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DE C 11997 ANALYSIS & ALTERNATIVES Indian River County has never had a survey conducted, and only four sites have been recorded on the Florida Master BOOK 70 Face 196 formal historic sites in Indian River County Site File. In order to meet the requirements as outlined in Chapter 9J-5, the Minimum Criteria Rule for Local Government Comprehensive Plans, it will be necessary to conduct a cursory site survey of the County in order to estimate the number of historical and archaeological sites the County may have, and it will 'be necessary to record the most readily identifiable sites on the Florida Master Site File. Analysis of the identified sites may also be utilized by the Planning Department to develop goals, objectives, and strategies addressing historic preservation in the County's Comprehensive Plan. Since the referenced grant program is competitive, there is no assurance that the County will receive the required funds. The staff, however, has developed a project consistent with the grant program's primary objectives and consistent with the County's planning requirements. As proposed, the project will focus on developing preservation components within elements of the Comprehensive Plan. .This will involve_ an area survey of the County and development of historic preservation policies as part of several plan elements. To further complement this undertaking, staff will compile a document of the study results which will provide insight to the County's past. The subject grant requires 50% matching funds which may be provided in the form of in-kind services. To minimize direct expenditure of County funds, the staff has structured the grant application_ in such a manner as to provide all the match through in-kind services. Grant funds would then be used to retain a consultant to do the technical survey activities. In addition to using planning staff time for calculating the in-kind match,. volunteer services have also been programmed as part of the in-kind match. The Indian River County and Sebastian Historical Societies have offered their services in conducting the proposed historic sites survey and assisting in recording these resources on the Florida Master Site File. In the future, staff will request that the Board authorize an additional submission of another grant application to the State Bureau of Historic Preservation. This third application, due in January, 1988, will be a back-up application, which is permissable under the guidelines established for applications for grants-in-aid. Such an alternative provides another historic preservation funding opportunity if this second attempt is unsucessful. RECOMMENDATION Based on the above analysis, staff recommends that the Board of County Commissioners authorize the submission of the appli- cation for a $30,000 federal grant-in-aid for the proposed historic preservation project. Staff also recommends that the 50% match ($15,562) be in the form of in-kind services of the Planning and Development Division and the Indian River County Historical Society, and that the designated project supervisor be the Director of the Community -Development Department. 3a