Section 72.53 - Preapplication process for Rehabilitation and Innovation grantsTo reduce the amount of time and documentation needed for a full application, and to foster the competitive aspects of the UPARR program, a preapplication procedure is used.
(a) The preapplication must provide information adequate to guide proposal selection. Grants will be awarded in accordance with the availability of funds. Funding for an approved grant will not be increased from subsequent yearly appropriations.(b) Applicants are encouraged to discuss their proposals with their NPS Regional Office to determine basic fundability and competitiveness prior to submitting a preapplication.(c) If a State is assisting the applicant in preapplication preparation, providing a source of matching share, or giving technical assistance, the State may assist in submission of the preapplication to the appropriate NPS Regional Office with the applicant's prior approval. The amount, source and assurance of State assistance for a matching share must be specified in the preapplication.(d) The following procedural guidelines shall apply to submission and approval of Rehabilitation and Innovation proposals.(1) Preapplications shall be submitted to the appropriate NPS Regional Office by the chief executive officer of the applicant jurisdiction. The preapplication must include those items as set forth in the Preapplication Handbook, available from any NPS Regional Office. In addition to the narrative on selection criteria, all preapplications for Rehabilitation proposals must include a short description stating; (i) the problem addressed by the proposal, including existing conditions,(ii) the reason for the problem or why the condition exists, and(iii) the proposed solution to the problem and what corrective measures will be used.(2) An applicant may have no more than one Innovation and one Rehabilitation proposal under consideration in any one funding cycle.(3) Any existing and/or proposed fees or charges for recreation opportunities or services provided through a UPARR grant, whether for public, private or non-profit activities, must be identified in the preapplication.(4) Discretionary applicants must submit a narrative statement, signed by the chief executive of the applicant jurisdiction, which explains and quantifies the degree of physical and economic distress in the community. Statistics and discussion on distress shall address, but need not be limited to, the criteria used to select eligible jurisdictions contained in Appendix A of this part. A discretionary narrative statement must be included in each preapplication.(5) All submitted grant preapplications will be reviewed by NPS Regional Offices to assure that they meet all minimum legal and technical standards before being certified as eligible for competition. Proposals not meeting minimum standards will be returned to the applicant. Periodically, all certified proposals will be evaluated in the Regional Offices before being submitted to Washington, where they will be judged by national panels whose member are knowledgeable in recreation and urban revitalization. Innovation and Rehabilitation proposals will be judged by separate panels.(6) Following review and ranking by the panels, the Director will approve tentative grant offers for those proposals which may be funded. Successful applicants will be notified by the NPS Regional Offices, and completion of the formal application process will take place. The formal application process must be completed within 120 days of notification of the tentative grant offer, or the tentative grant offer may be withdrawn. Final approval of a grant and obligation of funds will occur when all application requirements have been met and the appropriate documents are on file. No costs may be incurred or reimbursed, except incurred architectural and engineering fees indicated in § 72.44 , until NPS approval of the grant agreement.(7) Unfunded proposals may require modifications to improve their competitiveness. Applicants with such proposals will be advised by NPS of suggested modifications, if any, to increase their chances for funding in future grant rounds.(8) If an applicant wishes a proposal to remain in competition, it may be considered for two additional funding cycles, with or without minor modifications, before it is returned to the applicant. Major modifications of scope and/or total funding request will require complete resubmission of a proposal as a new preapplication. Applicants who wish to change the scope and/or total funds requested for a proposal which is already in competition, must submit a written request for withdrawal of the previous proposal before submitting a new proposal in the same competition.(9) The Director reserves the right to withdraw a grant offer if it is determined that any preapplication contains misstatements or misrepresentations of fact, or problems identified which cannot be resolved.