Grant application information

ECHO Advisory Committee

I. Call To Order, Roll Call, Introductory Remarks
Chair Matousek called the January 12, 2005 ECHO Advisory Committee meeting to order at 3:00 p.m. and welcomed the Advisory Committee members and the public.
Chair Matousek asked staff to take the roll. A quorum was present with 8 members in attendance. (One seat remains vacant-appointee of County Council member, Bill Long).

II. Approval of June 23, 2004 Minutes
Chair Matousek directed the committee’s attention to the ECHO Advisory Committee meeting minutes of June 23, 2004 and called for a motion for approval.
Gary Libby so moved.

Linda Hargreaves seconded the motion.

Chair Matousek asked if there were any corrections or additions. Hearing none, he called for a vote.

The minutes of the June 23, 2004 ECHO Advisory Committee were approved by a unanimous vote of the Committee.

III. Review Of Past Activities
Chair Matousek recapped events occurring since the Committee last met on June 23, 2004 as they relate to the activities of ECHO.

• Trails of the County’s Trails Master Plan:
  • Reviewed the letter dated July 14, 2004 sent by Chair Matousek on behalf of the Committee to County Council Chair Dwight Lewis at Mr. Lewis’s request, stating the Committee’s position on using ECHO funds for trails of the County’s Trails Master Plan.
  • Chair Matousek attended the August 2, 2004 County Council Budget Workshop for Leisure Services at which funding for the trails of the County’s Trails Master Plan was a topic of discussion.
  • Chair Matousek appeared before the August 5, 2004 regularly scheduled County Council meeting at which the Council approved the 2005 ECHO guides and applications and also voted to award $1M in ECHO funds annually for the purpose of building trails of the County’s Trails Master Plan for a period of 17 years and to consider the use of bonds as the means of funding.
• Cultural Council Request for ECHO Funds:
  • Letter from Nancy Maddox, Cultural & Heritage Program Manager, County of Volusia, dated October 7, 2004, received by Margaret Hodge, ECHO Program Coordinator, requesting the use of ECHO funds to repair cultural and historical properties damaged by the recent hurricanes.
  • Letter from Margaret Hodge, dated October 13, 2004, to Nancy Maddox, explaining Ms. Maddox’s request for funds to repair damage to cultural and historical properties was outside of the prevue of the ECHO program as defined by Resolution 2000-156.
  • (Committee members had been mailed copies of all communications between the parties)
• ECHO Program:
  • On September 13, 2004, the deadline for submission of 2005 grant applications for a Technical Completeness Review was extended from October 8, 2004 to October 18, 2004 due to possible delays caused as a result of the hurricanes in the County.
• ECHO Project Events:
  • July 8, 2004 – DeBary Hall ground breaking attended by Chair Matousek.
  • July 24, 2004 - Lake Monroe Park dedication attended by Chair Matousek.
  • October 23, 2004 - City of Deltona’s Dewey O. Boster Soccer Complex, dedication attended by Vice Chair Gary Libby.
  • November 6, 2004 - Ponce Inlet Light Station Lens dedication (due to scheduling conflicts, no one was able to attend).
  • December 14, 2004 - City of Daytona Beach’s Jackie Robinson Ballpark dedication attended by Chair Matousek.
• Other Events:
  • Chair Matousek attended the October 28, 2004 meeting of the West Volusia Tourism & Advertising Authority and is encouraged by their plans to incorporate a number of ECHO projects into a tourism package referred to as the “Heritage Corridor”, with the purpose of encouraging visitors to extend their visits by including stops at historical and cultural facilities within the County.

Lorna Jean Hagstrom inquired that since the $1M for the trails of the County’s Trails Master Plan is to be bonded, did it mean those funds have been removed from the competitive process?
Chair Matousek confirmed the $1M would not be part of the competitive process.

Gary Libby inquired as to whether there has been a response to any of the questions Mr. Matousek posed in his letter to the Council Chair?

Chair Matousek commented there has been no written response to the questions.

