North Columbia action council investigated

MOSES LAKE — Questions about conflicts of interest in the North Columbia Community Action Council’s weatherization program led to an investigation and dismissal of the program director.

Weatherization program Director Caroline Schell was recently dismissed from her position, according to Ken Sterner, council administrator. He did not elaborate on why.

A complaint was filed in June with the state Department of Commerce and the council program has been under investigation by state and federal authorities, according to Steve Payne, commerce’s managing director of housing improvement and preservation.

“We’ve been dealing with some conflict of interest issues that percolated up to us,” Payne said. “We’re really in a review process with some of these concerns … We had people on site a couple of weeks ago. We have personnel on site this week. We’re reviewing files. We’re trying to get a sense of scale and scope.”

The state agency contracts with the council to administer about $580,000 in federal and state funds designated for use in Grant, Adams and Lincoln counties. The program provides assistance with improving energy efficiency for low-income family homes.

The state is trying to understand how work was done, if the people participating met eligibility requirements, and whether funds were used appropriately, according to Payne. The agency is also trying to determine if systems are in place to prevent abuses of the system.

“We need to examine the work that has been done in the program,” he said. “Federal agencies look to us for assurance that we are insuring the investments are appropriate. We’re trying to get an understanding of how deep we need to go. We’ll be performing some inspections of past work to make that determination.”

The council’s weatherization program is also under investigation by the U.S. Department of Energy’s inspector general.

Payne said he did not know when the state review would be finished, adding the inspector general’s report should be finished within a month.

“The agency (the council) has been really cooperative. We’ve been on site with really short notice,” he said. “(They gave us) access to the staff and records that we need so we can develop a course of action as quickly as possible … We certainly want to work with them to determine what’s going to be the best course of action for the communities this agency serves.”

Candy Allison, the council’s executive assistant, said the council could not comment about the investigation nor the dismissal of Schell. She referred questions to the council’s attorney, Harold Moberg, who was not available on Tuesday.

The council’s offices at 903 W. Third Ave., in Moses Lake, remain open.