Housing Authority receives HUD grant

October 21, 2009

By Cherry Sokoloski

The Wellington

Wellington (Colorado) Housing Authority recently received a grant for $126,000 from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The funds, according to facilities manager Jeff Valloric, will be used to complete energy upgrades on all WHA housing units.

WHA owns 42 public housing units, including 17 senior units on Roosevelt Avenue. The remainder of the units are located throughout Wellington.

Valloric said the grant will be used to replace existing furnaces and boilers in all units with heaters that are 95 percent energy efficient. The majority of tenants, he noted, will realize about a 20 percent reduction in natural gas bills as a result. Some funds will be used for energy star-rated lighting and other energy improvements.

This is the second grant that WHA has received this year from HUD. Funds for the grants came from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which allocated $3 billion to public housing authorities last February and another $1 billion in September. The second round of funding was allocated through competitive grant applications.

WHA received $83,600 in the first round of funding, most of which was used for energy upgrades such as added insulation and low-flow faucets and toilets.