Gary Libby inquired if any of the 2005 applications have a trail project?

Margaret Hodge stated although there is a project for a trail, it is not part of the County’s Trails Master Plan.

Gary Libby noted some answers to the questions posed in Mr. Matousek’s letter could be “back-filled” from this application.

Chair Matousek noted representatives from the County’s Leisure Services Department met in October with representatives of the cities to discuss incorporating their plans into the County’s Master Trails Plan. This was subsequently presented to the County Council in December at which he was in attendance and his impression is, the cities seem more pleased with the situation as it now stands.

Gary Libby inquired if the Committee could assume that the answer is “NO” to question #4 of the letter: “Are Trails of the Trails Master Plan to remain eligible projects to compete for ECHO funds in addition to the 1 million dollars dedicated by the County Council?”

Margaret Hodge advised the Committee not to make that assumption.

Chair Matousek stated that nothing has been determined to be ineligible.

Lorna Jean Hagstrom asked if this means the $17M eligible for bonding will not be enough to construct the entire Trails Master Plan?

Margaret Hodge stated that it is not enough.

Chair Matousek noted nothing has been stated that would exclude future requests to fund trails of the County’s Trails Master Plan.

IV. Staff Report
Chair Matousek asked Margaret Hodge to give the staff report.

Margaret Hodge advised the Committee of events occurring since the 3rd quarter report was issued.

• She will go before the County Council on January 20, 2005 to request an extension to encumber and expend funds for ECHO project 03-12, Little Theater of New Smyrna Beach, due to delays caused by the damage done to the facility by the recent hurricanes. Specifically, delays are a result of extensive damage done to the facility, contracting with a company to repair the damage, and the resulting delay in getting permits for construction.
• She will go before the County Council in the upcoming months to request extensions for most of the ECHO projects due to delays in commencement of the projects caused by the County’s recent hurricanes. Ms. Hodge noted most of these projects are expected to be completed by the second year of their grant.
• The State has rescinded the grant funding for ECHO project 04-21, Pioneer Settlement for the Creative Arts Strawn Building Relocation, used as matching funds in their ECHO application because the time period to receive the grant from the State’s revenue funds has expired. PSCA is appealing to the State to have the funds reinstated. In the meantime, the County is working with the grantee, giving them the opportunity to find other sources of matching funds.
• Advised the Committee it continues to be short one member, however, if an appointment is made prior to the 2005 Grant Review Panel convening, the new member will be eligible to serve on the Panel.
• Advised Committee their term will expire on March 31, 2005, with new appointments being made by the same date. All members should have received applications from Sue Whittaker in the County Manager’s office and should complete and return them as soon as possible if they desire to serve another term.
• Directed Committee to the “2005 ECHO Grant Applicants and Grant Request” chart listing funds available for the 2005 grants including the funding requests from each of the applicants. Ms. Hodge directed the Committee’s attention to the chart detailing how the amount of available funds was derived. Funds available: $3,140,883. Funds Requested: $4,022,227.50.

V. Review of Applications
Chair Matousek requested Ms. Hodge to review the list of applications for the 2005 ECHO grant awards and directed Committee members to the information contained in the binders provided by staff.

Margaret Hodge directed the Committee’s attention to the “2005 ECHO Applicants Deficient Information” chart, listing by tab, the information missing in each of the applications as well as those applications submitted for a “Technical Completeness Review”. The chart additionally lists those applications submitted past the deadline. Ms. Hodge advised the Committee that the chart lists only missing information and more complete comments on the applications may be found in the “Final Reviews” provided in their binders.

Margaret Hodge directed the Committee’s attention to applications identified under Tab 2/2.1(7)-application #’s 05-01, 05-02 and 05-03; Tab 4/4.1(4)-application #’s 05-01, 05-02 and 05-10; Tab 5/5(2)-application #’s 05-02, 05-03, 05-10 and 05-12 as not having identified the method of tracking listed goals.

Gary Libby asked that the Committee move beyond the issue of those applications that did not note how the goals would be tracked and consider the missing tracking methods as acceptable and those applications to remain as eligible.

