Okaloosa County BOCC — April 27, 2013 — 2013--GSTPF Reef Construction — reading text

OKALOOSA COUNTY 3/12/2013 Gulf Tourism and Seafood Promotional Fund  Gulf Tourism and Seafood Promotional Fund Purpose As part of the Settlement Agreement, a $57 million fund, the Gulf Tourism and Seafood Promotional Fund (“Promotional Fund”), has been established to promote tourism and the seafood industries in Gulf Coast areas impacted by the Deepwater Horizon Incident. In particular, one of the primary purposes of this Promotional Fund is for the support of programs directed to advertising, promotion and/or marketing which supports Gulf tourism and the seafood industries. In 2012, the first round of grants was presented. The amount available for the final round of promotional grants is $12,764,370. Administration of the Fund The Promotional Fund is administered and directed by the Claims Administrator, Patrick A. Juneau. Applications for Promotional Fund Awards shall be considered by a three- person panel, consisting of the Claims Administrator or his designee, a designee of Lead Class Counsel, and a designee of the BP Parties. The Claims Administrator and the panel may at times retain independent consultant(s) and/or expert(s) for advice with respect to the propriety or effectiveness of any award. Eligible Applicants Applications for Promotional Fund Awards may be submitted by public, quasi-public, non-profit or other entities or organizations located within the Gulf States. Each entity must have a separate federal tax ID Number. Promotional Fund Award Applications Applications for Promotional Fund Awards are to be submitted in writing to the following address: Promotional Fund DHECC Claims Administrator P.O. Box 50939 New Orleans, LA 70150-0939 All Applications must be received no later than March 29, 2013. Applications All Applications shall contain the following: (1) A description of the content of the activities or projects which are being proposed and identification of the particular channels or media where the project will be utilized (“Project Narrative”) (2) A budget for the specific activities proposed (“Budget Narrative”); and (3) Information and documentation outlining the financial stability of the Applicant, such as tax returns, past grant awards received, financial statements of the organization, annual reports and other relevant materials. Project Narrative: A successful award Applicant’s Project Narrative should describe, inter alia, the organization’s history and mission; the specific problem or challenge to be addressed; how the proposed project will address this issue; how funds will be used; how the Promotional Fund’s financial support will be leveraged by support and resources from the organization or other sources; the physical location (if any) of the project; the geographic area and audience served; anticipated outcomes; any needs assessment that has been done; how to evaluate the project’s success; and plans for long - term sustainability of the program. Budget Narrative: Relevant documents for a Budget Narrative include, for example: (a) IRS letter documenting filing status / tax identification number; (b) most recent audited financial statement (if the most recent audited financial statement is not available, submit the most recent IRS Form 990); (c) current operating budget ; and (d) an itemized project budget with description of how funds will be spent. Other / Miscellaneous All Promotional Fund Awards shall be subject to periodic and/or final reporting to and auditing and/or review by the Claims Administrator, as deemed appropriate by the Claims Administrator. Multiple Promotional Fund Awards may be awarded to the same Applicant; however, no more than $500,000 per year combined may be disbursed in toto to any one Applicant. In selection of recipients, special attention will be paid to the diversity, geographic and otherwise, of the Applicants. New grant applications must be submitted to be considered eligible for this final round of grants. Past grant entities are eligible to apply. However, a new grant application must be submitted. Questions concerning the application process may be directed to ngagliano@dheclaims.com Okaloosa County proposes to construct an artificial reef network within the Large Area Artificial Reef Site (LAARS) B. The material for the reef sites has been donated by the United States Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and the City of Fort Walton Beach. The size and properties of the AFRL material make it ideal for reef construction. The City of Fort Walton Beach contributions are primarily concrete culverts which are ideal for creation of habitat for marine crustaceans and target fish species. The Okaloosa County Artificial Reef Program (OCARP) has managed over 1500 artificial reef construction projects and deployments and will organize this reef construction project to utilize local contractors with the expertise and experience to execute projects in our unique regional marine environment. The County program is experienced in management and execution of the scope of the project presented in this proposal. OCARP is engaged with the local reef building community and will assure that the prime contractor utilized to perform this turn key reef construction project will be sufficiently screened to determine competency, experience and understanding of project objectives. The local marine environment seaward from the Okaloosa County shoreline is relatively featureless. It has been well documented