§ 664. Application procedures
(a) Travel promotion organizations, applying for a matching fund grant, must present their
proposed travel development promotion programs to the Vermont Department of Tourism
and Marketing in detail, and must further describe sources of local funds available
for those purposes.
(b) Annually, the Agency, in consultation with the Travel and Recreation Council, shall
establish a schedule for applying for and awarding matching funds. The Agency may
establish more than one application cycle, provided that at least one competition
for funds is conducted annually, and further provided that application cycles are
such as to maintain a competitive matching grants program. The Travel and Recreation
Council shall evaluate the relative merits of the applications based upon criteria
established under this subchapter and make recommendations to the Agency as to a priority
of applications which merit funding. The Secretary in consultation with the Commissioner
of Tourism and Marketing shall review the recommendations of the Travel and Recreation
Council and make final decisions regarding the funding of proposals under the matching
grants programs.
(c) All applications will be reviewed and evaluated on the basis of the following:
(1) geographic area covered in application;
(2) scope of short- and long-range planning;
(3) program content; and
(4) projected impact on geographic area covered in application.
(d) Grants will be made to those organizations that best meet the purposes of this chapter
and according to the availability of funds, but no grant will exceed the amount raised
by the organization and applied to its proposed programs.
(e) Organizations receiving grants will be carefully evaluated, and risk elimination of
their grants when a lack of effort, cooperation, and adherence to proposed programs
is displayed. No travel promotion agency may act as a “feeder facility” simply to
disburse State matching funds to a private sector business for the promotion of its
private functions.
(f) Upon receiving and approving a given application, the Vermont Department of Tourism
and Marketing will notify the organization of the grant amount in writing and execute
a contract between that organization and the Department of Development. (Added 1979, No. 137 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. April 22, 1980; amended 1987, No. 83, § 5; 1995, No. 190 (Adj. Sess.), § 1(c), (d).)