Chair Matousek asked for agreement from the Committee to move forward to which they all consented.

Margaret Hodge then advised she would review the remaining items listed on the spreadsheet and directed the Committee’s attention to:

• Tab 1-1.1(pg 2): 05-13-City of South Daytona-Reed Canal Park-Phase II: page was missing in original application, subsequently provided in supplement.
• Tab 2-2.1(3): 05-13-City of South Daytona-Reed Canal Park-Phase II: breakdown of expenditure of Match & ECHO funds missing on timeline, subsequent supplement provided dollar amounts but not by Match/ECHO.
• Tab 3:
  • 3.1/3.2: 05-01/City of DeLand-Sunflower Park, 05-11/City of DeBary-Community Park, 05-13/City of South Daytona-Reed Canal Park-Phase II, 05-14/City of Daytona Beach-Main Street Pier Park and 05-15/City of Daytona Beach-PAL Pool: missing some or all of required information for General Requirements, Contractor’s Fees and/or Contingency Funds, subsequently provided in supplemental packages.
  • 3.1: 05-14/City of Daytona Beach-Main Street Pier Park and 05-15/City of Daytona Beach-PAL Pool: missing Revenue Chart, provided in supplemental package of 05-15 only.
  • 3.3: 05-04/County of Volusia-New Smyrna Sugar Mill: invoice and checks missing for UC:PSC, invoice and 1 check provided in supplemental package. Ms. Hodge noted that the requirement is unrealistic and recommended that the Committee broaden the requirement in future applications.
• Tab 4:
  • 4.3(2): 05-04/County of Volusia-New Smyrna Sugar Mill, 05-05/County of Volusia-Shooting Range and 05-06/County of Volusia-Soccer and Dog Training Complex: missing Opinion Letter, provided in supplemental packages.
  • 4.3: 05-12/City of Edgewater-Hawks Park-Phase IIIA: Response Letter missing; provided in supplemental package. Ms. Hodge advised the Committee it is not the standard practice for the City to generate a Response Letter until the following year.
• Tab 5: 5.1(2): 05-01/City of DeLand-Sunflower Park and 05-15/City of Daytona Beach-PAL Pool: 05-01 missing 3 of the 3 required goals, 05-15 missing 1 of the 3 required goals, subsequently provided in supplemental packages.
• Application Requirement/Number of copies required: 05-14/City of Daytona Beach-Main Street Pier Park: Three of the submitted copies were missing substantial number of pages. Ms. Hodge surmised this occurred when copies were being made but pages were not double sided and were subsequently provided in replacement package.
• Application Requirement/Submission Deadline: 05-14/City of Daytona Beach-Main Street Pier Park & 05-15/City of Daytona Beach-PAL Pool-submitted past time deadline of 4:00 p.m., Friday December 10, 2004.

Chair Matousek noted staff ‘s recommendation that applications 1-13 should be found eligible and inquired if any member of the Committee believed any of these should be considered as ineligible based on staff’s review?

Gary Libby moved to accept as eligible, applications 1 through 13.

Lorna Jean Hagstrom seconded the motion.

Chair Matousek called for discussion, hearing none he called for a vote.

Applications 1through 13 were approved as eligible by a unanimous vote of the Committee.

Chair Matousek directed the Committee to staff’s recommendation of ineligibility for application 05-14 and called for discussion.

Peter Matulis questioned how applications submitted after the deadlines in past years have been handled?

Margaret Hodge commented they have been handled individually based on the conditions of the submittal.

Chair Matousek explained in the past, the Committee has never excluded an application for being late.

Gary Libby moved to accept application 05-14 as eligible.

Stuart Sixma seconded the motion.

Chair Matousek called for discussion.

Lorna Jean Hagstrom reminded the Committee they have this discussion every year and have been admonished by the public because there are those that work diligently to submit their applications on time.

