Agenda - Council - 01/27/1981 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Staff received no comments from applicants regarding this policy. It was not used in FY '81 as there was no excess funds in the planning areas. However, this policy is reasonable under appropriate circumstances. Staff recommends that it be retained for FY '82 grants. C. Boat Launch Priority In an attempt to meet the demand for more boat launch sites on lakes in the region, the Council, SPA and Dept. of Natural Resources implemented a cooperative program in 1979. A top priority for LAWCON/LCMR grants was given to boat launch projects for FY '80 and '81 grant cycles. In FY '80 five projects were programmed to receive a total of $232,725 LAWCON/LCMR funds. In FY '81 only two out of four projects received were funded with $154,875. The two remaining projects, both on Lake Minnetonka, did not receive grants as one was done with other funds which prevented it from being open to the public on weekends, and the other project did not meet adequate parking space requirements. Although the number of boat launch applications dropped from FY '80 to '81, the Metropolitan Public Access Task Force in its 1980 Annual Report has recommended that top funding priority be given to eligible boat launch projects for the FY '82 grant cycle. The Task Force feels that local governments should be given ample opportunity to provide lake access sites (boat launches) to selected lakes through the LAWCON/LCMR program. If local governments do not take the initiative, then the state (DNR) and/or county park agencies should be given the opportunity to provide these access sites. The Task Force felt that a more thorough Job of informing local governments of the opportunities of providing boat launch sites is needed. It will do the following tasks in 1981 to meet that objective: Promote and participate in workshops related to LAWCON funding, which would include a public ac,ess session, information on the water use regulations and DNR's responsibility to provide public access. Expand information that is included in pre-application packets regarding the task force and its objectives. Include within the project selection criteria a higher priority ranking to priority lake applications and inform local officials of possible lease-back opportunities. Include a representative of DNR in all field inspections where lakeshore acquisition is involved. For FY '81 the Metropolitan Council recommended that up to 15 percent of LAWCON/LCMR funds be made available to eligible boat launch projects. This additional allocation of funds was a concern of the SPA. SPA staff will make a presentation on this matter at the January 19 meeting. Council staff feel that allocating an amount off the top for boat launch projects is a fair method as it spreads the impact over all planning area allocations. A question that remains is how much should be taken "off the top"? In FY '80, 19.8 percent of LAWCON/LCMR funds was used. In FY '81 when the 15 percent off the top criteria was applied, eight percent of