HomeMy WebLinkAboutexhibitEATTACHMENT E
APPLICANT TIPS SHEET
(Mistakes Common to the application process and how to avoid them)
Scheduling - The new application is available by the 2nd week of January each year, and District
funding is available AFTER October 1st of each year. Applicants should plan their schedule to avoid
commonly missed deadlines: Application due - 1a of April; Property Control - 1a of June, Permits -
3rd week of September. (Staff suggestion; Secure property control and permits PRIOR to applying for
funding.)
Property Control Verification - Please have your attorney complete and sign the letter in the
application verifying applicant property control. Support documentation is not necessary. In the crass:
of leases or management agreements, please forward a copy to the District well in advance of the
deadline to verify language. (Staff suggestion: Resolve this requirement outside the application
"window':)
Project Costs Eligibility - Please note the eligible project costs in Rule Section 66B-2.008, F.A.C. If
you are not sure about an item's eligibility, ask! Note: In-house project management and
administration is no longer eligible for an a ...lice mat t . Make sure you have indicated your
required minimum cost -share on the project ock. cost sheet and fax suggestion:ost estimate. (Staff toour office well before�I ons t9e
about the eligibility of an item, work up
deadline. Do not include applicant project management in your cost estimate).
Cost -Share - Although the applicant must provide a minimum of 50% of the total project costs
i (25% for eligible public navigation dredging), there is no specific requirement to split each item. You
may desire to have the District pay for some items and the applicant pay for others, or various
percentages of each etc. This may allow for a stronger application and easier accounting. (Staff
suggestion: Concentrate the Districts cost -share into those items most related to the waterway.)
Pre -Agreement Expenses - Rule 66B-2.005(3), F.A.C. requires any activity in the submitted
project cost estimate occurring PRIOR to October 1st to be considered as pre -agreement expenses.
The Board's past philosophy has been to fund only those projects that require District funding
assistance to be completed. It is best to avoid_pre-agreement expenses if possible, or limit them to a
small percentage of the project. Note, that pre -agreement expenses must be limited to 50% or less
of the total project costs, and they are eligible for only 1/2 of the original District funding. (Example: A
project with a total cost of $200,000 is Board -approved for one-half construction PRIOR to October
1st. In this case, District funding will be limited as follows: Only 50% of the $100,000 project cost
prior to October ist is eligible as project expenses (le $50,000). Then only 1 of the eligible project
expenses ($50, 000) are eligible for District funding assistance (i.e. $25, 000).
Submitted Materials - Each year ambitious applicants submit a myriad of information with their
application. The Board must review and evaluate each application and each year we receive about 70
applications for consideration. The final product for the Commissioner's review is two 8-1/2" x 11"
bound notebooks containing the essential information for the application. If the subrr itt+d
material will not fit in these bound notebooks, it is discarded. (Staff suggestion: Limit the
rial
submitted materials to the requested information,/thethe
evaluatlon of the application. d'i Don't createI
should be very limited and should be germane to
unnecessary work for yourself!)