that the addition of submerged clean structure has an immediate positive impact on the marine environment. The OCARP is the permitting agency charged with the oversight of all artificial reef construction, both private and public, in the waters off of Okaloosa County. Expansion of the local reef systems is highly desirable to the citizens of Okaloosa County and the visitors to the area. Economic studies have shown that artificial reefs have an extremely high return on investment. The proper construction of artificial reefs provides habitat to a wide variety of marine life including target species such a snapper, grouper, amberjack and a variety of pelagic species. In addition, the presence of smaller marine species that find refuge on and around artificial reefs, will sustain the environment indefinitely. The construction of an artificial reef represents the construction of new habitats with a very low maintenance requirement. This proposal includes: Loading of material at its current location. Page 1 of 3  Transportation of the Material to a Staging Site Loading the material onto a barge Transportation from the Staging Area to the Reef Network Site Placement of Material on the seafloor The reef construction process is relatively simple. A barge is used to transport the material to the desired location. Once the transportation of the material to the site is complete, anchors will be dropped so that the material can be placed on the seafloor with relative precision. Once the desired elevation is obtained, the barge will relocate to another position and repeat the reef material placement process. When all material has been deployed, the barge will return to the staging site for another load. The USAF Research Laboratory inventory (see Attachment A USAF Material Photographs,) includes target material used in the research and testing of a variety of USAF ordnance. Currently, the USAF disposes this material and is partially recycled but would like to re purpose the material for benefit of the marine ecosystem and local community. The targets are fabricated at Eglin AFB and contain unique properties that make it particularly compatible for artificial reef construction (See Attachment B – AFRL Material Inventory). Most notably, the aggregate is comprised of 45% native Florida limestone which provides a chemical composition preferred by invertebrates and other marine life that initially colonize the base reef structure. In addition, most of the targets have lifting lugs making them easier to place in an orderly fashion and have large holes or indentations in the middle increasing the surface area and exposure of the aggregate. The inventory from FWB (see Attachment C FWB Material Photographs and Attachment D – FWB Material Inventory) includes 200 units of reinforced concrete culverts measuring 2 to 5 feet in diameter and 5 to 10 feet in length. Both the USAF material and the City of FWB material have been inspected by OCARP for compliance with State and Federal regulations and have been certified compatible. The material described will be placed within the proposed construction area in cone shaped piles intended to promote the growth of a vibrant reef complex. Studies have shown that reef communities can be optimized when the proximity of each reef is considered with respect to the foraging characteristics of target species. While the science of forging areas is not exact, OCARP believes that a 400 foot minimum spacing provides an optimal configuration. The reef structures will be constructed evenly spaced in a random pattern. One of the properties shared between both inventories is that the individual pieces of material are sufficiently massive that movement of the material will not be an issue. Subsidence of material is expected to be minimal. However, all artificial reefs are susceptible to constant external forces including chemical deterioration from contact with salt water and shifting currents which are amplified during extreme climatic events such as hurricanes. The costs of OCARP management (reef design, permitting, construction oversight), and contractor services including transport, staging, and deployment are included in the total estimated cost of the Page 2 of 3 project $500,000. It is not anticipated that the deployment of the nine million pounds of material will not be attainable within the current estimated cost. However, deployments will continue until funds expire. Other anticipated cost elements including all necessary equipment (front end loaders, cranes, etc) for the movement and loading of material. They also include the costs of the barge, tugboat, deployment vessels, quality control dives and prime contractor project oversight. Attachment E to this document contains several documents that provide financial information and grant experience for Okaloosa County. Attachment E includes Okaloosa County?s FY2012/FY2013 grant projects and the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for FY2011 which contains the information to support the financial stability of the County. Page 3 of 3 Attachment A Attachment B ߬¬¿½¸³»²¬ Þô п¹» ï ±º ë  USAF AFRL Material Inventory Total Inventory for All Range Sites Artificial Reef Construction Okaloosa County, Florida Est. Yrd^3 Est. ft^3 Est. lbs Total Total Total $ 3,839,875 960 25,997 1920 Tons Total Attachment C Attachment D INVENTORIED BY: Dale Campbell FWB CULVERT INVENTORY Date: 11/17/2011 and 11/21/2011 MEMORIAL Pipe # Diameter Length 1 60" 8.0 ft 2 60" 8.0 ft 3 48" 4.4 ft 4 48" 4.4 ft 5 48"