Wyo. Code R. 060-0003-3
Loan and Investment Board
Chapter 3: Fed Mineral Royalty Capital Const. Acct Grants
Effective Date: 02/06/1998 to 11/24/1999
Rule Type: Superceded Rules & Regulations
Reference Number: 060.0003.3.02061998
STATE LOAN AND INVESTMENT BOARD
Section 1. Authority.
This Chapter is adopted pursuant to W.S. 9-4-604 and Laws 1979, Chapter 160, Section 6.
Section 2. Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
Section 3. General Policy.
such applicants as shall, in the judgment of the Board, inure to the greatest benefit of the citizens of the state and represent a prudent use of grant funds.
(a) Applicants. Incorporated cities and towns, counties, special districts and joint powers boards shall be eligible to apply for grants under this chapter. If the applicant is a special district or joint powers board, it must be legally formed and approved prior to grant application.
(b) Purposes. Grants may be awarded for planning, construction, acquisition, improvement, or replacement of essential public services; to alleviate an emergency situation relative to an essential public service; or to comply with a state or federal mandate relative to an essential public service. Grants shall not be awarded for operating, administrative or routine maintenance purposes.
(c) Ineligible Project Costs. The following project costs shall be ineligible for reimbursement from grant funds and shall be ineligible to be counted toward applicant’s match:
(i) Costs for new sidewalks for street projects which are not replacing pre-existing sidewalks;
(ii) Costs for tap fees, sewer and water fees, and plant investment fees;
(iii) Engineering fees (design, inspection and contract administration costs) over 20% of project cost;
(iv) All non-cash costs except those defined as in-kind contributions or donations;
(v) Costs for preparation or presentation of grant or loan application(s) to any source of funding;
(vi) Costs for transportation, meals and lodging incurred anywhere away from the site of the project;
(vii) Costs for equipment and furnishings not permanently installed and solely dedicated to the operation of a facility;
(viii) Legal fees;
(ix) Costs related to issuance of bonds;
(x) Costs for real property in excess of current fair market value and/or costs for an amount of real property in excess of that needed for project purposes;
(xi) Costs for project or facility signage;
(xii) Costs to establish and form special districts or joint powers boards;
(xiii) Costs incurred prior to grant award (except costs for architectural and engineering design);
(xiv) Costs for landscaping including, but not limited to, design and inspection, irrigation systems and materials, and additional costs for patterned, colored or other decorative sidewalks or concrete in excess of 6% of total project costs;
(xv) Costs for a contingency or extra work allowance in excess of 10% of estimated construction costs;
(xvi) Costs for stand alone street chip and seal projects;
(a) Applications. Separate applications shall be prepared for each project. Applicants shall submit three (3) copies of their completed application to the Office.
(b) Timing. The Board shall meet regularly on the third Thursday of each January and July to consider applications for grants under this chapter. Applications for the January Mineral Royalty Grant meeting must be received by the third Thursday of the preceding October. Applications for the July Mineral Royalty Grant meeting must be received by the third Thursday of the preceding April. Applications for emergency consideration must be received at least 10 working days prior to any regular meeting of the Board.
(c) Renewal of Applications. Applications shall be retained by the Office and may be renewed only by a written request from the applicant received within the time period established in subsection (b) of this section. If applications are not renewed, they shall be destroyed by the Office.
