61.20—Life Safety Code capital grants.

(a) This section sets forth provisions for obtaining a Life Safety Code capital grant under 38 U.S.C. 2012(c)(3). To be eligible to receive such a capital grant, an applicant already must have received a grant under section 3 of the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Service Programs Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-590; 38 U.S.C. 7221 note) for construction, renovation, or acquisition of a facility and must obtain the Life Safety Code capital grant solely for renovations to such facility to comply with the Life Safety Code of the National Fire Protection Association. The following sections of this part apply to the Life Safety Code grants §§ 61.60 through 61.66; and § 61.80 and § 61.82.

(b) To apply for a Life Safety Code capital grant under this section, an applicant must obtain from VA a Life Safety Code capital grant application package and submit to VA the information called for in the application package within the time period established in the Notice of Fund Availability. The Life Safety Code capital grant application package includes exhibits to be prepared and submitted as part of the application process, including:

(1) Justification for the modifications needed to meet the Life Safety Code or such other comparable fire and safety requirements;

(2) Site description, site design, and site cost estimates;

(3) Reasonable assurances with respect to receipt of a Life Safety Code capital grant under this part that:

(i) The project being renovated is being, and will continue to be, used principally to furnish veterans the level of care for which VA awarded the applicant a grant under the Homeless Veterans Comprehensive Service Program Act of 1992; that not more than 25 percent of participants at any one time will be nonveterans; and that such services will meet the requirements of this part;

(ii) The recipient will keep records and submit reports as VA may reasonably require, within the time frames required; and give VA, upon demand, access to the records upon which such information is based;

(iii) The applicant has agreed to comply with the applicable requirements of this part and has demonstrated the capacity to do so;

(iv) The applicant does not have an outstanding obligation to VA that is in arrears, and does not have an overdue or unsatisfactory response to an audit; and

(v) The applicant is not in default, by failing to meet requirements for any previous assistance from VA.

(c) (1) Cost-effectiveness. VA will award up to 300 points for cost-effectiveness with adjustments for high-cost areas. Applicants should address the following:

(i) Estimated cost of the renovation and the type of work to be done;

(ii) Estimated cost of any displacement of program participants or services due to the renovation; and

(iii) Cost-benefit analysis addressing the benefit of renovation to the structure compared to moving program to another site.

(2) Coordination. VA will award up to 200 points for a summary countersigned by the local VAMC Facilities Management of the discussions concerning renovation plans. The summaries should detail the following:

(i) Urgency of the renovation;

(ii) Adequacy of the renovation; and

(iii) Opinion of feasibility and cost benefit.

(d) The highest-ranked applications for the Life Safety Code capital grants for which funding is available will be selected to receive grants in accordance with their ranked order. The amount awarded will be 100 percent of the estimated total cost of the renovation as stated in the Life Safety Code application (this may include application costs, architectural fees, and engineering fees). VA will execute an agreement and make payments to the Life Safety Code capital grant recipient in accordance with § 61.61 of this part and other applicable provisions of this part. In the event of a tie between applicants, VA will use the score from § 61.20(c)(2) of this part to determine the ranking.

(e) Applicants may apply for more than one Life Safety Code capital grant.

(f) The authority to provide Life Safety Code grants expires on December 21, 2006.

Code of Federal Regulations

(Authority: 38 U.S.C. 501, 2002, 2011, 2012, 2061, 2064, 7721 note)

(The Office of Management and Budget has approved the information collection requirements in this section under control number 2900-0554)

Code of Federal Regulations

[68 FR 13594, Mar. 19, 2003, as amended at 68 FR 55468, Sept. 26, 2003]

CFR

61.20—Life Safety Code capital grants.

Code of Federal Regulations

Code of Federal Regulations