Municipal Boat Launch Investment Program FAQs

The Municipal Boat Launch Investment Program (MBLI) will provide awards to Municipal governments seeking to upgrade municipally-owned boat launches located at New Hampshire lakes, ponds, and rivers that provide general public access (access to both residents and non-residents of a municipality).

This program is open to New Hampshire cities and towns (hereinafter, Municipalities).
Village districts, as well as school, water, sewer and fire districts, or similar cooperative municipal districts are not eligible. However, a locality or group of localities that such a district serves could apply for expenses that will benefit and be used by the district.

How a locality apportions the costs for such a shared purchase would need to be decided among the participating localities.

State-owned boat launches operated within a municipality are not eligible for this program.

Program funding is eligible to be used for reimbursement of expenses incurred between March 3, 2021, and the completion of an eligible project, which shall be no later than July 31, 2024, related to repair or replacement of existing boat launches and associated structures.  

Typical examples of costs eligible for reimbursement would be construction materials, demolition, design, immediate parking area construction costs, investments to improve accessibility for disabled users, and labor costs associated with the afore-mentioned expenses.

The eligible expenses or costs must not have been reimbursed or covered by any other source, such as a state, local, federal, or any other entity.

The maximum award for any individual project is $100,000. However, the program requires the Municipality to contribute 25% of the total eligible invoiced costs submitted for reimbursement. As a result, the program will award up to 75% of such costs through ARPA SFRF (up to $100,000).

A project’s total eligible costs may exceed the allowable award amount; however, any additional costs will be the responsibility of the Municipality.

All projects must be completed by July 31, 2024.  All invoices must be submitted for reimbursement by August 31, 2024.  Funding is contingent upon continued appropriation and availability of federal funds.

Yes, a Municipality may submit an application for each municipally-owned boat launch that is eligible for the program.

Municipalities receiving program awards must agree to maintain the premises at their own expense, provide or maintain access to the general public (both residents and non-residents) to the ramp and/or dock facility, parking, and other structures associated with the facility, in perpetuity.

Municipalities must agree to provide the State with supporting information (e.g., town warrant, document of decision, etc.) demonstrating agreement with these conditions.

Restricting future access or failing to maintain the premises could result in repayment of ARPA SFRF funds in part or total.  This applies to all boat launches for which an award is issued.

This program does not impact any other applicable restrictions to usage or access, including kinds of watercraft permitted or swimming activities.

Award recipients will also be responsible for providing any data or information required to be collected for federal reporting purposes. See Question #7.

The application period is open from December 1, 2022, to June 1, 2023. Projects must be completed by July 31, 2024, with all invoices for which reimbursement is sought submitted to GOFERR by August 31, 2024.  Awarded projects will receive funds on a reimbursement basis.

To apply for this program, please visit the program page on GOFERR's website. On that page, scroll down to and click on the "Apply Now" button for the program.

Applications will be reviewed, and funds will be awarded, on a rolling basis for eligible applicants with supporting documentation for eligible expenses, with monthly funding rounds until the funds are depleted.
If, in the final round of funding, there is insufficient funds to cover all eligible applications received, eligible applications will be awarded on a pro rata share of what remains in the program fund. In that circumstance, projects may not receive a full award of 75% of eligible costs, up to $100,000.

Any award to a single Municipality with total awarded funds in excess of $10,000 will be subject to approval by the Governor and Executive Council at a scheduled meeting.

It is highly recommended that Municipalities do not wait to file an application. The program application period will close once the funds are depleted, or June 1, 2023, at 4:00 PM, whichever comes first.

Yes, as a subrecipient of the State, the Municipality will need to provide necessary data and information required by the U.S. Treasury for federal reporting purposes with respect to use of the federal funds received under this program and pursuant to award terms and conditions and/or subsequent agreement authorized by Governor & Council.

Yes. For this program, required documentation will include:

• Documentation of total project costs (e.g., invoices, purchase orders, quotes or estimates; and
• A brief description of the Boat Launch, including map.

Documentation that is Optional or which may be required prior to receiving reimbursement on an award includes:

• Photos (before and after) of the project in pdf format.
• If the applicant is a department within a Municipality, it must submit an authorization signed by the municipal administrator or similar municipal official that the department has authority to apply on behalf of the Municipality. An e-mail address for the municipal administrator or similar authority must be provided in the authorization.
• Documentation to ensure that access to the boat launch will be open to the general public (both residents and non-residents) after the award.
• Documentation to ensure that the facility and associated structures will be maintained by the Municipality after the award.
• Other documents that the Municipality believes is informative or supportive.

Municipalities should not submit an application until they are certain it is complete, and they have the correct documents ready to upload, as they will not be able to make changes after submission.  Municipalities can save applications and finish them later, if needed.

If a Municipality realizes an error it made or it omitted a document before the program closes, the Municipality may need to submit a new application that contains the updated information. To determine if a new application is needed, contact info@goferr.nh.gov for more guidance.

GOFERR will assume that the application filed last in time is the most complete and will only process the last in time application. Because awards will be issued on a rolling basis and reliant upon the availability of funds, applicants should be sure that applications being submitted are complete.

Moreover, once an award notice or notice of decision is issued by GOFERR on a specific project, no subsequent applications for that project will be considered.

Note: In the application portal, a "saved" application will not be considered a "submitted" application.

The corrected application must contain all the information that the Municipality wants considered, even if it was otherwise correct in the Municipality’s earlier application, as GOFERR will not look to an earlier filed application for missing information.

Appeals are permitted under the circumstances described below.

• Contesting eligibility:
  • Provide an explanation and evidence to substantiate the claim about why the Municipality is eligible for the program
• Award determinations:
  • Provide an explanation and evidence supporting that the calculation of the award, based on the information submitted in the application, is in error
• Application submission errors:
  • Only obvious typographical errors can be corrected, such as misplacing a decimal point or transposing digits

Appeal requests and relevant evidence must be submitted in writing electronically to Appeals@goferr.nh.gov no later than 15 business days after notice of a decision/award has been sent by GOFERR.

The appeal will be determined based on the written submission and documents in GOFERR's possession. No hearing will be held.

Applicants will receive a notice of the determination on the appeal. No further appeal is allowed.

First, if a Municipality has already started an application, the Municipality should check the relevant email inbox for its login information provided as part of the registration process.

If the necessary login information cannot be found or the Municipality continues to have any difficulty, please contact info@goferr.nh.gov.

Applicants will need to use an internet browser such as Microsoft Edge, Firefox, or Google Chrome to complete the application. Internet Explorer will not work properly with this application.

GOFERR strongly encourages that completed applications, containing all necessary documentation, be finalized, and submitted as early as possible within the application period. If an applicant requires assistance applying, please contact GOFERR at info@goferr.nh.gov.