Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 571 - Natural Resource Commission › Title III - Assistance Programs › Chapter 33 - Resource Enhancement and Protection Program: County, City, Private Open Spaces and Conservation Education Grant Programs › Rule 571-33.40 - Competitive Grants to Cities

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
Fifteen percent of available funds in the resource
				  enhancement and protection fund (after the $350,000 annual allocation to the
				  conservation education board and 1 percent of revenues to the fund are
				  allocated to the administration fund) shall be allocated annually to the city
				  park and open spaces grant account. That 15 percent shall be divided into three
				  portions according to the percent of the state's urban population in each
				  category, with each portion available on a competitive basis to cities falling
				  within one of the following three size categories:
Cities of less than 2,000
Cities between 2,000 and 25,000
Cities larger than 25,000
Funds shall be initially apportioned to each category as per
				  this rule. If at the time of project review and scoring there are funds
				  available in any category which exceed the requests for grants in that
				  category, those funds may, at the director's discretion, be transferred to
				  another category where requests exceed the funds available.
(1)
Eligible projects.
Grants for up to 100 percent of project costs made to cities may be used for
				the acquisition, establishment and maintenance of natural parks, preserves and
				open spaces.
Grants may include expenditures for multipurpose trails, rest
				  room facilities, shelter houses and picnic facilities, museums, parks,
				  preserves, parkways, city forests, city wildlife areas as well as other open
				  space-oriented acquisition and development projects, subject to the
				  restrictions in rule 571-33.4 (455A).
(2)
Eligible
				sponsors.
Any incorporated city or town in the state may make
				application for a grant.
(3)
Grant ceilings.
Incorporated cities and towns are eligible to
				receive annual grants from the resource enhancement and protection fund in
				accordance with the following schedule:
Population
Maximum
0 - 1,000
$ 50,000
1,001 - 5,000
75,000
5,001 - 10,000
100,000
10,001 - 25,000
125,000
25,001 - 50,000
150,000
50,001 - 75,000
200,000
over 75,000
300,000
The grant ceiling may be waived upon approval by the director
				  if (1) the project is regional in nature or is projected to serve a minimum of
				  100,000 people; or (2) the project cannot be staged over a multiyear period so
				  that a separate grant application might be submitted each year.
(4)
Review and selection
				committee.
a. The director shall
				appoint a five-member review and selection committee to evaluate project
				applications. This committee shall include one member representing each of the
				three size classes of cities (e.g., one from a city of less than 2,000, one
				from a city of 2,000 to 25,000, and one from a city of over 25,000). The
				director shall request a list of candidates from the Iowa league of cities and
				Iowa parks and recreation association. The remaining two members of the
				committee shall be a representative of the department and an at-large member.
				Additionally, there shall be at least two alternates designated by the director
				from the candidates list provided by the Iowa league of cities and the Iowa
				parks and recreation association. The committee shall elect its own chairperson
				from its members. Members shall serve three-year staggered terms.
b. Conflict of interest. An individual who is
				a member, volunteer, or employee of an entity that has submitted a project
				shall not serve on the scoring committee during that award cycle. Instead, one
				of the alternates shall review and score in the individual's place.