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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-657-E-OPT-Application for Transportation Operating Assistance-FY2022 Rural Operating Assistance Program (ROAP) Funds Revised September 2021 Application for Transportation Operating Assistance FY2022 Rural Operating Assistance Program (ROAP) Funds Name of Applicant (County) Orange County County Manager Bonnie Hammersley County Manager’s Email Address bhammersley@orangecountync.gov County Finance Officer Gary Donaldson CFO’s Email Address gdonaldson@orangecountync.gov CFO’s Phone Number (919) 245-2453 Person Completing this Application TeLeishia Holloway Person’s Job Title Transportation Administrator Person’s Email Address tholloway@orangecountync.gov Person’s Phone Number (919) 245-2002 Community Transportation System Orange County Public Transportation Name of Transit Contact Person Theo Letman Transit Contact Person’s Email Address tletman@orangecountync.gov Application Completed by: ________________________________________ Date: ______________________ Signature I certify that the content of this application is complete and accurately describes the county’s administration of the ROAP Program, and the use of the ROAP funds in accordance with applicable state guidelines. I certify and understand that if the monthly and annual milestone reports and any other status reports required by the Integrated Mobility Division (IMD) are not submitted on or before the due dates, the next scheduled disbursement will be held until all reports are submitted. I further certify that ROAP funds will only be used for program purposed to provide trips and will not be used for Administrative or Operational expenses. If it is determined that ROAP funds have been misused, repayment of funds must be made. Transit Director: ___________________________________________________ Date: ___________________ Signature County Manager: ___________________________________________________ Date: ___________________ Signature County Finance Officer: ______________________________________________ Date: ____________________ Signature DocuSign Envelope ID: E4062C8A-494C-492E-A268-43F05C013256 11/10/2021 11/10/2021 11/11/2021 11/15/2021 Revised September 2021 Application Instructions County officials should read the ROAP Program Administration Guide which contains guidance on the administration of the ROAP Program and information about the preparation of grant applications.  The application must be completed by an official of the county or his/her designee.  Click on the gray rectangle and type each answer. If necessary, the text will automatically wrap to the next row. The answer may wrap to the next page if necessary.  If the county wishes to explain their response to any questions or provide more information, the county may include additional pages with this application form. All the pages of the application and any pages added by the applicant should be scanned into the same file.  If there are questions regarding this application, contact the NCDOT-IMD Regional Grant Specialist assigned to the area served by the transit system. FY2022 ROAP Program Schedule Application Deadline October 1, 2021 Anticipated Funds Disbursement October 30, 2021 *Counties with unspent FY 2020/FY 2021 Carryover funding will retain the funds and the allocation will be adjusted accordingly. *Monthly reports due on 30th of month following reporting period. County’s Management of ROAP Funds County governments or regional public transportation authorities created pursuant to Article 25 or Article 26 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes (upon written agreement with municipalities or counties served) are the only eligible applicants for ROAP funds. As a recipient of ROAP funds, the county must implement administrative processes that will ensure the following:  ROAP funds are expended on needs identified through a public involvement and/or planning process  ROAP funds are expended only on eligible activities as described in Appendix A of the ROAP Guidance.  Supporting documentation of expenditures by all sub-recipients is required.  Service recipients meet eligibility requirements and their eligibility is documented.  Trips funded with ROAP funding are monitored and evaluated throug hout the period of performance.  An accounting of trips and expenditures is provided on a monthly basis to IMD with supporting documents.  ROAP funds received and expended are included in the local annual audit. ROAP funds shall be disbursed in the traditional program allocations in each of the ROAP programs, however, if it is determined that a lump -sum payment can be made to the County, IMD reserves the right to change the method of distributing the funds . Counties have the flexibility to determine how the funding will be used to meet the needs of the citizens and how to sub-allocate the funding to meet the transportation needs, but the guidelines for each program used must be followed and trips accounted for by program used. Transportation Needs and Public Involvement in Funding Decisions Yes No A. Did the county ask the Community Transportation Advisory Board (TAB), which is affiliated with the Community T ransportation System, to recommend how the ROAP funds should be sub - allocated? X DocuSign Envelope ID: E4062C8A-494C-492E-A268-43F05C013256 Revised September 2021 B. Were outreach efforts conducted to inform agencies about the availability of ROAP funds and to discuss transportation needs BEFORE the county decided how to sub -allocate the ROAP funds? X C. Is the method used to sub-allocate the ROAP funds fair and equitable? Open and transparent? X Financial Management of ROAP Funds Yes No D. Does the county pass through any ROAP funds to agencies or organizations that are not county governmental departments or agencies? X E. If yes, does the county have a written agreement with these agencies that addresses the proper use, return and accountability of these funds? (Include a sample agreement with application) F. Do any of the organizations or departments receiving ROAP funds plan to use private transit contractors to provide the ROAP funded trips? (Their procurement practices will need to meet all federal and state requirements for procurement of professional services.) X G. Are ROAP funds deposited in an interest -bearing account? X H. Does the county provide local funds for transportation operating assistance to any of the ROAP sub-recipients in addition to the state ROAP funds? X Monitoring and Oversight Responsibilities Yes No I. Subrecipients of ROAP funds are required to provide sufficiently detailed progress reports and statistical data about trips provided and rider eligibility with ROAP funds. How frequently are these provided to the county? In what format? The County must be prepared to provide documentation that an eligible citizen was provided an eligible service or trip on the billed date, by whatever conveyance, at a specific cost. What form of documentation is collected? Operations reports & Quart X J. Does the county require the subrecipients of ROAP funds to use the coordinated transportation services of the federally funded Community