Department of Environmental Protection, Office of the Secretary

 

DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

Office of the Secretary

NOTICE OF GRANT APPLICATION SUBMISSION PERIOD

FOR RECREATIONAL TRAILS PROGRAM

The Department of Environmental Protection (the “Department”) has established an application submission cycle and will accept grant applications for the Recreational Trails Program (“RTP”) for Fiscal Year 2015 under the following terms:

APPLICATION SUBMISSION PERIOD: The Department is accepting applications from April 15, 2015 through April 30, 2015. Completed applications must be postmarked on or before April 30, 2015.

ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS: Eligible applicants include all local governmental entities and state or federal agencies, federally or state recognized Indian tribal governments which have the legal responsibility for the provision of outdoor recreational sites and facilities for the use and benefit of the public, and active Florida nonprofit corporations which have an agreement with a governmental agency to develop public lands.

INELIGIBLE APPLICANTS: A grantee with two incomplete RTP projects by the closing date of the application submission period shall not be eligible to apply.

APPLICATION LIMIT PER SUBMISSION CYCLE: Eligible applicants may submit a maximum of one application per submission cycle (unless applicant is a consolidated city-county government which may submit a maximum of two).

ELIGIBLE PROJECT SITES: The project site must be on public lands and be owned by the applicant on or before the closing date of the application submission period, or, shall be under the applicant’s control such that applicant has the legal ability to dedicate and manage the site for public recreational trail use per RTP requirements. Each application must involve only one project site.

ELIGIBLE PROJECT TYPES: The primary purpose of the project must be for providing recreational trails for the public and may include Motorized Trail, Nonmotorized Trail, and Mixed-Use Trail projects which facilitate recreational trail use within a recreational trail corridor, trailside, or trailhead.

PERMISSIBLE USES OF RTP GRANT FUNDS: Maintenance or renovation of existing trails; development or renovation of trailside or trailhead facilities or trail linkages; construction of new trails on local and state lands; or construction of new trails crossing federal lands under specific conditions.

MAXIMUM GRANT REQUEST: The maximum grant amount per project type is as follows: Nonmotorized or Mixed Use Nonmotorized Trail $200,000; Motorized or Mixed Use Motorized Trail $500,000. The Department may revise an applicant’s requested grant amount based on availability of RTP funds. Grant awards are distributed on a reimbursement basis and are contingent upon an apportionment from the Federal Highway Administration and expenditure authorization by the Florida Legislature. The RTP grant is provided on a 50:50, 60:40, or 80:20 matching ratio (grant amount: applicant’s cash and/or allowable in-kind service costs).

APPLICATION PACKETS AND ADDITIONAL DETALS: RTP grant application packets and additional grant details may be obtained by visiting the website: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/gwt/grants/. See also, Fla. Stat. § 260.016, and FAC Rule 62S-2 for specific application requirements, processing and evaluation criteria.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Telephone: [phone], email: [e-mail] or [e-mail].