571—33.17(455A) Competitive grants to cities. Fifteen percent of available funds in the REAP fund (after the $350,000 annual allocation to the conservation education board and 1 percent of revenues to the fund are allocated to the administration fund) shall be allocated annually to the city park and open spaces grant account. That 15 percent shall be divided into three portions according to the percentage of the state’s urban population in each category, with each portion available on a competitive basis to cities falling within one of the following three size categories: (1) cities of less than 2,000; (2) cities between 2,000 and 25,000; and (3) cities larger than 25,000. Funds shall be initially apportioned to each category as per this rule. If at the time of project review and scoring there are funds available in any category that exceed the requests for grants in that category, those funds may, at the director’s discretion, be transferred to another category where requests exceed the funds available.
	33.17(1) Eligible sponsors. Any incorporated city or town in the state may make application for a grant.
	33.17(2) Grant ceilings. Incorporated cities and towns are eligible to receive annual grants from the REAP fund in accordance with the following schedule:

Population	Maximum	
0 — 1,000	$ 50,000	
1,001 — 5,000	75,000	
5,001 — 10,000	100,000	
10,001 — 25,000	125,000	
25,001 — 50,000	150,000	
50,001 — 75,000	200,000	
over 75,000	300,000	
The grant ceiling may be waived upon approval by the director if (1) the project is regional in nature or is projected to serve a minimum of 100,000 people; or (2) the project cannot be staged over a multiyear period so that a separate grant application might be submitted each year.
	33.17(3) Review and selection committee.
	a. 	The director shall appoint a five-member review and selection committee to evaluate project applications. This committee shall include one member representing each of the three size classes of cities (e.g., one from a city of less than 2,000, one from a city of 2,000 to 25,000, and one from a city of more than 25,000). The director shall request a list of candidates from the Iowa league of cities and Iowa parks and recreation association. The remaining two members of the committee shall be a representative of the department and an at-large member. Additionally, there shall be at least two alternates designated by the director from the candidates list provided by the Iowa league of cities and the Iowa parks and recreation association. The committee shall elect its own chairperson from its members. Members shall serve three-year staggered terms.
	b. 	Conflict of interest. An individual who is a member, volunteer, or employee of an entity that has submitted a project shall not serve on the scoring committee during that award cycle. Instead, one of the alternates shall review and score in the individual’s place.
	33.17(4) Project selection criteria. A project planning and review committee shall establish criteria and scoring systems to be utilized in project evaluation. The criteria and scoring system shall be submitted to the director and natural resource commission for approval. Criteria and scoring systems must be distributed to all counties at least 90 days prior to the project application deadline. In order to be eligible for award, an applicant must receive, at a minimum, 50 percent of the total allowable points.
[ARC 7910C, IAB 5/1/24, effective 6/5/24]