Gary Libby advised past history suggests the better approach is to use the grading process in dealing with applications submitted late as both the public and the County Council have urged the Committee to be as inclusive as possible and nothing is more exclusive than deeming an application as ineligible.

Chair Matousek commented he did not perceive being 20 minutes late as fatal and would support including the application.

Lorna Jean Hagstrom noted her comments were meant to put a historical perspective on the question and had no problem with lowering the score as an appropriate penalty.

Chair Matousek called for other comments.

Margaret Hodge requested the Committee discuss the topic during the summer meetings, as there is a staff perspective on the subject.

Chair Matousek called for a roll call vote.

Application 05-14 was approved as eligible by a 5 to 3 vote of the Committee.

Chair Matousek directed the Committee to application 05-15 recommended by staff as not eligible.

Gary Libby requested to hear from the applicant.

Chair Matousek asked if a representative from Daytona Beach was present to answer questions from the Committee.

Connie McMillian, Grant Administrator for Daytona Beach introduced herself as the representative for the City of Daytona Beach.

Gary Libby noted that application 05-15 was the application turned in the Monday following the Friday deadline and invited Ms. McMillian to speak to the issue.

Connie McMillian advised the Committee there had been a lot of internal issues that caused the application to be late but accepted the responsibility for the delay in turning them into the County. In addition, she explained she had had problems with the City’s copiers particularly when copying this grant and was going to give up but turned it in late after it was suggested by a superior that she do so.

Gary Libby moved to accept application 05-15 as eligible.

Linda Hargreaves seconded the motion.

Chair Matousek called for discussion

Gary Libby noted this application was more troublesome and he was conflicted because the general attitude of the Committee was different from the more liberal view of the County Council on what should be accepted as eligible. He suggested the Committee work with the County Council in reaching unanimity with them on the mission of the program. He noted he would proceed on the more liberal side with the current application until the Committee shortens the distance between what the Committee perceives as the letter of the law and what is ultimately decided.

Jack Wiles noted that the previous application, which arrived late, had been accepted by a significant margin. Explaining that this application had fewer exceptions and because no time line had been established, questioned how could they omit this one with a time difference of 2 hours vs. 20 minutes on the other application.

Charles Matousek pointed out the difference was 3 days.

Jack Wiles noted it was over a weekend so was 2 hours working days (application was received 12:30p.m. Monday December 13, 2005 making the application 5 ½ hours late at a minimum, if the weekend is not used in the calculation).

Linda Hargreaves inquired of Ms. Hodge if other applications came to her that were not on the list?

Margaret Hodge noted there might have been other applications that would have been submitted had they known they had until the following week to do so. She went on to comment that in previous years, when applicants asked if the deadline could be extended to the following week, she had stated it could not. Ms. Hodge asked that any decisions the Committee makes today on eligibility not be used as setting a precedent in the future as this issue is discussed in the summer.

Lorna Jean Hagstrom commented the line must be drawn somewhere and noted there was a lot of difference between three days and twenty minutes even if it occurred over a weekend.
Chair Matousek expressed a concern over how many other applicants could have come forward had they been afforded the additional time and in fairness to the other applicants and future applicants, he could not accept this application as eligible.

Stuart Sixma commented the hurricanes caused havoc on many organizations and to the application process and he is inclined to be more liberal because of these events.

Linda Hargreaves stated she would agree if she felt they had impacted this but other organizations were able to submit their applications on time.

Chair Matousek called for further discussion, hearing none he called for a roll call vote.

Application 05-15 was not approved as eligible by a 6 to 2 vote of the Committee.

Chair Matousek requested Ms. Hodge to review the “2005 Grant Review Panel Procedures”, asking for discussion and a vote on acceptance of the procedures following Ms. Hodge’s review.
Margaret Hodge guided the Committee members through the Procedures.

Gary Libby in response to Item 2, “members shall bring …the complete applications provided on January 12, 2005”, noted he typically brings only those sections related to questions he has about any particular application and will rely on staff’s copies.

Linda Hargreaves asked for clarification on what date to insert on the Final Score sheet.

