The purpose of this amendment is to establish in rule the most recent eligibility, matching funds, and grant administration criteria.

Division of Cultural Affairs

RULE NO.: RULE TITLE:

1T-1.001 Division of Cultural Affairs

PURPOSE AND EFFECT: The purpose of this amendment is to establish in rule the most recent eligibility, matching funds, and grant administration criteria.

SUMMARY: The proposed rule details the eligibility, matching funds, and grant administration criteria for the Division’s Cultural Facilities Program and incorporates by reference the most recent application form.

SUMMARY OF STATEMENT OF ESTIMATED REGULATORY COSTS: No Statement of Estimated Regulatory Cost was prepared.

Any person who wishes to provide information regarding the statement of regulatory costs or to provide a proposal for a lower cost regulatory alternative must do so in writing within 21 days of this notice.

SPECIFIC AUTHORITY: 265.284(5)(d) FS., 265.285(1)(c) FS., 265.286(1) FS., 265.701(4) FS.

LAW IMPLEMENTED: 215.97 FS., 265.284 FS., 265.285 FS., 265.286 FS., 265.701 FS., 286.011 FS., 286.012 FS., 286.25 FS.

A HEARING WILL BE HELD AT THE DATE, TIME AND PLACE SHOWN BELOW:

DATE AND TIME: Monday, April 17, 2006, 9:30 a.m.

PLACE: Division of Cultural Affairs, R. A. Gray Building, 3rd Floor, 500 South Bronough Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250

Pursuant to the provisions of the American with Disabilities Act, any person requiring special accommodations to participate in this workshop/meeting is asked to advise the agency at least 48 hours before the workshop/meeting by contacting Morgan Barr, [phone].

THE PERSON TO BE CONTACTED REGARDING THE PROPOSED RULE IS: Sandy Shaughessy, Director, Division of Cultural Affairs, R. A. Gray Building, 3rd Floor, 500 South Bronough Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0250

 

THE FULL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED RULE IS:

 

1T-1.001 Division of Cultural Affairs.

(1) through (16) No change.

(17) Cultural Facilities Program. The purpose of this program is to coordinate and guide the State of Florida’s support and funding for the of renovation, construction, or acquisition of cultural facilities. This program It is not intended to fund project planning, such as feasibility studies and architectural drawings, or operational support.

(a) Administrative and Legal Eligibility. The applicant for a cultural facilities grant must:

1. Be a public entity governed by either a municipality, county, or qualified corporation as defined in Section 265.701(2), Florida Statutes.

2. Have ownership or undisturbed use of the land, and building(s), or both situated upon the property where the cultural facility is or will be located; or

3. Have an executed lease for the undisturbed use of the land, building(s), or both upon the property where the cultural facility is or will be located. In those the cases where either the land, or building(s), or both, are is leased and not owned, fee simple, by the applicant, the all underlying owner(s) must also meet the requirements of Section 265.701(2), Florida Statutes above criteria. For the purposes of this program, an applicant that leases state-owned land, building(s), or both must not be a political subdivision of the state.

4.3. Retain ownership of all improvements to the facility and property made with under the grant funds for at least ten years following the execution of the grant award agreement. This paragraph does not apply to applicants that lease land and/ or building(s) owned by the state.

5.4. Have satisfied the administrative requirements of previous grants received from the Division.

(b) Program Eligibility. All eligible applications shall consist of the following documents and information:

1. Until directed to submit electronically on the Division’s website, applicants must submit in hard copy, a A completed and signed Cultural Facilities Program Application Form (#CA2EO20, eff. 5/06), incorporated by reference and available from the Division, including the number of required application copies, submitted to the Division on or before the announced postmark deadline.

2. A description of the Project Scope of Work that shall include a project narrative, current phases, and prior phases.

3. Project Budgets including a summary and detail, a matching funds statement, match summary chart, and donor profile.

4. A description of the Need for the Project including an operating forecast detail, a list of the organization staff, and a statement on the fiscal stability of the organization.