(d) Information Required for All Applications. The following information shall be provided in all applications:
(i) The grant amount requested and percentage split of total project costs;
(ii) A full description of the proposed project, specifically including, but not limited to, a phase construction schedule, if applicable;
(iii) A detailed project budget broken into at least six (6) month intervals delineating all costs of the proposed project and the method by which the project costs were estimated;
(iv) A licensed engineer’s statement of the feasibility of the project (not required for emergency vehicles);
(v) The geographic area and population served directly and indirectly by the project and the percentage of the applicant’s population directly served by the project;
(vi) A description of other project funding sources, committed or pending, and the portion of the project cost expected to be funded from each source, including any future grant applications under this chapter. The applicant must submit a funding commitment from all project funding sources, including the applicant, to demonstrate commitment to the project;
(vii) If the applicant is a special district, a copy of the resolution that shows formation of the special district and certification from the Board of County Commissioners that the special district currently exists;
(viii) Applications shall be properly executed by the officers of the applicant. A copy of the resolution authorizing the filing of the application shall be attached;
(ix) If the applicant is a joint powers board, a copy of the certificate of organization filed with the Secretary of State, and a copy of an executed joint powers agreement approved by the Attorney General;
(x) A standard resolution on a form provided by the Office;
(xi) A map and photographs showing the project area, if applicable;
(xii) A financial statement of the applicant, on a uniform “General Financial Information” form provided by the Office that includes, but is not limited to, the following information:
(A) Assessed valuation for the current and two preceding fiscal years;
(B) Total bonded and non-bonded indebtedness, including outstanding principal balance, interest rate, and remaining term;
(C) Total mills levied within the jurisdiction of the applicant for the current and two preceding years; and, a breakdown of the mill levy for the current fiscal year;
(D) Sales and use tax imposed within the jurisdiction of the applicant;
(E) A summary of the applicant’s total investments and cash balances for the two preceding fiscal years;
(F) The applicant’s current water and sewer rates, tap fees, and an indication if water meters have been installed.
(xiii) If an applicant submits multiple applications under this chapter for consideration at one meeting, a priority ranking of the multiple applications must be established by the applicant;
(xiv) The names of any land developers or others whose business ventures will directly benefit in an amount equal to or in excess of 10% of the project cost and ashowing whether funding or other assistance has been requested, received or pledged from these sources;
(xv) If the project is needed to meet a federal or state health and safety requirement, provide documentation of the specific requirement(s) and an explanation of how the project addresses the requirement(s);
(xvi) Applications submitted by a special district, either standing alone or as a member of a joint powers board, shall provide a written review from the board of county commissioners in any county in which the special district or joint powers board is located. The board of county commissioners shall review: (1) the ability of the special district to fund the project through bonds, (2) whether the project is adverse to the needs, plans or general welfare of the county, (3) whether the special district has utilized local funding resources, and (4) whether the special district has met county standards. If any part of the special district lies within five (5) miles of the corporate limits of any city or town, the special district's grant or loan application shall also receive a written review from the governing body of the city or town. The written review shall be submitted to the State Loan and Investment Board by the special district with its grant or loan application;
(xvii) Applications shall contain documentation that a public hearing has been held in accordance with Chapter 2, Section 3 of the fifty-fourth legislature. Evidence of the public hearing shall consist of: (A) a copy of the notice of public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the affected locality published at least once a week for three consecutive weeks immediately preceding the hearing. Said notice should give details of who the applicant is, the project to be funded and the amount of funds requested. (B) A copy of the minutes of the public hearing reflecting the comments for or against and the number of commentators. (C) A copy of the affidavit of publication from each newspaper in which the notice of public hearing was printed. In cases that it appears to the Director there is considerable public interest in the project, the Director shall request and the applicant shall provide a written summary of all comments received at the public hearing. In the case of an emergency grant application the hearing requirements must be met before any of the emergency grant award can be disbursed. In the event that this footnote is not continued or similar legislation enacted, this requirement shall be void for applications submitted for consideration under this chapter after the January 15, 1998 Mineral Royalty Grant meeting.
(e) Information Required For More Than 50% Grants for Water and Sewer Projects. If the grant funds requested by the applicant exceed 50% of estimated project costs, the following information shall also be provided in the application:
(i) If the grant request is for water facilities, the following information shall also be provided:
(A) Whether water meters have been installed or will be installed;
(B) Whether applicant will require the owners of all new additions of land to the city or town to pay all costs of expanding the water system within and to the boundaries of the addition;
(C) Whether water rates, tap fees, and plant investment fees are in effect or are to be adopted, and an analysis of whether the water rates will be adequate to finance the operation and maintenance of the system;
(ii) If the grant request is for sewer facilities, the following information shall also be provided:
(A) Whether applicant will require the owners of all new additions of land to the city or town to pay all costs of expanding the sewer system within and to the boundaries of the addition;
(B) Whether sewer rates, tap fees, and plant investment fees are in effect or are to be adopted, and an analysis of whether the sewer rates will be adequate to finance the operation and maintenance of the system.
