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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPin Grant Application Instructions July 2013-June 2014 PROGRAM FOR IMPROVING NEIGHBORHOODS APPLICATION, EVALUATION, PAYMENT, AND MONITORING PROCESS ************************************************************ TIME SCHEDULE April 5, 2013 (Friday) - 5:00 PM - Grant applications due to Office of Neighborhood Services (electronic or hard copies accepted.) April 18, 2013 (Thursday) - 5:30 PM - Neighborhoods present their PIN applications to the Neighborhood Council. Neighborhood Council/staff requests any additional information if necessary. May 2, 2013 (Thursday) - 5:30 PM - Neighborhoods present responses to Neighborhood Council/staff's questions or concerns. Neighborhood Council ranks applications and develops final recommendation to City Council. May 21/June 4, 2013 (Tuesdays) TBD – Neighborhood Council presents funding recommendation to the City Council for approval. July 1, 2013 - Funds available for projects. INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING APPLICATION Complete one application form for each project proposal. Please print clearly in ink or type. Each block should be responded to as completely as possible. If a block is not applicable, indicate "NA". If additional pages are necessary to respond to a question, please number the additional pages and label with the corresponding block question found on the application. EXAMPLE: "What are the goals of this program and why is it needed?" Instructions for Blocks within Application Form A. Briefly describe the activities (meetings, newsletters, events, participation in the Neighborhood Council etc,) of your neighborhood association over the past 12 months. This information can include social events, board meetings, steering committee meetings, etc. This information provides some indication of past history of the neighborhood. B. Describe the project briefly and how this project will meet a need of the neighborhood that has been determined by the neighborhood association. Include problems that currently exist and will be addressed by the project. Present information from studies, reports, etc. to show the need for the project. Demonstrate why the neighborhood association should be the group to implement this project C. Indicate the steps that will occur during the project implementation and approximately when they are expected to occur. Detail if the project will be or could be phased over a number of years. Also indicate if this project is a continuation of previously funded PIN grants. D. Detail the organizations, individuals, or other resources that have been contacted and expressed a financial or volunteer commitment to the project. It is important to have researched all available resources to assist in this project prior to application. Please indicate, if available, the time commitment or financial resources that have been offered. City Staff time cannot be considered a volunteer or cash resource but should be documented to detail that all necessary staff have been contacted. E. Detail the process involved in soliciting neighborhood input into this PIN grant request. Be explicit about who was involved, how many responded, how the process occurred and describe the results. F. If applicable, describe how this project will benefit low income, elderly, youth or disadvantaged youth. Describe how low income benefit has been determined and why these groups have been selected as the focus of the project. G. If you were not to receive PIN funding this year, will you still receive other proposed funding listed in Block C? How would these funds be utilized? H. There may be the need to allocate less funding than requested. Please describe how the scale of the project can be reduced or the project phased over a number of years. It is important to keep in mind that annual PIN funding is not guaranteed and a phased project may not be completed. Each phase should attempt to complete an entire goal. It is important to document that the project has been thoroughly thought through, what activities will occur, and that the project is feasible. It is not necessary to receive written bids for any materials or equipment involved in the grant application but a reasonable estimate should be determined. It is necessary to determine what other forms of assistance (financial, volunteer or consultant) are available from other sources prior to grant submission. EVALUATION PROCESS Members of the Neighborhood Council will be provided with copies of all submitted applications before the March Neighborhood Council meeting. The applications should be reviewed by those participating prior to this first meeting. Various staff may be requested to review the applications if necessary (i.e. Park and Recreation Director reviewing park improvement PIN applications). This meeting will be the opportunity for the applying neighborhoods to present their application and answer questions that the Neighborhood Council or staff may have. Additional meetings will be scheduled if necessary to allow for these discussions to occur. The meeting in April will be the opportunity for the applicants to supply any additional information requested of them at the March meeting(s) and the Neighborhood Council will rank the applications. The ranking will occur by use of the Program for Improving Neighborhoods Ranking Worksheet (attached). Each Neighborhood Association represented at these meetings will have the opportunity to rank the applications. The Neighborhood Association applying for funds will not participate in ranking their application. The Neighborhood Council will allocate funds based on ranking, availability of funds and/or the ability of the project to be phased or funding reduced if competition is strong. Participation by an adequate number of neighborhood association representatives is necessary in the rating process to assure adequate review and evaluation. Consistent participation by seven (7) neighborhood associations must occur during each of the review meetings to meet this requirement. Although any number of people can participate in the ranking process from any one neighborhood, only one ranking worksheet can be submitted per neighborhood association. The Neighborhood Services Coordinator will take the recommendation of the Neighborhood Council and draft a proposal for PIN funding that can be presented to the City Council by the members of the Neighborhood Council. A draft of this recommendation will be made available to the Neighborhood Council in early May for their review. PAYMENT PROCESS Funds will be available from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014. The work must be verified as complete by the Office of Neighborhood Services to receive payment. To obtain funds for work that has been completed, an invoice must be submitted to the Neighborhood Services Coordinator from the contractor/supplier. The invoice must be made out to the City of Iowa City. It is possible to make payment for partially completed work or provided materials although it would be helpful to limit the number of such payments if possible. At the time that the invoice is submitted, please arrange a time with the Neighborhood Services Coordinator to inspect and verify that the work is completed. It may be necessary to have the work inspected by various staff people dependent upon the project. Invoices submitted by any Thursday will be paid on the Friday of the following week. The checks will normally be mailed out unless otherwise indicated. Materials can be paid for only if they have been utilized or installed as detailed in the grant application. The completed work must be acceptable to the neighborhood and City for payment to be made. GRANT MONITORING AND CLOSEOUT The Neighborhood Council will act as a monitoring body for the PIN projects throughout the year by asking for periodic updates on the progress by the responsible neighborhood association. The Neighborhood Council may wish to visit the project site (if applicable). In order to confirm that all PIN funding will be expended within the funding year, neighborhoods must present written verification of intentions to expend all funds by January 2011. At that time, if it is apparent that all funds will not be expended during the funding year, the Neighborhood Council may choose to reallocate funds to unfunded PIN grant requests based on original ranking. If a neighborhood association chooses not to utilize the funds, the next ranked grant applications will be offered the opportunity until all funds are committed. The City Council will be requested to approve any reallocation of funds. Substantial changes or amendments that are seen as necessary during the grant implementation period must receive the approval of the Neighborhood Council and relayed to the City Council. Neighborhood Associations should allow for the time necessary for the Neighborhood Council to review any amendments.