5. A description of the project’s impact on the city, county, or multi-county region.

6. Documentation of unrestricted ownership of the land and facility located upon the property; or site. and facility, or documentation undisturbed use of a site and facility for the following specific period of time as measured from the application deadline

a. For equipment or capital fixtures: minimum lease 10 years.

b. For building renovation, improvements: minimum lease 20 years.

c. For building renovation, increase of square footage: minimum lease 30 years.

d. For building construction where the land is leased: minimum lease 40 years.

7. An executed lease agreement between the applicant and owner(s) of the and, building(s), or both located upon the property, providing for undisturbed use for a minimum of 10 years following the execution date of the grant award agreement. Leases conditioned on the applicant’s receipt of grant funds do not qualify.

8.7. An independent certified audit or review of the applicant’s financial records according to the following provisions:

a. Not-for-Profit, tax-exempt Florida corporations with total support and revenue in the unrestricted column of the audit net unrestricted operating revenue of less than $500,000 must submit copies of the applicant organization's independent, certified audit or review for the last completed fiscal year. The publication date of the audit or review shall not be later than the date of the application deadline for which the audit or review is submitted.

b. Not-for-Profit, tax-exempt Florida corporations with total support and revenue in the unrestricted column of the audit net unrestricted operating revenue of $500,000 or more must submit copies of the applicant organization's independent, certified audit for the last completed fiscal year. The publication date of the audit shall not be later than the date of the application deadline for which the audit is submitted.

c. Municipal or county governments shall submit either the audit for the last completed fiscal year, or an internally prepared financial statement of revenue and expenses.

9.8. An 8 1/2'' x 11'' reduction of current architectural plans.

10.9. Letters of Support: Submit letters or list of local officials lending support to this project.

(c) Funding Request.

1. The applicant shall not request more than $500,000 in a single application. There is no minimum amount.

2. An applicant from the same organization shall not submit 2 or more than one applications under a single application deadline for the same facility, project, site, or phase.

3. An organization shall not submit a funding request to both the Cultural Facilities Program and the Regional Cultural Facilities Program for the same project, facility, site, or phase in the same fiscal year.

(d) Time Limits and Funding Cap. No project shall receive more than $1.5 million during five (5) consecutive state fiscal years. “Receive” means measured from July 1 of the fiscal year in which grant funds were awarded.

(e) Matching Funds.

1. For eligible organizations with total support and revenue in the unrestricted column of the audit net unrestricted operating revenue of less than $500,000, eligible matching funds provided by the applicant organization or by a third party shall be on at least a one-to-one match of the amount requested.

2. For eligible organizations with total support and revenue in the unrestricted column of the audit net unrestricted operating revenue of $500,000 or more, eligible matching funds provided by the applicant organization or by a third party shall be on at least a two-to-one match of the amount requested, except for eligible Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI) applicants. REDI qualified means those counties or communities designated pursuant to Sections 288.0656 and 288.06561, Florida Statutes.

3. Eligible matching funds provided by eligible REDI applicants shall be at least a one-to-one match of the amount requested.

4. At least 50% of the required match must be in cash. For the purposes of this program, cash shall include cash-on-hand, and cash expenditures made on the project within the five-year period prior to the application deadline.

5. At least 50% of the cash match must be cash-on-hand and dedicated to the project. For the purpose of this program, cash-on-hand includes funds identified in executed award letters or contracts from third parties, provided that those funds are expressly for the project for which the grant application is submitted.

6. No more than 50% of the match may be irrevocable pledges or in-kind contributions. Irrevocable pledges and in-kind contributions must be documented in the application. For the purpose of this program, in-kind contributions by the applicant are not eligible for match.

7. Municipalities and counties must submit a copy of the approved resolution or minutes from the commission meeting, with the original application, which includes the dollar amount dedicated and available to the project if the grant is awarded and the date the funds will be available. Resolutions that have not been approved by the application deadline cannot be used as match documentation. Local funding, as indicated by the resolution, must be made available within 90 days of state award notification.