(f) Preliminary Review. Within 45 working days of receipt of an application, the Office shall notify the applicant, in writing, if the application lacks any of the items required in subsections (d) and (e) of this section. The applicant shall have 10 working days to submit the required information.
(g) Incomplete Applications. Incomplete applications shall not be presented to the Board for consideration.
(a) The Board shall reject projects that, in the judgement of the Board, have as their main purpose the benefit of a private business venture.
(b) Criteria. The Board shall evaluate and prioritize applications utilizing the following criteria:
(i) The extent of match committed to the project from all sources;
(ii) The applicant has made a significant commitment of local resources;
(iii) The applicant has matching funds for the project from other than state grants;
(iv) The project is appropriately sized in relation to the population to be served by the project;
(v) The relative urgency of the project;
(vi) The applicant is current on all its repayment obligations to the Board;
(vii) The extent to which the applicant is utilizing, or plans to utilize, available and qualified Wyoming based professional firms and contractors on the project;
(viii) The financial need of the applicant, as determined by the Board, based upon information provided in Section 5 (d)(xii);
(ix) The percentage of the applicant’s population directly served by the project;
(x) Where the Wyoming Water Development Commission has established a regionalization master plan, the Board shall give priority to water projects in the regionalized area that comply with those established plans. The Board shall also consider projects that do not comply with regionalization master plans if the applicant demonstrates that there is no greater total cost to the state than the regionalization approach and/or that there would be a net savings to the water users.
(c) The Board shall give priority to the following types of projects that benefit the majority of the applicant's residents: water and sewer, street and road, solid waste disposal and emergency vehicles.
(d) Social and Economic Impact. The Board shall give priority to projects in those subdivisions of the state socially or economically impacted by development of minerals leased under the Federal Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 (30 U.S.C. 181, 191).
(e) Interagency Consultation. The Director shall request that pertinent state agencies assist in the review of the applications and provide written comments to the Office within 10 working days for the Director's and Board consideration.
(a) The Board shall consider each application, allow for comments from the applicant and from the Director, and establish the maximum amount of the grant and the percent of eligible project costs that will be paid by the grant.
(b) At each mineral royalty grant meeting, the Board shall not grant funds in excess of ninety (90%) percent of the funds currently on deposit and available for grant. The remainder shall be reserved for emergency situations.
(c) Grants shall not exceed 50% of eligible project costs unless the Board makes the required determinations under W.S. 9-4-604(g)(ii) or W.S. 9-4-604(h)(ii), and, if the grant is for water facilities, the Board shall determine whether water meters will be required as provided under W.S. 9-4-604(g)(ii)(A).
(a) Grant Disbursement. Grant funds shall be disbursed to the applicant only as needed to discharge obligations incurred in accordance with the Board approved percentage split of eligible project costs. Requests for disbursements shall be made on a form supplied by the Office and supported by adequate proof that such obligations have been incurred for project purposes and are due and owing.
(b) The minimum grant disbursement shall be $500.00 unless it is the final disbursement of grant funds for the project.
(i) If the Director determines that the project has not been commenced within one year from date of initial grant approval, the grant will automatically expire. Based upon information supplied by the applicant, the Director may grant an extension of time in which to commence the project. The Director will notify the Board of all extensions and provide the basis for his decision.
(ii) If the Director determines that the project has not been completed within a reasonable time, he shall notify the grantee in writing at least 30 days prior to presenting the matter for Board review. The Board, upon review of the project circumstances, may terminate or modify the grant award.
(iii) If based upon a review of current information in the files of the Office it appears that the project is complete and the full amount of the grant has not been expended, following written notification to the applicant the Director may cause the unused portion of the grant to revert to uncommitted status.
(a) The Board may, at its expense, conduct an audit of the records of the applicant and inspect the construction and operation of the project.
(a) Amendments to these rules do not apply to applications filed after the effective date for phased construction projects which have already received partial funding under this chapter.