P18AS00204.pdf

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE: NOTICE OF INTENT TO AWARD

This announcement is not a request for applications.

This announcement is to provide public notice of the National Park Service’s intention to award financial assistance for the following project activities. Refer to Section 2. Grants.gov Posting Determination.

ABSTRACT

Grants.gov Opportunity Number Project Title Recipient Anticipated Federal Funding Non-Federal Cost Share Total Anticipated Award Amount

Award Instrument

Anticipated Period of Performance

Legal Authority

CFDA # and Title

Single Source Justification Criteria

National Park Service Point of Contact

PROJECT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

STATEMENT OF PUBLIC PURPOSE

Section 1. Project Summary

Task Agreement Cooperative Agreement

Grant Agreement

STATEMENT OF WORK SUMMARY

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PARTIES

A. The recipient shall be responsible for the following items under this agreement:

B. The NPS Responsibilities:

A task agreement is proposed;

A cooperative agreement is proposed;

therefore substantial involvement by NPS is anticipated during the period of performance of this agreement. In support of this agreement NPS will:

A grant agreement is proposed, therefore no substantial involvement on the part of the NPS is anticipated for the successful completion of the statement of work. It is anticipated that involvement will be limited to actions related to monitoring project performance and technical assistance at the request of the recipient.

Section 3. Single Source Justification

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

SINGLE SOURCE POLICY REQUIREMENTS

National Park Service Policy FAP&P 1443-2015-06 requires a written justification which explains why competition is not practicable. The justification must address one of the following criteria.

In order for an assistance award to be made without competition, the award must satisfy one or more of the following criteria:

(1) Unsolicited Proposal – The proposed award is the result of an unsolicited assistance application which represents a unique or innovative idea, method, or approach which is not the subject of a current or planned contract or assistance award, but which is deemed advantageous to the program objectives;

(2) Continuation – The activity to be funded is necessary to the satisfactory completion of, or is a continuation of, an activity presently being funded, for which competition would have a significant adverse effect on the continuity or completion of the activity. A single source on the basis of continuation must demonstrate that competition would result in a substantial duplicate cost to the government that cannot be recovered through competition;

(3) Legislative intent – The language in the applicable authorizing legislation or legislative history clearly indicates Congress’ intent to restrict the award to a particular recipient of purpose;

(4) Unique Qualifications – The applicant is uniquely qualified to perform the activity based upon a variety of demonstrable factors such as location, property ownership, voluntary support capacity, technical expertise, or other such unique qualifications;

(5) Emergencies – Program/award where there is insufficient time available (due to a compelling and unusual urgency, or substantial danger to health or safety) for adequate competitive procedures to be followed.

NPS did not solicit full and open competition for this award based the following criteria:

Task Agreement issued under previously competed or single source master cooperative agreement per Section 2 above. Single Source Justification not applicable.

Continuation

Unique Qualifications

Unsolicited Proposal

Legislative Intent

Explanation of the proposed recipient’s qualifications or the criteria of the proposed project which requires use of the single source criteria cited.

Section 2. Grants.gov Posting Determination

Emergency

The National Park Service intends to award a task agreement under a previously competed or single source justified award.

The National Park Service intends to award a single source justified cooperative agreement. Refer to Section 3 Single Source Justification.

The National Park Service intends to award a single source justified grant agreement. Refer to Section 3 Single Source Justification.

Section 4. Department of the Interior Secretary’s Priorities

This award will support the following DOI Secretary priority(ies):

Other Key Initiatives:

Employment of veterans.

Supporting DOI Infrastructure needs.

Creating jobs in the American economy.

Access to outdoor recreation opportunities.

Priority 1: Creating a conservation stewardship legacy second only to Teddy Roosevelt Utilize science to identify best practices to manage land and water resources and adapt to changes in the environment.

Examine land use planning process and land use designations that govern public use and access.

Revise and streamline the environmental and regulatory review process while maintaining environmental standards.

Review DOI water storage, transportation, and distribution systems to identify opportunities to resolve conflicts and expand capacity.

Foster relationships with conservation organizations advocating for balanced stewardship and use of public lands.

Identify and implement initiatives to expand access to DOI lands for hunting and fishing.

Shift the balance towards providing greater public access to public lands over restrictions to access.

Priority 2: Utilizing our natural resources Ensure American energy is available to meet our security and economic needs.

Ensure access to mineral resources, especially the critical and rare earth minerals.

Refocus timber programs to embrace the entire 'healthy forests' lifecycle.

Manage competition for grazing resources.

Priority 3: Restoring trust with local communities Be a better neighbor with those closest to our resources by improving dialogue and relationships with persons and entities bordering our lands.

Expand the lines of communication with Governors, state natural resource offices, Fish and Wildlife offices, water authorities, county commissioners, Tribes, and local communities.

Priority 4: Ensuring sovereignty means something Support tribal self-determination, self-governance, and sovereignty.

Solidify mutual interests between the U.S. and the freely associated states and territories.

Priority 5: Generating additional revenues to support DOI & National interests Ensure that the public receives the full market value for the natural resources produced on Federal lands.

Ensure that fees or costs levied for DOI services are reasonable and targeted to achieve cost recovery.

