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| 5/16/2009 6:00:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | State looking for local weatherization partner
Joe Hanel
Journal Denver Bureau
DENVER-The Governor's Energy Office is looking for a local partner to help it spend stimulus dollars on weatherizing people's homes.
GEO officials want to find one government or nonprofit agency to manage all the work in La Plata, Montezuma, Archuleta, Dolores, and San Juan counties. The local agency will use either its own employees or contractors to make people's homes more energy efficient. The work will be paid for by the federal stimulus package, which Congress passed in February.
"Sometimes it is as simple as blowing insulation into the attic and walls," said GEO spokesman Todd Hartman. "In a lot of cases, they'll weatherstrip the doors and windows. In some cases, they'll even swap out appliances."
The work cuts energy bills by 20 percent to 40 percent, Hartman said.
Under the stimulus bill, the government will pay for up to $6,500 work on a single house. The stimulus will send $80 million to GEO over the next three years to spend around Colorado.
"Millions of dollars of that work will be headed to (Southwest Colorado)," Hartman said.
GEO probably will spend $4 million to $5 million through the middle of 2012 in the five-county region, mostly through the stimulus bill.
GEO also needs an agency to manage the San Luis Valley. Under the right circumstances, one agency could handle both Southwest Colorado and the valley, Hartman said.
Interested groups must attend a daylong meeting May 22 at the GEO office in Denver. Anyone planning to attend can email grants@state.co.us.
About 20 groups have expressed interest so far, and GEO officials are trying to drum up more interest before the May 22 meeting, Hartman said. He didn't know if all of them were based in Southwest Colorado.
Not every homeowner qualifies for the energy upgrades.
People can qualify for the weatherization program if they get help from government programs like Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Old Age Pension, Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid or the LEAP low-income energy assistance program. They also can qualify if they earn less than twice the Federal Poverty Level. That means a family of four with a $44,100 income can qualify.
GEO already has eight partners in other parts of the state. A nonprofit handles work in Denver and Jefferson counties, while suburban Arapahoe County manages the program for itself and neighboring Adams County, Hartman said.
Officials at GEO would be open to combining Southwest Colorado into the same region as the San Luis Valley, if a nonprofit proved it could handle such a large region, Hartman said.
Reach Joe Hanel at jhanel@cortezjournal.com.
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