Alabama Administrative Code › Title 220 - ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES › Chapter 220-5 - STATE PARKS DIVISION › Section 220-5-.14 - Recreation Capital Development Assistance Fund Regulation

Current through Register Vol. 42, No. 9, June 28, 2024
(1) General Project
			 Criteria.
(a) Purpose. The Recreation Capital
			 Development Assistance Fund (RCDAF) Program authorizes the State to provide
			 financial assistance to Applicants for the acquisition and/or development of
			 public outdoor recreation areas and facilities found to be in accord with the
			 Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan. Such assistance shall be on a
			 matching basis not to exceed a maximum of fifty (50) percent of the total
			 project related allowable costs.
(b) Project Sponsors. Proposed projects may
			 be sponsored by a State agency or a public agency of a subordinate unit of
			 government. All project proposals submitted to the State must be recommended by
			 the unit's chief elected or appointed official.
(c) Relation to State Plan. Only project
			 proposals in accordance with the State's Recreation Planning Program may be
			 considered. Project proposals may be submitted for approval only during the
			 time in which the Applicant sustains its eligibility for participation in the
			 RCDAF program. Projects received during a period of ineligibility will be
			 returned to the Applicant as inactionable. This does not mean that the projects
			 have been disapproved nor prevents them from being resubmitted by the Applicant
			 as soon as eligibility has been regained.
(d) Project Proposals. The Applicant has the
			 initial prerogative and responsibility for determining the scope and effort
			 involved in a project proposal. A project can be designed as follows: 1)
			 Acquisition and/or development work at one site, 2) acquisition and/or
			 development work, sponsored by a single State agency and/or local unit of
			 government, at several sites, or 3) a particular type of facility, such as
			 swimming pools or miniparks, sponsored by State agencies and/or local units of
			 government and located at several sites.
1.
			 The Department reserves the right to require the segmenting of project
			 proposals into smaller projects or the combining of small related projects into
			 a larger one when, in the judgment of the Department, such proposals do not
			 lend themselves to effective and economical management and costing.
2. A project proposal, except in the most
			 unusual circumstances, should embrace only those efforts that can be
			 accomplished within a three-year period.
(e) Types of Projects.
1. Acquisition. These include the acquisition
			 of land and waters or partial rights to them.
2. Development. These include the development
			 of certain outdoor recreation activity and support facilities needed by the
			 public for recreation use of an area.
3. Combined. When it is advantageous to do
			 so, an Applicant may submit projects which combine acquisition and
			 development.
(f)
			 Multiple-Purpose Projects. Multiple-purpose projects which involve uses other
			 than outdoor recreation may be eligible for assistance under the Act (Chapter
			 7A of Title 9,
Code of Ala. 1975
, as amended). The
			 Applicant must include a careful and complete justification and explanation
			 with each proposal. Two general types of multiple-purpose projects are eligible
			 for assistance:
1. Projects in which a
			 specifically designated portion of the multiple-purpose area or facility will
			 be used primarily for outdoor recreation and/or outdoor recreation support,
			 such as picnicking facilities adjacent to a new public reservoir. Fund
			 assistance is limited to the designated outdoor recreation area and/or facility
			 and support facility.
2. Projects
			 which will provide identifiable outdoor recreation benefits as a whole, as
			 opposed to specific segments of it. For example, a water impoundment
			 constructed primarily for flood control might also have important recreation
			 benefits. In such a case, at the Department's discretion, assistance might be
			 made available only for the portion of the cost, on a prorata basis, of the
			 facility which is clearly attributable to outdoor recreation above and beyond
			 the facility's cost for its non-recreation function.
3. The proposal must fully disclose the
			 nature and extent of other uses and the relationship of the proposed outdoor
			 recreation project to the total area and development. Additionally, if the
			 project is located in a floodplain, the project proposal must evaluate the
			 flood hazard to the fund-assisted facility.
(g) Assistance from Other Agencies. Project
			 proposals submitted to the Department for RCDAF assistance may also be
			 submitted to other public agencies for aid. The State or local matching share
			 of an approved project may consist of other State financial assistance only
			 where the statutory provisions of the subsequent State grants program
			 explicitly allows recipients to use such assistance to match other State Funds.