(f) Application Review Committee.

1. The application review committee shall review each eligible application based on the following criteria: Scope of Work (up to 15 points), Project Budget and Matching Funds (up to 25 points), Need for Program and Operating Forecast (up to 30 points), and Project Impact (up to 30 points).

2. All applications that receive an average score of at least of 75 out of 100 possible points will be recommended for funding.

3. The committee shall develop a priority list based on the average score for each application.

4. The committee shall submit the priority list to the Florida Arts Council for review and recommendation.

(g) Florida Arts Council shall review the priority list and submit the recommendations to the Secretary of State.

(h) The Secretary of State shall review the recommendations of the Council and provide the Legislature with an approved priority list with funding recommendations.

(i) Retaining Projects on the next grant cycle priority list.

1. Projects that are approved and recommended by the Secretary but are not funded by the Legislature shall be retained on the priority list for the next grant cycle only.

2. All projects that are retained shall be required by the Division to submit the information in subparagraphs (b)1.-3. above in order to reflect the most current status of the project.

3. The deadline for the receipt of updated information shall be the same annual deadline as for new applications.

4. Rollover updates will not be re-scored, but rather merged with the new applications using the original scores and recommended funding.

5. Rollover updates that are determined by the Division to be incomplete or ineligible, changed in scope or venue, or increased the funding request shall be removed from the priority list.

(j) No changes in project scope or venue will be permitted.

(k) Grant Award Agreement. The Grant Award Agreement (CA2EO38, eff. 5/06) incorporated by reference and available from the Division, is the document by which the organization enters into a contract with the State of Florida for the management of grant funds which shall include:

1. An update of the application project narrative and budget.

2. A completed Assurance of Compliance and Signature Authorization Form (Form CA2E059, eff. 6/00, incorporated by reference and available from the Division).

3. Other provisions that shall be agreed to by both the grantee and the state.

(l) The Division will further extend the provisions in section (10) of the Agreement in the event the grantee can clearly demonstrate extenuating circumstances. Extenuating circumstances encompass situations beyond the control of the grantee that prevent the timely completion of the project. Such circumstances include natural disaster, death or serious illness of the individual responsible for the completion of the project, litigation, failure of the contractor or architect to provide the services for which they were hired. Extenuating circumstances do not include failure to read or understand grant administrative requirements or failure to raise sufficient matching funds.

(m) Reporting Requirements.

1. Interim Reports shall be submitted at six-month intervals until the project is complete. For the purpose of this program, a project is considered complete when all grant and match funds have been expended. The first Interim Report is due on January 31 of the fiscal year in which the grant was awarded.

2. Final Report. A Final Report shall be submitted 45 days after the completion of the project.

3. All reports shall include the following information:

a.(a) A description of the work completed.

b.(b) A financial statement showing the expenditure of grant and match.

c.(c) A state grant expenditure log that includes check number, amount of check, date of check, name of payee, and a description of the expenditure.

(n) Definitions. For the purposes of paragraphs (n), (o) and (p) of section (17) of this rule, a “grantee” is an applicant that has received a Cultural Facilities Program Grant Award. “Property owner” refers to the owner of land, building(s), or both situated upon the property. Section 265.701(4),F.S., requires that the grantee and the property owner either record a restrictive covenant or purchase a bond to ensure that the facility is used as a cultural facility for (10) years following the execution date of the grant award agreement. A “cultural facility” is “a building which shall be used primarily for the programming, production, presentation, exhibition or any combination of the above functions of any of the cultural disciplines, such as: music, dance, theatre, creative writing, literature, painting, sculpture, folks arts, photography, crafts, media arts, and historical and science museums.”

(o) If the recordation of a restrictive covenant is chosen by the grantee and the property owner(s), a completed and executed Restrictive Covenant Form must be filed with the Clerk of the Circuit Court in the county where the property is located, prior to release of the grant funds.   

