August 17, 2009

Weatherization programs in state off to a slow start

By MARC STILES
Journal Staff Reporter

<!-- Story Start -->The budget of the Spokane County home weatherization program is expected to increase 460 percent due in large part to federal stimulus money starting to find its way into communities across Washington.

Last year, Spokane's program budget was $657,000. Now it's increasing to nearly $3.7 million. About $2.5 million of the extra money comes from the federal government.

“It's just a staggering figure,” said Ron Hardin, spokesman for Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners. SNAP is a private, non-profit community action agency that administers the county's program to weatherize houses and apartments of low-income residences.

The work includes reducing drafts with caulking and weather stripping, installing insulation, repairing and tuning up furnaces, and repairing windows and doors.

Local housing authorities and other weatherization agencies, and the private contractors they work with, have been anticipating large cash infusions since February when Congress passed the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Washington state officials received approval last month to distribute $29.8 million to weatherize homes. The state could receive more money, as much as $59.5 million over three years.

The $29.8 million will weatherize 3,470 homes and create hundreds of jobs in Washington, according to the Governor's Office. Money will also be used for worker training, technical assistance and program support. A July 13 news release issued by the Governor's Office stated that 26 local agencies, such as SNAP, could begin weatherization projects “as soon as this week.”

Contractors are still waiting to get started.

“It's just kind of been a letdown,” said Victor Raatz of RCC Inc., one of nine companies in the King County Housing Authority's pool of home weatherization contractors. “We haven't seen a penny of it yet.”

King County Housing Authority, the largest low-income home weatherization program in Washington, was awarded $2.56 million in federal stimulus money for weatherization work this year. The agency eventually could receive as much as $5.1 million.

‘Raring to go'

Anticipation has been growing among both contractors and the agencies they work with. The amount of money agencies ultimately receive will depend on how quickly and efficiently it's spent. Some of the $5.1 million that King County is eligible to receive, for instance, could be redistributed to other agencies if the authority doesn't meet its production targets.

So the race is on — almost. Agencies and contractors still are at the starting line waiting to hear the word “go.”

“We intend to move out of the box fast,” said Nikki Parrott, director of housing and repair for the King County authority. “We are raring to go.”

One sticking point is the 1931 Davis-Bacon Act, a federal law that requires prevailing wages be paid to those who work on public works projects. Until now, the act did not apply to weatherization. Before setting the prevailing wages, which vary based on labor markets across the country, federal authorities must classify the work. The classifications and wage levels for Washington are to be set by Aug. 30, according to Parrott.

While the wait for funds has been frustrating, agencies and contractors do know that their weatherization budgets are going up by a lot.

Over the last two fiscal years, counting all federal, state and utility funds, the King County authority's weatherization program has spent between $2.2 million and $2.3 million each year. So far this year, it has spent about $2.6 million, according to Parrott.

It's difficult to say exactly how much the federal stimulus money will boost the King County program because funds come from various entities whose fiscal years vary. But, Parrott said, “when all is said and done we are looking at about double (the money) that we typically had.”

The Seattle Office of Housing is receiving $2.4 million in federal stimulus money for the next 12 months. The agency expects to receive a total of $4.8 million over the next three years, according to Bill Rumpf, the deputy director of the office.

The annual budget for Seattle's weatherization program, which receives money from various sources, has averaged about $3 million in recent years. In 2008, the program weatherized 877 low-income homes in Seattle and distributed 30,000 compact fluorescent light bulbs. Together, these programs saved enough electricity to power 232 homes and reduced carbon dioxide emissions equal to taking 255 cars off the road.

Like King County's weatherization program, the city has multiple funding sources. So precisely projecting future budgets is impossible. However, Rumpf estimates that the 2010 weatherization program will be approximately $5 million, or 40 percent higher than the current budget.

How this influx of money will filter out into the contracting community depends on the local agency.

Previously, SNAP's in-house contractors did most of the work. The new stimulus money will change that.

“We are maxing out on staff and vehicles and are beginning to look at hiring outside contractors,” said Hardin, who added that contractors have been actively contacting the agency to find out about opportunities.

Rumpf said there are six companies in Seattle's pool of weatherization contractors. Rumpf expects these companies will ramp up. He said he doesn't know whether his office will expand the program to additional companies.

Parrott expects contractors in the King County pool, such as Raatz, will ramp up their staffs.

So far, Raatz has not hired additional staff and won't until he sees some federal money. “You just can't afford to go out on a limb,” he said.

Despite not hiring more workers and his frustrations over the pace of the program, Raatz is bullish about the overall concept. He expects weatherization work will grow significantly in the coming years, and that this growth will be sustained.

He said he thinks that utility companies will continue offering incentives to their customers and, as awareness of energy conservation and the environment grow, more and more customers will sign up.

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