Section 62S-2.072 - Application Requirements and ProcessingThe Department shall approve applications for program grants in order of priority until all program funds are depleted under the following standards and criteria:
(1) Eligible Applicants. 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 organizations registered as active Florida nonprofit corporations which have an agreement with a governmental agency to develop public lands, are eligible to submit RTP applications.(2) Project Eligibility.(a) Purpose: RTP grants shall only be awarded to grantees for projects that are for the primary purpose of providing recreational trails for the public. Projects must be designed to comply with paragraph 260.016(1)(e), F.S., and the Guidance.(b) Eligible Site: The site of a proposed RTP project shall be on public lands. The site shall be owned by the applicant or government on or before the closing date of the application submission period. A site not owned by the applicant or government shall be under the applicant's or government's control by a 99-year lease or similar control, such that the applicant has the legal ability to dedicate and manage the site for public recreational trail use pursuant to subsections 62S-2.076(1) and (2), F.A.C. School board property used primarily for educational or school related purposes is not eligible. In addition, nonprofit corporations must provide a letter from the land owner or managing agency stating that it supports the project and will abide by the compliance requirements of this rule, and the Guidance.(c) Number of applications: The maximum number of applications an applicant may submit shall be as follows: local governments may submit one (1); consolidated city-county government may submit two (2); nonprofit corporations may submit one (1); state and federal agencies may submit one (1) per district.(d) Active Projects: A grantee with two incomplete RTP projects by the closing date of an application submission period shall not be eligible to apply.(e) Duplicate Projects: RTP funds shall not be approved for completion of an incomplete RTP project.(3) Permissible Uses of Funds. (a) Maintenance or renovation of existing trails.(b) Development or renovation of trailside or trailhead facilities or trail linkages.(c) Purchase of trail construction or maintenance equipment.(d) Construction of new trails on local and state lands.(e) Construction of new trails crossing federal lands, must be:1. Permissible under other law,2. Necessary and required by the SCORP that is required by the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 and Chapter 375, F.S., and that is in effect; and,3. Approved by each federal agency having jurisdiction over the affected lands under such terms and conditions as the head, or designee, of the federal agency determines to be appropriate; except that the approval shall be contingent upon compliance by the Federal agency with all applicable laws.(f) Operation of educational programs to promote safety and environmental protection which specifically relate to the uses of recreational trails, to the extent the Department has not chosen to use the educational funds in whole or in part, to further a statewide goal of the Greenways and Trails Plan. Any unused funds will be made available to applicants in that funding year's grant submission cycle.(4) Prohibited Uses. (a) Condemnation of real property.(b) Construction of recreational trails for motorized use on U.S. Forest Service land unless the land is designated for motorized use and such construction is consistent with the approved U.S. Forest Service land resource management plan, a copy of which may be obtained from the U.S. Forest Service, 325 John Knox Road, Tallahassee, Florida 32303.(c) Facilitating motorized trails on otherwise nonmotorized trail areas.(d) Construction or expansion of existing trails for motorized vehicles on state owned property unless such use is consistent with the land management plan required by Section 253.034, F.S., for the site.(e) Trail planning, except when performed by the Department using the administrative funds portion of the State's allocation.(f) Upgrading, expanding, or otherwise facilitating motorized use or access to recreational trails predominantly used by nonmotorized recreational trail users and on which, as of May 1, 1991, motorized use was prohibited or had not occurred.(5) Eligibility Determination. Following closure of the application submission period, Department staff shall review and determine the eligibility of each applicant based on the following:(a) Deficiency Documentation: The applicant may retain eligibility by submitting all documentation missing from or not clear in the application within fifteen working days from the date of the Department's written notification which identifies each missing or unclear item.(b) Ineligibility: An application, in whole or in part, may be declared ineligible by the Department or the RTP Advisory Committee pursuant to paragraphs 62S-2.073(2)(a) -(l), (3)(a)-(b) and (4)(a)-(b), F.A.C. If a portion of the project application is determined to be ineligible, the applicant will be notified and given 15 working days to revise the ineligible portion. If the ineligible portion still does not meet the subparagraphs stated herein, the ineligible portion shall be severed or, if not severable, the application shall be rejected.(6) Application Evaluation. Each eligible application shall be evaluated on the basis of the information provided in the application in accordance with this part. Each application shall be assigned a total point score pursuant to subsection 62S-2.072(7), F.A.C. A project site or facility would not be considered viable if the project does not receive a minimum number of 55 points for motorized projects, 55 points for nonmotorized projects, 61 points for mixed-use projects, and 61 points for education projects, as awarded under Section 62S-2.073, F.A.C. An application with fewer than the required minimum points will not be recommended for funding.(7) Priority Lists. A total point score shall be assigned to each application upon evaluation of each project under Section 62S-2.073, F.A.C. The RTP Advisory Committee shall prepare one priority list for each category. Applications shall be ranked on the priority list according to assigned point scores. The application with the highest score will receive the highest rank. The funds used for the project shall reduce that particular category's allocation accordingly. The remaining applications will be arranged in descending order according to their assigned point scores. Applications scoring below the minimum, established pursuant to subsection 62S-2.072(6), F.A.C., shall not be placed on the priority list. The priority list shall include recommendations for distribution of available program funds. In the event there are insufficient applications to account for all program funds assigned to motorized or nonmotorized category, the RTP Advisory Committee may vote to move funds from one category to another. In order to determine whether or not to move funds between motorized and nonmotorized categories, the RTP Advisory Committee shall meet and shall make a determination that there are insufficient applications to use all funds available in that category for that year, and that there is a likelihood that there will be an insufficient amount of applications expected for the next submission cycle.(8) Tie-Breaker System. If two or more applications receive the same score, the following tie-breaker system will be used to decide the priority ranking among them. Tied applications will be evaluated according to the tie-breaker system in order and will be assigned their priority accordingly. Funding History. An order of priority among those applications with equal scores shall be established based on the amount of funds previously received by the applicant through RTP during the previous five fiscal years. This includes funds received under the program's previous name of National Recreational Trails Funding Program. The application from the applicant which received the lowest amount of program funds receives the highest priority. Other tied applications will be arranged in descending order related inversely to the amount of program funds each has received.(9) Unsettled Claims. The Department shall deny or suspend program eligibility to any applicant or grantee against which the Department has an unsettled financial claim related to noncompliance with terms or conditions of an RTP or other DEP outdoor recreation grant.(10) Unfunded and Ineligible Applications. Any unfunded or ineligible applications shall be returned to the applicant upon written request from the applicant. If no such request is made within 30 days after notification of grant awards, unfunded applications shall be discarded by staff.(11) Application Form. The Recreational Trails Program Application Form, OGT-10, effective date May 1, 2001, which shall be used for all applications, is hereby incorporated by reference and is available from the Department's Office of Greenways and Trails, 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard, Mail Station #795, Tallahassee, Florida 32399-3000, (850)488-3701.Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 62S-2.072
Rulemaking Authority 260.016(1)(h) FS. Law Implemented 260.016(1)(d), (f), (h), (2)(a)2. FS.