Community Action of Ventura County (CAVC) expects to get the green light soon to use nearly $1 million in federal stimulus funds to help low-income families weatherize their homes.

The nonprofit organization—one of 62 in the state to receive the special funding— hoped to have the funds available before the start of rainy season, but political red tape got in the way, said Socorro Lopez Hanson, executive director of CAVC.

“The funds were held up for several months. It was frustrating at times,” she said. “(Two weeks ago), the funding issues were resolved. We’re waiting for one more sign-off and then we will have the complete amount.”

Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, $151 million in funds were allocated statewide for weatherizing low-income homes. CAVC was notified last year that they would receive $996,000.

Unfortunately, disbursement of the funds by the California Department of Community Services and Development has been delayed due to cumbersome restrictions placed on the program by the federal government, Lopez Hanson said.

The U.S. Department of Energy, for example, took months to determine wages for work crews doing the weatherizing.

“The (federal government) required us to pay prevailing wages to workers doing weatherization, but they couldn’t identify what the prevailing wage was. We couldn’t start until they figured that out,” Lopez Hanson said.

There wasn’t one prevailing wage, it turned out. Every county has a prevailing wage, and there are subcategories according to the service provided.

“Our contract now requires us to pay a union wage,” Lopez Hanson said. “It wasn’t our choice. This is what all the community providers were told.”

California’s Department of Community Services and Development is moving so slowly in distributing the $151 million that an independent state audit issued earlier this month warned that CSD’s weatherization program risks losing $93 million in additional stimulus funds.

The audit claims not a single home had been upgraded statewide and that unless contractors can weatherize 15,000 homes by the end of September, California will likely miss a key federal deadline to receive a second wave of funds.

Community Action of Ventura County is a nonprofit organization started in 1965 that offers various programs and services to help disadvantaged families and individuals to become self-sufficient. The corporate office is in Oxnard with sites throughout Ventura County.

In 2009, the agency received $78,000 from the Department of Energy and weatherized 54 homes. Additional funding sources for weatherization include the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, Southern California Gas and Southern California Edison. 

CAVC will use the stimulus money to help low-income families throughout Ventura County make their homes energy-efficient. There’s no fee.

“A family must have a certain income under the guidelines to qualify for the program,” said Maria Manzanarez, who schedules the weatherization.

“We send out an assessor to find out what the home needs. Anything that has to do with energy and gas savings is our priority,” Manzanarez said.

Income requirements vary from year to year, and other factors are considered when judging eligibility for the weatherization program.

Their crews install weatherstripping, fix broken windows, replace doors, and seal cracks and holes in homes.

They also install low-flow shower heads and replace old refrigerators with new energy-efficient ones. The agency provides clients with energy-efficient light bulbs, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms.

“Homeowners should call us to find out if they qualify for assistance,” Lopez Hanson said

For more information or to apply to have your home weatherized, call (805) 436-4035 or visit the Community Action of Ventura County website at www.ca-vc.org.