State weatherization report expected soon

MOSES LAKE — A final state report on the North Columbia Community Action Council’s weatherization program is due in the next two weeks.

The state Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Energy investigated the program after allegations of fraud and abuse surfaced in June. Since then the state sent investigators to examine 90 homes in September.

Weatherization Director Caroline Schell was dismissed.

Neither the state nor the council have released any further information about the allegations.

The state contracted 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.

Steve Payne, commerce’s managing director of housing improvements and preservation, said the inspection reports are being reviewed. The Department of Energy Inspector General’s Office is holding off on any potential criminal charges until the state’s report is finished.

“The final report will get into the details of the other work we observed for those homes,” he said. “We went back five years, to 2004 … We went to the agency with the intent of looking at 90 homes. We thought that was a sufficient sample that would give us a sense of the quality of work and the direction and decisions we need to make as far as the agency is concerned.”

Right now, the council’s weatherization program is not performing any new work, and the state is hunting for another agency to fill in for the council. Payne said discussions are continuing about what agency will take over the program.

“We’re certainly mindful that there were units that we stopped working on,” he said. “That will certainly be among our highest priorities.”

Council Board Member Carol Anderson said the agency plans to give information about it’s contracts to the organization taking over the program for the three counties.

“It hasn’t really been set up detail-wise,” she said. “We’ve just made a commitment to help with the transfer.”

While Payne was unsure whether the council would regain the program, Anderson said the council is hoping it happens in a year.

The change is not expected to affect any of the rest of council’s current programs.

The investigation also led to a Department of Commerce decision to funnel $382,288 in federal stimulus money to the Adams County Community Network, said Penny Thomas, a commerce spokeswoman. The money is to help Grant County homeless people.

“(Will Graham, the assistant director for the housing division) just didn’t feel with the added requirements tied to that money … he didn’t feel they were up to handling it,” she said. “This is just for homelessness prevention.”

During the inspection, Payne said the state found 50 out of the 90 units needing another look because of safety concerns, including lead-based paint, asbestos and mold.

“Any health and safety concerns are identified before the work begins,” he said. “We certainly don’t want to create a worse situation with our work.”