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Boni 96 757 7 As with the FTA Section 9 program, only public agencies may be designated recipients of block grant funds, although a nonprofit provider may receive block grant funds through a designated recipient. Under these restrictions, the Indian River County Council on Aging has requested that the Board of County Commissioners apply for the block grant funds on its behalf. ANALYSIS To receive the Public Transit Block Grant, a recipient must enter into a Joint Participation =Agreement (JPA) with the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT). A copy of the proposed JPA is available for review in the offices of the Board of County Commissioners. As proposed, the JPA reflects ;79,430 to be provided by the state for operating expenses. At a later date, a JPA for capital funding will be presented to the Board for approval. County staff have requested that FDOT enter into separate JPAs with the County for operating and capital funding so that any delays resulting from federal requirements for capital expenditures do not interfere with the Council on Aging's funding for transit operations. The JPA, an agreement between FDOT and Indian River County, specifies the terms which the County must meet in order to receive Public Transit Block Grant funding. In accordance with the terms of the JPA, Indian River County must meet several requirements. One of the most important of these requirements is that the County submit a Transit Development Plan to FDOT. The Indian River County MPO recently developed a Transit Development Plan for the entire MPO area, and submitted the plan to FDOT in September 1995 for use with this Public Transit Block Grant. By May 1996, the County must also publish in the newspaper the productivity and performance measures established for the transit system. The Council on Aging will provide these data along with other required reports of local transit service. There are also equal employment and disadvantaged business requirements in the JPA. While no formal plan is required of the County, the County is to ensure that disadvantaged persons and businesses are afforded the maximum opportunity to participate in employment or contracting. As the transit service provider, the Council on Aging has prepared plans to meet the equal employment and disadvantaged business requirements and submitted these plans to the Federal Transit Administration. The attached resolution authorizes the Chairman to sign the Joint Participation Agreement with FDOT. Upon the Board's approval of the JPA and adoption of the resolution, County staff will transmit the JPA to FDOT. Payments under the JPA commence upon the date of the JPA's execution, and FDOT expects to have the JPA fully executed by January 1, 1996. RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Board of County Commissioners approve the attached Public Transportation Joint Participation Agreement and adopt the attached resolution authorizing the Chairman to sign the agreement. DECEMBER 12, 1995 16 M