Consider the impact of DOI decisions on economic development and job creation.

Priority 6: Protecting our people and the border Actively support efforts to secure our southern border.

Ensure DOI law enforcement staffing addresses public safety risks anticipated on DOI land.

Promote a "public service" demeanor within our law enforcement community.

Priority 7: Striking a regulatory balance

Reduce the administrative and regulatory burden imposed on U.S.

industry and the public.

Ensure that Endangered Species Act decisions are based on strong science and thorough analysis.

Priority 8: Modernizing our infrastructure Support the White House Public/Private Partnership Initiative to modernize U.S. infrastructure.

Remove impediments to infrastructure development and facilitate private sector efforts to construct infrastructure projects serving American needs.

Prioritize DOI infrastructure needs to highlight:

1. Construction of infrastructure;

2. Cyclical maintenance;

3. Deferred maintenance.

Senior executives are expected to provide leadership in achieving goals of the President and the Secretary.

The Management Team is expected to:

1. Ensure cost-effective operations and quality service to the public;

2. Facilitate organizational cooperation and conflict resolution;

3. Ensure the workplace environment is conducive to employee productivity and safety;

4. Hold individuals accountable for actions that violate DOI policies and requirements.

Priority 10: Achieving our goals and leading our team forward

The proposed project does not support any of the DOI Secretary priorities, but the project is being funded for the following reasons:

Priority 9: Reorganizing for the next 100 years

Improve alignment and integration of the DOI organizational structure. Redistribute organizational resources (people and funding) to enhance mission achievement and improved public service.

Improve organizational alignment with Executive Branch counterparts with major land management assets or influence.

As the result of the Tax Reform Act of l986, as amended, NPS is responsible for administering a national program that provides certifications to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for Federal tax credits for the rehabilitation of historic buildings in order to encourage their preservation and foster economic development in older communities (26 U.S.C. 47).

The Center for Urban Policy Research provides basic and applied research on a broad spectrum of public policy issues. The Center, a unit of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, is nationally and internationally recognized for its research on affordable housing, land use policy, historic preservation, and development impact analysis, the costs of sprawl, environmental impacts, and community economic development. For over 20 years, the Center has been the foremost organization in the country in researching and reporting on the economic impact of historic tax credits on the municipal, state and national level.

The objectives of this agreement are to assess and report upon the economic impact and other benefits of the Federal historic tax credits on an annual basis for FY 2018 – FY 2023 and refining, as needed, an input-output model entitled the Preservation Economic Impact Model (PEIM) previously developed by the Center under a series of grants awarded by the NPS and subsequently updated by the Center. The NPS and the Center work cooperatively to share data, information, and expertise to assess the economic impact of the tax credits and to produce an annual report made available to the public.

1. Share resources, information and expertise to develop and carry out the economic impact study to ensure the goals of the project are met.

2. Work collaboratively to assemble the necessary data for the economic modeling studies.

3. Refine and expand the capabilities of the PEIM, contingent upon available funding and as need and opportunity arises, in order to enhance the model’s capabilities and application for date reporting on the economic impact of historic tax credits.

4. Publicize and disseminate the findings of the annual studies through electronic and other media, including both providing content for the executive summary of the economic impact study.

The project and other activities pursuant to this Agreement will be individually authorized by separate NPS task agreements, with each project or activity having a separate statement of work and budget developed cooperatively between the NPS and Recipient.

Justification: Between 1995 and 2003, NPS awarded a series of four grants to the Center to develop an economic model that can be used to report on the economic impact of historic preservation tax credits, intended primarily for the municipal and state level. Subsequently, the Center has refined the model in the past several years to enable it to be used as part of a reporting on the impact of the Federal historic tax credits, a national program administered by NPS. With the effects of recent tax reform efforts still playing out, it is important that NPS fund such an economic study on the impact of the Federal historic preservation tax credits in FY 2018 and succeeding years in order to be able to respond effectively to Congressional and Administrative information requests.

Continuation – The Center is the only organization that has experience in analyzing the economic impact of the Federal historic tax credit on the national level. The Center has previously analyzed and reported on the economic impact of the Federal historic preservation tax credits covering a ten-year and a two-year period. The FY 2018 – FY 2023 annual reports to be funded by this Agreement would have similar parallels to the earlier reports.

The Preservation Economic Impact Model that the Center developed under previous funding by NPS has been subsequently refined by the Center to enable specific electronic reporting information prepared by the NPS from its historic tax credit database to be integrated as data in the Center’s economic impact model.

2. Designate an employee who shall act as technical liaison with the Center. The NPS liaison will represent the interest of NPS and will provide assistance to the Center that is within the scope of this agreement.

3. Provide technical support and active participation in planning of the economic impact study by providing input, coordination, prompt review and approvals during the planning phase, and by ensuring the study will meet NPS program objectives.

4. Provide consulting, technical support and active participation during the study by providing targeted electronic information from the NPS database for the historic tax credit program specifically for the report; provide leadership and staff expertise in the interpretation and application of this database information; provide brief case studies with qualitative information and illustrations regarding project use of the federal historic tax credits; and assist in coordinating the work of the project goals.

5. Prepare and publish an executive summary of the findings of the economic impact study.