Weatherizing homes helping low-income residents

Weatherizing homes in Glenn County is a passion for those involved in the Community Action Partnership's weatherization program.

That is how program Manager Bill Wathen described his staff's activities Tuesday to the Board of Supervisors.

Wathen characterized their work as helping low-income county residents to make their houses safer and energy efficient at the same time.

He said 760 projects were completed last year in the program that includes Colusa and Trinity counties with 450 in Glenn County alone.

More than $500,000 in federal stimulus funding was spent in Glenn County out of the $993,000 allocated fro the program.

The average annual energy savings was $600 for residents whose homes were updated through the program, Wathen added.

Wathen said the well trained staff assists clients in weatherstripping doors, putting in new windows, repairing roofs and replacing heating and air-conditioning units among other projects.

In turn, they also teach the residents about energy efficiency and how to make some of these repairs in the future, he said.

"We have found some people with non-operating water heaters or heating units going back two to three years," Wathen said. "Repairing these helps families feel better."

Lack of money or knowledge to make repairs is often the reason these items are left unfixed for so long, he said, or the resident is physically unable to do such work.

Staff also works on vents for appliances, checks gas connections and monitors for carbon monoxide, a deadly odorless gas often emitted inside homes, he said.

When something is beyond the staff's expertise, local contractors are hired to do the work as a sub-contractor.

The program prioritizes applications from the elderly, disabled and families with children along with applicants whose energy payment burdens are taking 14 percent or more of their incomes.

Contact Rick Longley at 934-6800 or rlongley@tcnpress.com.