Transportation System operating in the county? X K. Will any of the subrecipients use their ROAP sub-allocation as matching funds for any of the following programs? (Matching funds for operating assistance or purchase of service only.) 5310 – Elderly Individuals and Individuals with Disabilities Program 5311 - Non-urbanized Area Formula Program 5316 – Job Access and Reverse Commute Program (JARC) 5317 – New Freedom Program L. Will any of the subrecipients charge a fare for a ROAP funded trip? X M. Describe the eligibility criteria to be used in this county to determine who will be provided ROAP funded trips. What documents are used to determine eligibility? N. Since the subrecipient can only use RGP funds to pay for 90% of t he cost of a trip, will the Community Transportation System use fare revenue to generate the local 10% match requirement for RGP funds? X DocuSign Envelope ID: E4062C8A-494C-492E-A268-43F05C013256 Revised 09-09-21 CERTIFIED STATEMENT FY2022 RURAL OPERATING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM County of Orange WHEREAS, the state-funded, formula-based Rural Operating Assistance Program (ROAP) administered by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, Integrated Mobility Division provides funding for the operating cost of passenger trips for counties within the state; WHEREAS, the county uses the most recent transportation plans (i.e. CCP, CTIP, LCP) available and other public involvement strategies to learn about the transportation needs of agencies and individuals in the county before determining the sub-allocation of these ROAP funds; WHEREAS, the county government or regional public transportation authorities created pursuant to Article 25 or Article 26 of Chapter 160A of the General Statutes (upon written agreement with the municipalities or counties served) are the only eligible recipients of Rural Operating Assistance Program funds which are allocated to the counties based on a formula as described in the Program Guidelines included in the ROAP State Management Plan. NCDOT will disburse the ROAP funds only to counties and eligible transportation authorities and not to any sub-recipients selected by the county; WHEREAS, the county finance officer will be considered the county official accountable for the administration of the Rural Operating Assistance Program in the county, unless otherwise designated by the Board of County Commissioners; WHEREAS, the passenger trips provided with ROAP funds must be accessible to individuals with disabilities and be provided without discrimination on the basis of national origin, creed, age, race or gender (FTA C 4702.1B, FTA C 4704.1A, Americans with Disabilities Act 1990); and WHEREAS, the period of performance for these funds will be July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022 regardless of the date on which ROAP funds are disbursed to the county. NOW, THEREFORE, by signing below, the duly authorized representatives of the County of Orange North Carolina certify that the following statements are true and accurate:  The county employed a documented methodology for sub-allocating ROAP funds that involved the participation of eligible agencies and citizens. Outreach efforts to include the participation of the elderly and individuals with disabilities, persons with limited English proficiency, minorities and low- income persons in the county’s sub-allocation decision have been documented.  The county will advise any sub-recipients about the source of the ROAP funds, specific program requirements and restrictions, eligible program expenses and reporting requirements. The county will be responsible for invoicing any sub-recipients for unexpended ROAP funds as needed.  The county will monitor ROAP funded services routinely to verify that ROAP funds are being spent on allowable activities and that the eligibility of service recipients is being properly documented. The county will maintain records of trips for at least five years that prove that an eligible citizen was provided an eligible transportation service on the billed date, by whatever conveyance at the specified cost.  The county will be responsible for monitoring the safety, quality, and cost of ROAP funded services and assures that any procurements by subrecipients for contracted services will follow state and federal guidelines.  The county will conduct regular evaluations of ROAP funded passenger trips provided throughout the period of performance. DocuSign Envelope ID: E4062C8A-494C-492E-A268-43F05C013256 Revised 09-09-21  The county will only use the ROAP funds to provide trips when other funding sources are not available for the same purpose or the other funding sources for the same purpose have been completely exhausted.  The county assures that the required matching funds for the FY2022 ROAP can be generated from fares and/or provided from local funds.  The county will notify the Regional Grant Specialist assigned to the county if any ROAP funded services are discontinued before the end of the period of performance due to the lack of funding. No additional ROAP funds will be available.  The county will provide an accounting of trips and expenditures in monthly reports to NCDOT – Integrated Mobility Division or its designee. Back-up documentation is required to support the monthly reports, failure to provide documentation will affect future disbursements. The June report will be considered the annual report.  Any interest earned on the ROAP funds will be expended for eligible program uses as specified in the ROAP application. The County will include ROAP funds received and expended in its annual independent audit on the schedule of federal and state financial assistance. Funds passed through to other agencies will be identified as such.  The county is applying for the following amount of FY2022 Rural Operating Assistance Program funds: State-Funded Rural Operating Assistance Program Allocated Requested Elderly and Disabled Transportation Assistance Program (EDTAP) $94,849 $94,849 Employment Transportation Assistance Program (EMPL) $34,724 $34,724 Rural General Public Program (RGP) $81,711 $81,711 TOTAL $211,284 $211,284 WITNESS my hand and county seal, this day of , 20 . Signature of County Manager/Administrator Signature of County Finance Officer Printed Name of County Manager/Administrator Printed Name of County Finance Officer State of North Carolina County of County Seal Here DocuSign Envelope ID: E4062C8A-494C-492E-A268-43F05C013256 Gary DonaldsonBonnie Hammersley Applicant Name Here ITEM Signed & Scanned Copy to PTD Due Date (not later than) Certifications Certification Statement 10/1/2021 Program Documents FY 2022 ROAP Program Application 10/1/2021 Other Documents ROAP Application Submission Checklist 10/1/2021 NCDOT will not accept any ROAP documents that are mailed or emailed to our office. IMPORTANT!! FY 2022 ROAP Application Submission Checklist All documents must be scanned separately and submitted in the Drop Box in Enterprise Business Services (EBS) by the County Finance Director or the leader of the Community Transportation System in your county. Revised 08-03-18 DocuSign Envelope ID: E4062C8A-494C-492E-A268-43F05C013256