1. (a) The following definitions apply to this part.
2. (b) If a word or term is not expressly defined in this section, then it is understood to have the common usage meaning to give the most reasonable application to this part.

3. (c) As used in this part:

   1. (1) “ACEDP” or “Arkansas Community and Economic Development Program” means the state program through which federal Community Development Block Grant funds are distributed to local communities;

   2. (2)

      1. (A) “Arkansas Water Plan” means the comprehensive statewide plan dealing with:

4. (i) Water systems;

   1. (ii) Water supplies;

      1. (iii) Water rights allocation;

         1. (iv) Flood plain management;
         2. (v) Nonpoint source pollution abatement;
         3. (vi) Dam safety; and
         4. (vii) Wetlands mitigation banking.
      2. (B) The goal of the Arkansas Water Plan, 15 CAR pt. 29, is for every individual in the state to have all of the water they need for any beneficial purpose;
   2. (3) “Beneficiary” means any household benefiting from the water or wastewater project by connecting to the centralized water or wastewater system is considered to be a beneficiary of the project;
   3. (4) “Benefit” means the availability of water or wastewater service to a household, whether the household chooses to subscribe to the service or not;

   4. (5) “Categorical ACEDP grants”.

      1. (A) ACEDP grants are classified by the Arkansas Economic Development Commission as either categorical grants or economic development grants.
      2. (B) Categorical grants include water and wastewater system grants and grants for childcare facilities, senior citizen centers, public health facilities, and multi-purpose community centers, while economic development grants are primarily focused on creating jobs for low-income and moderate-income families;
   5. (6) “Community Development Block Grant program”, formally known as Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended, means the Community Development Block Grant program run by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development with a primary objective of improving communities by providing "decent housing", a "suitable living environment", and "expanding economic opportunities", all "principally for persons of low and moderate income";

   6. (7)

      1. (A) “Chief executive officer” means the grantee’s elected or legally designated official with the primary responsibility for the conduct of governmental affairs.
      2. (B) The county judge of a county and the mayor of an incorporated municipality are chief executive officers;

   7. (8)

      1. (A) “Competitive negotiation” means the process of awarding a procurement contract by comparing multiple bidders and selecting the proposal most beneficial to the community based on predetermined selection criteria.
      2. (B) In competitive negotiation, contractors are required to submit cost proposals that show the elements (e.g., labor, materials) of their proposed costs or prices;

   8. (9)

      1. (A) “Corrective action” means behavior that brings a noncompliant situation back into compliance.
      2. (B) For example, corrective action for failing to document a certain activity would be to obtain the documentation, and corrective action for failing to post a notice would be to post the notice;

   9. (10)

      1. (A) “Cost analysis” means the evaluation of the separate elements (e.g., labor, materials, etc.) that make up a contractor's total cost proposal or price to determine if the element is allowable, directly related to the requirement, and ultimately, reasonable.
      2. (B) Cost analysis must be performed when sealed bids are received, in a noncompetitive negotiation, or when negotiating a modification (including change orders) to any type of contract;
   10. (11) “Cost-plus contracts” means cost-reimbursement contracts that provide for a fee consisting of a fixed base amount (which may be zero (0)) plus an award amount, based upon a judgmental evaluation, designed to provide motivation for contract performance;

   11. (12)

       1. (A) “Cost-reimbursement contracts” provide for payment of allowable incurred costs to the extent prescribed in the contract.
       2. (B) These contracts establish an estimate of total cost for the purpose of obligating funds and creating a ceiling that the contractor may not exceed without approval;

   12. (13)

       1. (A) “Customer” means a residential household using the water or wastewater utility.
       2. (B) Commercial structures and public structures such as churches, schools, or community centers cannot be counted as customers;
   13. (14) “Disbursements” means checks written to pay for goods or services associated with the project;

   14. (15)

