Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 3, March 22, 2024
A. Preamble
(1) Recreation and Parks are a vital part of the lives of our citizens, and as such, the provision of park and recreation services is a duty of government.
(2) In confirming this belief, The South Carolina General Assembly created the Park and Recreation Development Fund (PARD). The fund which is administered by the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (PRT), is intended to assist with permanent improvements of park and recreation facilities which will be open to the general public.
(3) It is the intent of the PARD program to stress that development and renovation result in high quality facilities. Emphasis will be placed on providing these funds within areas which have demonstrated track records of providing park and recreation services and the ability to operate and maintain facilities in a responsible manner.
(4) We encourage the distribution of the PARD Funds to those city, county and special purpose districts which have been specifically mandated to provide for park and recreation services as a primary function. Those agencies which provide such services as a secondary function should coordinate their efforts with primary agencies.
(5) Realizing that there are many methods to distribute funds within a "county area", it is recommended that each county area determine which method is best suited for it and take the above points into consideration. One method which is encouraged is to distribute within those counties having more than one park and recreation agency an amount to each commensurate with their per capita share in relation to the county's population.
(6) Wherever possible, county areas which have multiple agencies providing park and recreation services are encouraged to develop county-wide recreation plans for facility development to help insure that the limited PARD dollars are efficiently expended.
B. Legislative Basis
The Basis of this grant program is found in Chapter 23 of Title 51 of the 1976 Code of Laws.
C. Program Summary
The PARD grant program is to be a non-competitive program of grants to eligible entities within each county area for planning and development for new parks and recreation facilities or renovations of existing facilities. The actual grant awards are made on a project by project basis. Eligible costs will be reimbursed at a rate of eighty percent. The fund is to be used for permanent improvements to public park and recreation facilities. Each application must have the endorsement of a majority of the legislative delegation members of that county area.
D. Project Numbering System
Projects will be assigned a five digit number. The first two numbers will represent the year in which the project was approved and the last three numbers will be assigned beginning with zero, zero, one and ascending thereafter (example: 89001).
E. Annual Reports
PRT will annually report to the members of the State Legislature the status of all projects which are, or had been active during the previous fiscal year. The report must:
(1) Indicate how funds were allocated, and,
(2) Indicate the current status of all active projects.
