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3.1 Home Weatherization
Blue Island Department of Planning will create a database that lists housing structures, including landmarked ones, to identify opportunities for weatherization retrofits. Blue Island will work closely with the Historic Preservation Committee to properly identify appropriate retrofits for landmarked structure to expedite the weatherization process. With the Weatherization Database, the city will accept applications from residents or community organizations that help weatherize to begin retrofit projects. Households that are eligible for these funds must be low-income residents who make up to 80% of the Area Median Income. Community organizations that receive funds must also prove that they serve low-income residents. Blue Island’s Finance Department and the BIGH Project will partner with the Chicagoland Vintage Home Association (CVHA) to aid in the administration of the funds. Blue Island will work with CVHA to identify a list of contractors that are specialized in retrofitting. This list will contain contractors located in Blue Island and contain at least 65% minority or women owned businesses. Case Study: ComEd
ComEd’s energy retrofit program can serve as an exploratory cases for how funds are distributed to organizations who do the work implementing these retrofit projects. ComEd partners with the Chicagoland Vintage Home Association to administer these funds and several communities in the metropolitan area, including Blue Island residents, are eligible applicants.44
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The Weatherization Process:
1. CVHA will hire or contract a certified energy assessor to perform energy audits to verify need and estimate project expenditure. 2. CVHA will work with homeowners to identify eligible contractors. 3. CVHA will release funds for the weatherization. 4. CVHA will produce an annual report for
Blue Island’s Planning
Commission and Finance
Department.
ComEd (2014).
It is at the discretion of the Planning Commission, the Community Development Manager, and appropriate municipal personnel to determine how many projects to fund in a single fiscal year, particularly in its initial years, to preserve the program’s longevity.