Margaret Hodge recommended the date of the Grant Review Panel should be used.

Chair Matousek suggested adding a requirement in Item 3 that an applicant for an exceptional grant be available for questions during the determination period of exceptional status.

Margaret Hodge addressing the requirement for a super majority of the Grant Review Panel to approve exceptional status for an application, inquired of County Attorney, Jamie Seaman, what would qualify as a super majority should the 9th member not yet be appointed by the time the Grant Review Panel convenes.

Jamie Seaman stated a super majority is defined by the membership of the Committee and remains 7 irrespective how many members are currently on the Committee or attend the Grant Review Panel meeting.

Gary Libby inquired of Ms. Seaman what happens in the event the Committee remains at 8 members and more than 1 member is absent?

Jamie Seaman noted the applicant has the option of requesting a special hearing with all members present or the matter could be ultimately be decided by the County Council. Subsequently, if a super majority is not present at the Grant Review Panel, the application is to be handled as if it was a standard application.

Gary Libby suggested it be determined whether or not all current members will be in attendance at the Grant Review Panel.

Jack Wiles indicated he had a scheduling conflict and would not be in attendance.

Chair Matousek suggested the meeting should be rescheduled and requested Ms. Hodge to review available dates.

Margaret Hodge suggested meeting separately for the purpose of determining exceptional status for Daytona Beach Community College’s application for the West Volusia Corporate and Cultural Training Complex. The Committee determined to meet during the regularly scheduled meeting on February 9 for the sole purpose of determining exceptional status.

Chair Matousek referring to the Grant Review Panel meeting, asked for clarification as to whether Mr. Wiles could provide his ranking in absentia?

Margaret Hodge suggested if this was done it should be provided in a sealed envelope and opened once the ranking process had begun.

Jack Wiles voiced a concern about doing so because in the past he had changed his ranking based on information learned during the Grant Review Panel proceedings.

Gary Libby agreed with the assessment and stated he could not support this procedure.

Linda Hargreaves suggested changing the date of the Grant Review Panel so all members could be present.

Margaret Hodge offered alternative dates in February and March. After extensive discussion the Committee decided to reschedule the Grant Review Panel meeting to February 21at which all members could attend, making it unnecessary to meet on February 9 for the purpose of determining exceptional eligibility for Daytona Beach Community College’s application.

Chair Matousek suggested amending item number 8 of the “2005 Grant Review Panel Procedures”, adding that members would turn in their score sheets before adjourning the meeting.

Lorna Jean Hagstrom moved that the two additions recommended by the Chair be added to the procedures.

Gary Libby seconded the motion.

Chair Matousek called for discussion, hearing none, he called for the vote.

The motion was approved by a unanimous vote of the Committee.

VI. Board Discussion
Chair Matousek asked if the Committee had any new business to discuss?

Gary Libby noted that 2 non-municipalities had applied this year and did that support the contention that the application process was too tough for mid-size organizations?

Margaret Hodge reminded the Committee she survey’s potential applicants every year and based on the responses, the 1:1 Match requirement or ownership of the property seem to be the greatest obstacles for smaller organizations. She further commented it is typically the cities that say the application is too complicated.

Gary Libby noted County Council members had made stiff comments in the past, indicating the application is too tough.

Margaret Hodge explained that the items in the application reflect the requirements as stated in the governing Resolutions and therefore cannot be removed.

Chair Matousek commented he had the same concerns as Mr. Libby and it was incumbent on the Committee to make the needed changes this summer.

Chair Matousek asked if there were any further comments from the Committee.

Mr. Libby related his experience attending the dedication of the Dewey O. Boster Sports Complex and how it impressed upon him, seeing the hundreds of children using the facility, just how important the work of the ECHO Program is and realizing that such a project could not have happened without the support of the program, encouraged the Committee to be as inclusive as possible.

Chair Matousek instructed the Committee to pickup the applications before leaving.

VII. Adjournment

Chair Matousek hearing no other business adjourned the meeting at 4:35p.m.