A windfall for weatherization

Minnesota is slated to land an unprecedented $132 million in federal stimulus dollars in the months ahead to weatherize homes for elderly and other lower-income residents. That's a 13-fold increase over previous years.

The first big injection, coming in early July, is expected to create nearly 1,000 jobs and weatherize up to 22,000 homes. It's sparked an explosion in demand for weatherization job training and for energy workers across the state.

"Everyone is getting ready to go," said Cindy Webster, energy program director for Community Action Partnership of Ramsey and Washington counties, one of the 28 community action agencies overseeing the work in Minnesota.

"We're hiring people, buying equipment, getting people in place to do auditing and insulation. We've got a lot of decisions and the timelines are short."

The Minnesota Department of Commerce, which administers the program, is cranking up its own staffing to make sure the money is used as intended. A 2007 legislative audit report of the department's oversight of weatherization efforts recommended tighter monitoring and auditing.

"When you get this much money in such a short amount of time, that's our concern," said department spokesman Bill Walsh. "And all the money has to be spent in 18 to 24 months. That adds to the pressure."

Until this year, the Weatherization Assistance Program was a modest $10 million-a-year operation, plugging attic and window leaks in about 3,500 Minnesota homes and/or apartment units. It was launched in 1976 in response to the national energy crisis.

The Obama administration calls the now $6.2 billion national effort "the largest weatherization program in history."

It's an economic stimulus that helps in three ways, say Minnesotans overseeing the work. It creates jobs. It reduces the nation's energy dependence. And it frees up the budgets of lower-income folks who otherwise spend hundreds of dollars a month to heat their homes.

"It's a great idea," said Michael Doss, a formerly unemployed carpenter who landed a job with Webster's program last month. "It's opened doors for guys who have been laid off, such as myself."

Doss, who had worked on the 35W bridge, spent time earlier this week insulating the St. Paul home of Roshelle Chavez, herself a laid-off Ford Motor Co. worker. Chavez said her 1950s house had virtually no insulation, and she was paying up to $600 a month in the winter to heat it.

Plugging the drafts for Chavez, who also gets heat assistance, could free up some government energy aid for other families, said Webster.

"They checked the furnace, fixed door leaks, fixed a dryer vent and now are putting in the insulation," said Chavez, the mother of three who works and studies nursing. "If our [energy] bills are lower, that will give us a little extra money to spend on other things."

Doss is among more than 100 workers who will be toiling inside the attics of homes in Washington and Ramsey counties this summer. Webster's agency has increased staffing for weatherization crews and auditors from 17 to 35 people this year, she said. And it has increased the number of mechanical contractor crews it works with on furnaces from 49 to 72, she said.

Other metro areas report similar growth.

• With $3.5 million in stimulus money, Dakota County plans to weatherize 650 houses in the next 18 to 24 months, said Mark Ulfers, executive director of the Dakota County Community Development Agency. That's up from 100.

• Anoka County is planning to update about 500 homes by September 2010, the deadline for using the money. That's up from 100 a year, said Patrick McFarland, executive director of the Anoka County Community Action Program.

• Community Action of Minneapolis expects to weatherize between 1,400 and 1,800 homes, about five times the typical number, said Anthony Spears, fiscal services director for the agency. Up to 90 workers will be employed, he said.

Homeowners aren't the only ones bracing for a boom in government aid. Minnesota government buildings are slated to get $54 million to make energy-efficiency improvements starting next month, said Walsh. That's up from $716,000 last year.

The aid for homeowners and government buildings isn't arriving all at once, stressed Walsh. About 10 percent arrived in April to help agencies gear up for the project, he said. The biggest single injection, about 40 percent, is expected in July. The federal government will be monitoring those funds, he said, and will send the additional payments if the money is being used as directed.

"One job [person employed] for every $92,000," said Walsh. "That's the target we're planning to reach and what the feds are holding us accountable for."

The state Office of Legislative Auditor will conduct annual audits of the program, Walsh added.

Meanwhile, workers such as Doss say his new job doesn't just put money in his pocket, but also pads his resume of carpentry skills. Given the growing interest in energy savings, "this should come in handy in the future," he said.

Jean Hopfensperger • 612-673-4511

Katie Humphrey 952-882-9056