       1. (A) “Entitlement community” means urban counties populated by two hundred thousand (200,000) or more persons (excluding the population of entitled cities), metropolitan cities populated by fifty thousand (50,000) or more persons, or a principal city of a Metropolitan Statistical Area are entitlement communities and receive Community Development Block Grant funds directly from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development instead of the state.
       2. (B) The cities of Bentonville, Conway, Fayetteville, Fort Smith, Hot Springs, Jacksonville, Jonesboro, Little Rock, North Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Rogers, Springdale, Texarkana, and West Memphis are all entitlement communities and are ineligible for ACEDP funding;
   15. (16) “Environmental clearance letter” means a written determination from the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission of apparent compliance with the environmental review requirements of 24 C.F.R. pt. 58;
   16. (17) “Environmental review” means the process described in 24 C.F.R. pt. 58 that provides instructions and guidance to grantees to ensure compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq.;
   17. (18) “Fixed-price contracts” means contracts that provide for a firm price for goods or services or, in appropriate cases, an adjustable price with a fixed ceiling;
   18. (19) “Grant agreement” means the contract between the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission and the grantee detailing the provisions and conditions of the ACEDP grant;
   19. (20) “Hard costs” means actual material construction costs;

   20. (21)

       1. (A) “Low-to-moderate income” or “LMI” means income less than or equal to the Section 8 low-income limit established by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
       2. (B) Note that Section 8 refers to “very low” and “low” incomes instead of “low” and “moderate” incomes.
       3. (C) In the Community Development Block Grant program, “low” income equates to Section 8’s “very low” income, and “moderate” income equates to Section 8’s “low” income;

   21. (22) “Median household income”.

       1. (A) The median household income is considered by many statisticians to be a better indicator than the average household income, since it is not dramatically affected by unusually high or low values.
       2. (B) It is obtained by listing, in numerical order, all household incomes and selecting the income in the middle of the list;
   22. (23) “Noncompetitive negotiation” means the process of awarding a procurement contract to a single source without comparing competitive bids;
   23. (24) “Open grant” means an ACEDP grant is considered to be open after the grant agreement document has been signed until a closure letter is issued by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission;

   24. (25)

       1. (A) “Price analysis” is essentially a price comparison without analyzing any of the separate cost elements.
       2. (B) “Price analysis” is required in competitive negotiations to determine the reasonableness of the proposed contract;
   25. (26) “Procurement” means the process of obtaining services, supplies, and equipment in conformance with applicable laws and rules;

   26. (27)

       1. (A) “Program income” means gross income directly generated as a result of the ACEDP grant (i.e., fees for services performed, money from the use, sale, or rental of equipment purchased with project funds, sale of project materials or supplies).
       2. (B) “Program income” is not anticipated in ACEDP water and wastewater projects;
   27. (28) “Project” means the construction plan identified by the applicant and may be the installation of, modification of, or addition to a centralized water distribution system or wastewater collection system;

   28. (29)

       1. (A) “Project administrator” means an individual hired by the grantee to ensure that the project is conducted in accordance with all applicable federal, state, and agency requirements.
       2. (B) “Project administrators” are required for ACEDP grants because the responsible party for the grant, the chief executive officer of the grantee, will likely not have expertise in all required areas;
   29. (30) “Project close-out” means the process through which all applicable administrative activities and required work of the grant agreement are certified as complete, with no unmitigated findings of noncompliance;
   30. (31) “Reasonable access” means there are no significant geographic, economic, or social barriers created by government to limit access by citizens during normal working hours;
   31. (32) “Records” means data or information of any kind and in any form, created or received and accumulated in the application for, receipt of, administration of, or use of ACEDP grants associated with a particular project;
   32. (33) “Residential” means a structure where one (1) or more persons live;
   33. (34) “Seasonal residents” means persons who own a residence within the project area and reside there for at least one (1) day each year but less than one hundred eighty (180) days each year;
   34. (35) “Simplified procurement” means goods or services are purchased by comparing a list of prices and choosing the least expensive provider;
   35. (36) “Soft costs” means nonconstruction costs (engineering fees, abstracting service costs, surveys, administration fees);
   36. (37) “Uninhabitable residences” means residential structures that are considered to be uninhabitable if they fail to meet any local or state construction or health code for residential structures; and

   37. (38)

       1. (A) “WWAC” or “Water/Wastewater Advisory Committee” means the committee organized to streamline, consolidate, simplify, and improve the method by which communities access the state funding system for water and wastewater projects.
       2. (B) It provides project development guidance and recommends project financing to communities through one (1) single preliminary application process.

Codification Notes: Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 is codified at 42 U.S.C. § 5301 et seq.