			 The application to the Department should describe any such submissions, and the
			 Department should immediately be notified if these result in assistance or the
			 promise of assistance by another organization.
(h) Control and Tenure. For lands included in
			 a project proposal, the project sponsor must have title or adequate control and
			 tenure of the project area in order to provide reasonable assurances that a
			 conversion will not occur without Departmental approval. Copies of the property
			 titles, leases, easements, or other appropriate documents must be on file at
			 the local level and available for State inspection.
1. Property that is proposed for acquisition
			 and/or development and which is subject to reversionary interests upon
			 discontinuation of the recreation use may be eligible to receive Fund
			 assistance. The DCNR's determination in this regard will rest on the
			 compatibility of uses proposed by the project sponsor with that stipulated in
			 the reversionary clause and receipt of satisfactory assurances from the
			 Applicant that the property so assisted will be replaced in accord with
			 specific provisions applicable to such future conversion should the
			 reversionary interest be exercised.
(i) Such
			 assurances are contained in the General Provisions of the Project Agreement and
			 may also apply to termination provisions included in leases and special use
			 permits, provided such revocation is not at the sole discretion of the lessor
			 except in the case of Forest Service Term Special Use
			 Permits.
2. Properties
			 subject to outstanding interests, such as mineral rights that, if exercised,
			 may not be compatible with the continued viable use of the area for outdoor
			 recreation, may also be agreed to under certain specific conditions. The
			 Department will agree to such a future conversion based upon the sponsor's
			 present agreement that these lands will be replaced. This specific assurance
			 provision is contained in the General Provisions of the Project
			 Agreement.
3. It should be noted the
			 above paragraphs 1 and 2 are only concerned with those reversionary rights or
			 outstanding interests that, should they occur or be exercised, would result in
			 the project area not being viable for continued public outdoor recreation use
			 as determined by DCNR at the time of project submission and where the sponsor
			 certifies and the DCNR agrees that the possibility of the reversionary interest
			 or outstanding rights being exercised is remote. These decisions will be made
			 on a case by case basis. When significant outstanding rights are involved, the
			 project application will also contain an opinion of Counsel from the sponsor
			 that the sponsor or recipient has the authority to enter into a grant contract
			 which may require the provision of replacement land. Other rights and interests
			 which, if exercised, will not adversely affect the recreation utility or
			 viability of the area can be excepted in accordance with Section
			 9-7A-10,
Code of Ala.
			 1975
, and guidelines established by the Commissioner.
(i) Leasing of Lands Acquired and/or
			 Developed with RCDAF Assistance. A project sponsor may provide for the
			 operation of a RCDAF assisted facility by leasing the facility to a private
			 organization or individual. As the principal grantee, the Applicant is
			 ultimately accountable for assuring compliance with the applicable State
			 requirements and therefore the delegation or transfer of certain
			 responsibilities to subgrantees or lessees does not relieve the Applicant of
			 its compliance burden. Accordingly, the Applicant must irrevocably agree to
			 provide suitable replacement property should the public use of the leased
			 facility be restricted or the outdoor recreation resource be compromised.
1. All lease documents for the operation of
			 RCDAF assisted projects by private organizations or individuals must address
			 the following:
(i) In order to protect the
			 public interest, the project sponsor must have a clear ability to periodically
			 review the performance of the lessee and terminate the lease if its terms and
			 the provisions of the grant agreement, including standards of maintenance,
			 public use, and accessibility are not met.
(ii) The document should clearly indicate
			 that the leased area is to be operated by the lessee for public outdoor
			 recreation purposes in compliance with provisions of the Recreation Capital
			 Development Assistance Fund Program and implementing guidelines.
(iii) The document should require that the
			 area be identified as being publicly owned and operated as a public outdoor
			 recreation facility in all signs, literature and advertising and that the
			 lessee be identified as such so as not to mislead the public into believing
			 that the area is private. Signs should also be posted identifying the facility
			 as being open to the public.
(iv)
			 The document should require that all fees charged by the lessee to the public
			 must be competitive with similar private facilities.