Okaloosa County BOCC — October 4, 2013 — Action Item Printout — reading text

BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS AGENDA REQUEST DATE: November 19, 2013 TO: Honorable Chairman and Members of the Board FROM: John Hofstad SUBJECT: FY2014 FWC Supplemental Grant Application DEPARTMENT: Public Works BCC DISTRICT: All STATEMENT OF ISSUE: Staff requests consideration from the Board to apply for FY14 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Artificial Reef Construction Grant application. BACKGROUND: The Florida Legislature has allocated an additional $500,000 in supplemental funding for the construction/monitoring of artificial reefs. These funds are in addition to the federal U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Program funds and funds available through state saltwater fishing license revenues for artificial reef related activities. The supplemental funds will be made available through a cost reimbursement grants- in-aid program for artificial reef construction. Staff proposes to construct four large artificial reefs utilizing materials donated to the artificial reef program from the USAF Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), City of Fort Walton Beach, and Mid-Bay Bridge Authority. The four reefs will be located in State waters at the centroids of Fish Havens 13, 14, 15 and 16. This material was originally intended to be deployed using NRDA funding. However, recent changes in the NRDA project requirements does not allow for deployment of reef material other than pre-fabricated reef modules. In order to continue to receive high quality donated reef materials from the USAF, staff considers using the County artificial reef budget and FWC grant funding as the best alternative to demonstrate our commitment to the resource. This approach will cause the project to be multi-phased. It is not anticipated that $180,000 will allow the deployment of all AFRL material. Therefore, it is anticipated that future grant opportunities will be targeted for this effort until the AFRL material inventory is exhausted. The attached grant application will be distributed to Contracts and Grants and legal for review prior to the November 19,2013 meeting. A status report of the review will be presented at that time. Minor revisions to the application support documentation may be made prior to the November 22, 2013 application deadline but no changes to the application itself are anticipated. The Okaloosa County Artificial Reef Program (OCARP) will be requesting $100,000 in supplemental funding with matching funds in the amount of $80,000 for a total project budget of $180,000. Matching funds are currently available in the Artificial Reef line item budget through the Tourist Development Department (Account #1175-563753). OPTIONS: Approve/Disapprove RECOMMENDATIONS: Request Board approval and authorization for the Chairman to sign the grant application requesting funding for artificial reef monitoring during FY 14. RECOMMENDED BY: APPROVED BY: Ernie Padgett, County Administrator