Preliminary Title
Report (if applicable);
(G)
Environmental Assessment;
(H) Local
Project Timeline;
(I) Other
documentation that may be required by the Department.
(c) The Department shall perform a technical
review of all applications. Eligible applications shall be forwarded to the
Advisory Committee. Ineligible applications shall be returned to project
sponsor.
(4) Grants
Prioritization Process:
(a) The Advisory
Committee will meet during November of the first year of each biennium. Each
project sponsor shall be allowed a presentation under a procedure established
by the Committee. The Committee shall review all applications using project
selection criteria, including, but not limited to, the following:
(A) Extent the project meets the recreation
needs identified in SCORP;
(B)
Extent the project meets the recreation needs identified in the local
comprehensive land use plan;
(C)
Extent the project satisfies the following:
(i) Demonstrates user benefit, public
interest and support;
(ii)
Increases outdoor recreation opportunity in the service area;
(iii) Financial considerations, including
cost/benefit ratio;
(iv) How well
the project's design accommodates people with disabilities.
(D) Extent the county demonstrates
exceptional need, such as a limited parks operating budget, the lack of public
overnight camping opportunities within the county, or the overall lack of
county parks and recreation areas and facilities;
(E) Analysis of sponsor's past performance in
completing and billing projects and maintaining existing facilities.
(b) The Committee will
recommend funding priorities to the Director for all eligible projects
submitted. The Director shall establish the funding priorities taking into
consideration the Committee's recommendation;
(c) A signed state/local agreement shall
constitute project authorization. It shall be executed by January 31 of the
first year of each biennium. No project may begin without authorization from
the Department unless a waiver of retroactivity has been issued by the
Department. Projects not authorized within this time frame will be cancelled.
Funds recovered from cancellations shall be reassigned to other projects on the
priority list.
(5)
Project Administration:
(a) Sponsors shall
have one year from the date of authorization to begin substantial work (e.g.,
the award of contracts or completion of at least 25 percent of the work, if
done by force account). Projects not conforming with this provision will be
cancelled;
(b) All projects shall
be completed and billed within two years from the authorization date. Projects
will be inspected and audited by the Department or its designate prior to final
grant payment. Partial payments up to 90 percent of the grant amount may be
billed during the project for work completed;
(c) Project amendments that increase the
project cost will generally not be allowed; however, amendment requests based
on extraordinary circumstances will be reviewed on a case-by-case
basis.
Stat. Auth.: ORS
390.117 & ORS
390.124 & ORS
390.134
Stats. Implemented: ORS
390.134
