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INDIAN RIVER COUNTY <br />MEMORANDUM <br />TO: Jason E. Brown <br />County Administrator <br />THROUGH: Stan Boling, AICP <br />Community Development Director <br />FROM: Roland M. DeBlois, AICP <br />Chief, Environmental Planning <br />DATE: October 16, 2017 <br />RE: Consideration to Approve a Grant Agreement with the Florida Communities <br />Trust for Cost -Share Reimbursement of County Purchase of the Sebastian Harbor <br />Preserve Conservation Area <br />It is requested that the Board of County Commissioners formally consider the following information at <br />the Board's regular meeting of October 24, 2017. <br />DESCRIPTION AND CONDITIONS <br />The Sebastian Harbor Preserve is a county -owned conservation area located north of Englar Drive in the <br />City of Sebastian (see attached map). The County acquired the 163 -acre property in June 2007 with <br />environmental land acquisition bond funds, with expectation of opportunity to apply for cost -share <br />reimbursement through the Florida Communities Trust (FCT) grant program within a required 24 month <br />application window following the acquisition date. <br />Indian River County submitted the project for cost -share reimbursement funding in the FCT's 2008 grant <br />application cycle, but the project was not selected for funding. County staff then prepared an application <br />to re -submit to the FCT for the 2009 grant application cycle, still within the 24 month period, but that <br />funding cycle was cancelled due to the economic recession, as was the subsequent 2010 grant application <br />cycle. In 2011, the County petitioned the FCT for a waiver to the 24 month post -acquisition deadline to <br />allow for a 2011 FCT grant application, and the FCT granted the waiver. The FCT opened the 2011 grant <br />application cycle to establish a list of ranked projects that would be funded (in ranked order) if and when <br />the program received future funding for disbursement. In the 2011 FCT grant application cycle, the <br />Sebastian Harbor Preserve project ended up ranked 18 out of 57 applications. <br />In May of this year, county staff was contacted by FCT and advised that $1,167,405.82 in FCT Florida <br />Forever funds is now available for reimbursement to the County for the Sebastian Harbor Preserve 2011 <br />grant application. For the County to receive the funds, the County is required to execute a formal grant <br />agreement, attached hereto for the Board's approval consideration. <br />P166 <br />