1. The grantee’s legal interest in the land and/or building(s) determines which of the four restrictive covenant forms described below must be used.

a. A grantee that owns the land and the building(s) upon the property where the cultural facility is or will be located must complete Form CA2E108, eff. 5/06, incorporated by reference and available from the Division.

b. A grantee that owns the building(s) upon the property where the cultural facility is or will be located, but leases the underlying land, must complete Form CA2E110, eff. 5/06, incorporated by reference and available from the Division.

c. A grantee that leases the land and the building(s) upon the property where the cultural facility is or will be located must complete Form CA2E111, eff. 5/06, incorporated by reference and available from the Division.

d. A grantee that owns the land where the cultural facility is or will be located, but leases the building(s) upon the property where the cultural facility is or will be located must complete Form CA2E0112, eff. 5/06, incorporated by reference and available from the Division.

(p)1. If a bond is chosen in lieu of recording a restrictive covenant, the grantee must:

a. Purchase a bond prior to the release of grant funds from an insurer authorized to do business in Florida as a surety;

b. Include Form CA2E109, eff. 5/06, incorporated by reference and available from the Division, as an addendum to the grant award agreement;

c. Include in the bond that the facility described in the grant award agreement be used as a cultural facility for (10) ten years following the execution date of the grant award agreement, and that failure to do so shall constitute a violation of the bond;

d. Include in the bond that in the event of violation, the surety shall reimburse the Division pursuant to the amortization schedule set forth below.

2. A certified copy of the bond must be provided to the Division prior to the release of grant award funds.

3. If the bond is violated, the surety shall reimburse the Division pursuant to the following amortization schedule:

a. If a violation occurs within three (3) years following the execution of the grant award agreement, 100% of the grant amount;

b. If a violation occurs more than three (3) but less than four (4) years following the execution of the grant award agreement, 80% of the grant amount;

c. If a violation occurs more that four (4) but less that five (5) years following the execution of the grant award agreement, 70% of the grant amount;

d. If a violation occurs more that five (5) but less than six (6) years following the execution of the grant award agreement, 60% of the grant amount;

e. If a violation occurs more than six (6) but less than seven (7) years following the execution of the grant award agreement, 50% of the grant amount;

f. If a violation occurs more than seven (7) but less than eight (8) years following the execution of the grant award agreement, 40% of the grant amount.

g. If a violation occurs more than eight (8) but less than nine (9) years following the execution of the grant award agreement, 30% of the grant amount; and

h. If a violation occurs more than nine (9) but less than ten (10) years following the execution of the grant award, 20% of the grant amount.

Specific Authority 255.043(4) FS., 265.284(5)(d) FS., 265.285(1)(c) FS., 265.286(1), (4), (6) FS., 265.2861(2)(b) FS., 265.2865(6) FS., 265.605(1) FS., 265.608(1) FS., 265.609(1), (4) FS., 265.701(4) FS., 265.702(8) FS. Law Implemented 215.97 FS., 255.043, 265.284, 265.285, 265.286, 265.2861, 265.2865, 265.601-.003, 265.605-.607, 265.608, 265.609, 265.701, 265.702, 286.011, 286.012, 286.25 FS. History–New 11‑23‑82, Formerly 1T‑1.01, Amended 10‑1‑96, 10‑31‑96, 2‑2‑97, 6‑2‑97, 7‑17‑97, 9‑10‑97, 1‑4‑98, 7‑26‑98, 8‑2‑98, 10‑5‑98, 10‑25‑98, 8-17-99, 8-1-02, 12-29-02, 10-14-03(17), 10-14-03(20), 11-16-03, 2-2-05, 5-16-05,________.

 

NAME OF PERSON ORIGINATING PROPOSED RULE: Donald R. Blancett

NAME OF SUPERVISOR OR PERSON WHO APPROVED THE PROPOSED RULE: Sandy Shaughnessy

DATE PROPOSED RULE APPROVED BY AGENCY HEAD: March 15, 2006

DATE NOTICE OF PROPOSED RULE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHED IN FAW: February 24, 2006