OAKLAND — Federal stimulus money for home weatherization could mean local jobs.

“We’re going to try to involve our home improvement contractors in doing the actual weatherization work,” said Duane Yoder, director of Garrett County Community Action Committee. “They have to meet very rigid performance standards. ... This is the part of the idea that we have, retaining jobs. The contractor will come back and keep people on board that they would otherwise have to lay off for construction work.”

The possibility of local jobs through weatherization has been a topic in the county for the last few weeks, and Yoder said he told the county commissioners last week that while his agency was able to weatherize about 80 homes last year, the funding will provide for 300 this year.

Yoder said Community Action is preparing to meet later this week with local contractors who are interested in working on the project. The contractors would need specialized training to meet the specifications of the federal stimulus package.

Specifications include clearly documenting the energy savings and using a variety of high technology.

The goal, he said, is to make sure the county is ready to accept the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding, as it must go through the commissioners before going on to Community Action.

Maryland Department of Human Resources Secretary Brenda Donald told county officials May 5 that she expected funding to be coming through for weatherization of houses. Commissioner Ernie Gregg said the program could have a greater local impact than road projects.

Commission Chairman Denny Glotfelty agreed with the potential for new jobs, saying that he’d like to see local businesses take advantage of the opportunity to get the training for the contractors and employees. This would guarantee that they have additional skills that will be helpful in the job market.

“It gets them employed faster than other stuff,” Glotfelty said. “Maybe it will help. Of course, any job right now is a good job. We’re happy to get any help we can get.”

Contact Sarah Moses at smoses@times-news.com.