OAR 736-006-0145: Local Government Grant Advisory Committee

(1) The committee shall be composed of ten (10) members appointed by the director to four-year terms and shall represent the following interests: (a) Counties east of the Cascade Mountains; (b) Counties west of the Cascade Mountains; (c) Cities under 15,000 people; (d) Cities over 15,000 people; (e) Park and recreation districts, metropolitan service districts or port districts; (f) Oregon Parks and Recreation Department; (g) People with disabilities; and (h) Three members of the public at large, with at least one member who represents a historically underrepresented community; (i) The chair shall be nominated and selected by the committee. (2) Committee members shall be selected for each position by: (a) County representation shall be from lists supplied by the Oregon Recreation and Parks Association, Counties Section and the Association of Oregon Counties; (b) City representation shall be from lists supplied by the Oregon Recreation and Park Association and the League of Oregon Cities; (c) Park and recreation districts, port districts, or metropolitan service districts representation shall be from a list supplied by the Special Districts Association of Oregon; (d) Representatives for public at large, people with disabilities, and the department shall be selected by the director. (e) The department may consult with other appropriate organizations not otherwise listed in subsections (a) to (d) for committee membership candidates. (3) The travel, meals and lodging expenses of all members of the committee will be reimbursed by the department according to the rates established by the Department of Administrative Services and approved by the director. (4) Function of Local Government Grant Advisory Committee: (a) The committee shall meet upon the call of the director. The committee will establish a priority order of eligible local government projects for state funding assistance and provide other assistance as requested by the department. The meeting will assure full and open project selection processes that will include an outreach to citizens of the state. (b) The department will provide public notice of all projects to be presented to the committee at least 30 days prior to their meeting. (5) Priority Selection Criteria. Large projects shall be prioritized by the committee based on at least the following: (a) Department review and recommendations, including a technical review of each project to confirm eligibility of the local government and the proposed project. (b) The committee shall score all applications using project selection criteria, including but not limited to the following: (A) Extent the project demonstrates user benefits, public interest and support; (B) Extent the project demonstrates conformance with local and state planning guidelines, the SCORP, local Park Master Plans, or other locally adopted planning documents; (C) Financial considerations, including cost/benefit ratio; (D) Environmental review as defined in the Local Government Grant Procedure Manual; (E) Extent the project increases outdoor recreation opportunity in the service area; (F) Extent the project sponsor employs the principles of sustainability in their project(s); (G) How well the project's design accommodates people with disabilities. (c) Small project requests will be scored and prioritized for funding by a committee appointed by the director using the above criteria in subsection (b) of this section.