a)
Application Scoring
The following criteria will be used by the Department for
evaluating and ranking grant applications. Each criteria indicates the
weighting that will be given to that criteria.
1) Projects of high need (20%), taking into
account:
A) Trail significance - the
estimated users that will be attracted to the trail/trail site; will it
potentially be of interstate, State, regional or local importance;
B) Geographic distribution - will the
proposed project, considering the trail type and proposed users of the trail or
site, be the first in the county, area or region; and
C) Population served.
2) Project concept and quality (55%), taking
into account:
A) Project type. The following
will be considered in the priority listed:
i)
acquisition of land for new trails/trail sites;
ii) initial development of trails/trail
sites;
iii) additional development
of existing trails/trail sites; and
iv) renovation of existing trails/trail
facilities;
B) Trail
length;
C) Proposed project cost
per mile;
D) Diversity of trail
use;
E) Scenic quality of the trail
corridor or the trail site;
F)
Availability of necessary amenities/support facilities, such as drinking water,
restrooms and parking; and
G)
Project sponsor maintenance capabilities and projects having the most
long-term, stable management potential.
3) Environmental suitability of the proposed
trail/trail site (5%).
4) Local
support for the proposed project (5%).
5) Local financial contribution
(5%).
6) Overall program
suitability (10%).
b)
Penalty Factors - Deduct up to 25%
Consideration is given to the applicant's past performance in
completing Department grant projects or unresolved project violations,
maintenance history of existing sites, and administrative considerations (such
as application completeness and response time during the application
process).
