ris. Mary Bell April 20, 1978 Page Two

I am deeply concerned about the lack of training and technical assistance funds provided through the DOE program. It has become very clear over the past two years that as programs develop and expand, training on all staff levels becomes more important. The constant turnover of staff requires an on-going training capability. In addition to training of work crews, coordinators and foremen types; overall program administrative and management training is essential particularly as programs continue to expand. I strongly recommend that DOE funds be made available to the states for training and technical assistance. I would be available to offer more detailed comments if additional information is required.

Thank you for your interest and cooperation. have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

If you

EJF/csk

Sincerely

Edward J. Freel

Crisis Intervention/

Weatherization Program
Administrator

STATE OF IDAHO

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND WELFARE

STATE ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY OFFICE

700 W. State Street, Statehouse, Boise, Idaho 83720 (208) 384-2322

April 15, 1978

Ms. Mary M. Bell

Director, Weatherization Assistance Program

Department of Energy

Washington, D.C. 20461

Dear Ms. Bell:

We have reviewed the draft changes to the Weatherization Assistance Program Regulations. We feel that the draft does much to make the program more workable and you are to be congratulated for your responsiveness to the concerns of operators of the Weatherization Program.

We would, of course, like to see some further modifications. In this State with its scattered population transportation is a major cost in any delivery of services. We would like to be able to allocate up to 15% of materials cost for transportation of materials and work force. We would like to be able to deal with this issue on a subgrantee by subgrantee basis rather than being restricted by a statewide percentage.

We would like to see in some future guidance (not necessarily in the rules) a more defined role for the Policy Advisory Committee. In that the Weatherization Program is fairly restricted it is difficult to discern meaningful areas in which the Committee can provide advice.

Again we commend DOE for its responsiveness in modifying regulations and hope that together we all can develop rules for a functioning program.

WP/kw

Sincerely yours,

Wendell Reabody

Wendell Peabody
Deputy Director
Idaho SEOO

On behalf of all the COAD Agencies I would like to thank you and
Juanita Walls once again for attending and participating in the
Second Annual COAD Energy Meeting. Your candid answers to many
of our concerns were refreshing variations from the answers we are
accustomed to getting from the individuals who administer the
Energy Programs regionally and nationally.

We still have serious concerns about many areas of the program;
however, we are confident that you and the Regional Office staff
will be working with us to bring about the changes that we feel
are necessary to insure a quality program on the local level. We
will attempt to maintain frequent contact with Tom Sanders, and
through him, with you and your staff.

I am sorry that you were unable to stay for all of the weatherization training on March 29. That session was quite good and will no doubt lead to a number of training sessions aimed at crew leaders and crew members.

I sincerely hope you enjoyed the meeting as much as we enjoyed having you. We hope to see you in Appalachian Ohio again soon.

Sincerely,

Dil D

Robert E. Pitts, Director

COAD ENERGY CONSERVATION PROGRAMS

REP:ec

cc: Tom Sanders

On behalf of the National SEOO Association and the other
persons attending the Energy meeting in Denver last week,
I would like to extend our appreciation not only for attend-
ing, but for discussing in depth many of the issues that are
confronting us.

The body as a whole voted to formally commend the Department of Energy for the progress indicated in the proposed changes to the current regulations, as was written into the Draft, which you presented to us at that meeting.

Under separate cover, I have forwarded to you additional
information generated from that meeting. I hope you will
find it useful.

We are looking forward to your continued assistance, as we strive to provide successful delivery and management of Energy Programs for low-income people.

Singerely,

Eric Lee

Chairman, Energy Meeting

NATIONAL SEOO ASSOCIATION MEETING ON ENERGY AND WEATHERIZATION PROGRAMS

Denver, Colorado March 30-31, 1978

List of attendees is attached.

The meeting began at 9:00 A.M. at the Holiday Inn. The meeting was attended by approximately 67 people, representing 33 states, from all regions of the country.

A preliminary agenda had been prepared and is attached.

The meeting began with the agenda, and brief introductory remarks. A representative from each state introduced themselves and gave a brief explanation of why they were at the meeting and what they hoped the meeting would accomplish.

A motion was made to disregard the agenda that had been prepared, and begin immediately to: 1) elect a chairman for the meeting; and 2) proceed to delineate the problems by breaking into groups to come up with some specific recommendations. The motion carried. Eric Lee of the State of Alaska was elected chairman. A list of specific problem areas was defined. Those problem areas, as defined,

were:

1.

2.

3.

CSA, FY '78 funding allocation formula and procedures
Department of Energy Regulations and legislation

Inter-agency coordination, or lack thereof

Committees were appointed to arrive at a definition of the specific problems and charged with returning specific written recommendations for solution of those problems.

The majority of the day was spent in those task committee groups.

The committees appointed were:

1. Policy and Strategy Committee

2.

3.

4.

Inner Agency Coordination Committee

DOE Rules, Regulations, and Legislation Committee
FY '78 CSA Appropriation Allocation Committee.