 All right good afternoon everybody. Thanks for being here. I'd like to thank everybody for joining us here in Barrie today. My name is Peter Wach. I'm the managing director of Efficiency Vermont. We're here today in Barrie joined by state and local leaders, impacted residents and businesses, some long-time Barrie partners and folks coordinating volunteer response. Less than two months ago Barrie and many of the surrounding communities were devastated and cut off from each other by rising floodwaters. I want to thank Mayor Jake Hamrick and City Manager Nicholas Storily Castro, Representative Peter Anthony, members of the Barrie City Council for joining us today, and some members and partners from the City Capstone Community Action, Barrie Partnership, Downstreet Housing and Community Development, and Central Vermont Economic Development Corporation. Thank you very much for being here with us today as we talk about new flood relief programming helping Vermonters get back on their feet after the flood. We all know that the community response has been inspiring, but for those left picking up the pieces, the feelings of fatigue, financial overwhelm, and simply not knowing where to start are devastating and make it hard to start this process. Today we're here to launch a package of new flood recovery programs that will invest $36 million in Vermonters and their communities to help them replace heating and hot water equipment and important home and business appliances and equipment. I want to honor the point at which many Vermonters are in this recovery process. Some of you have already made purchases and are back in your homes. Some of you are just beginning this process. These programs are designed to meet you where you are along the way and help you through the process. This this work would not have been possible without legislative leadership and the leadership of the governor who saw fit to reallocate existing funds to support this work. We're I'm pleased to be joined today by Representative Diane Lanford, a member of the Vermont Emergency Board, who helped make this immediate reallocation of resources possible so that we could get funds on the ground in support of Vermonters and Vermont businesses. I'm grateful to the executive branch partners who made today possible. We've been able to move grant dollars forward in in record time. I'm grateful for the partnership with Commissioner June Tierney to make that possible and to expand the reach of that work over time. We've been working on a side agreement with the Agency of Natural Resources. I'm grateful to Deputy Secretary Maggie Gendron for joining us today, and we've been deep in partnership with the Agency of Commerce and Community Development on how to mirror and match the BGAP programming that they're running and these funds for businesses so that we can help the most people possible. I'd also like to thank Deputy Secretary of State Lauren Hibbert for being here today. We've been working very closely with the Secretary of State's office to make sure that we can help maximize the available workforce and resources around to be able to help people make the necessary installations and other things within their homes. I also, none of this would be possible today without FEMA and we're grateful for their partnership. I'd like to thank Katie Bracia, FEMA's voluntary Agency Liaison Deputy Group Supervisor for coming here to support us today and helping us walk us through this process so that we can understand how these programs can fit within FEMA and make sure that they are additive to the work that is happening and people can get the most resources possible. And finally, I'd like to take a moment to thank the Efficiency Vermont team that put this together. Very few of them are here today because they're all at work making sure these programs can be out on the ground today, helping those programs as they launch on the on the website today and people begin filing their claims. We want to make sure that we can help as many people as possible and so grateful for that team for dropping everything and getting to work so we could get this money out the door in five weeks. I'm going to dive deeper into the specific programmatic materials in a little bit because there are a lot of details and I won't there'll be a test at the end of this so you better be ready. But I must say FEMA first. These programs are designed to be additive. They're designed to add more to the resources going into Vermonters and Vermont businesses pockets. The insurance and FEMA processes must be done first so that we can make sure that we are not taking away from resources that you might otherwise be able to get under the FEMA program. We're going to be operating rebates and incentives to eligible customers to replace home heating and cooling systems, helping them switch or add a ducted or ductless heat pump system or high efficiency wood or pellet stove. And we'll also be helping them qualify energy star rated boilers and furnaces. We'll also be helping them do replace hot water systems and other key appliances in their homes. And as part of these dollars and part of the grant agreement, we've swiftly moved forward with the public service department will be able to include an additional 25 million dollars. That's part of the overall 36 million dollar package in dollars that have been ready to to go towards heat pump hot water heaters and electric panel upgrades that silver monitors can participate in the in the clean energy transition as we move forward. And for our and we're all I'm also very excited that we were able to find with again great partnership with the state to find a million dollars to be able to also help impacted businesses. We know who are not eligible for FEMA funds to be able to provide support for appliances and other key equipment that they're looking to replace as they get back on their feet and reopen for business. We know that the huge cost burden associated with responding recovering from a flood is overwhelming. I can't imagine what that has been like the emotional toll that it has taken on people and we're happy to be here to be part of the solution and to be part of the solution with all of you and making this possible. We are making wise and practical investments in people's homes to help them heat and provide hot water and to have other basic appliances more efficiently to help them reduce their carbon footprint. And as we think about climate justice and the impacts of future floods making sure that we can help people get into systems that will be there through the long haul and help them heat and cool into the future. Without further ado I would like to invite Jake Hemrick to come to the table. Jake knows that housing is one of various big biggest concerns going forward and making sure that we have functional housing moving forward. More than 300 structures in the city were damaged by the floods containing more than 500 housing units. In the month ahead we know we'll have lots of long term difficult decisions as communities and really appreciate the fact that Mayor Hemrick is here today to to give us a few words. Thank you Peter. Thank you Peter. And thanks to everybody who had a part in making this this program come together and who showed up today. The Secretary of State's Office Commissioner Tierney representative Lanfeer all the way from Addison County. So make sure that Secretary Curley Deputy Secretary Gendron I'm joined here with the city manager Nicholas Sterly Castro as well as two of Barry's former mayors Mayor Tom Lozano and State Representative Peter Anthony and and we're here in the most impacted community in the state. And we had a high energy cost burden before this flood. We know that because of the amazing work done by the efficiency of our team with the energy cost burden report where where the documents have a monitor spend about 11 percent of their income on energy costs and that's on average about seven thousand dollars per year. Clean energy we know is effective at lowering costs and families on a tight budget especially feel that's those savings add up and replacing appliances getting in those heat pump hot water heaters putting in the heat pumps stacking it up with weatherization that can really make a huge difference in households here in Barry and across the state of Vermont. And if you're like me you definitely value savings and saving money and supporting green jobs here in the state of Vermont. So I think this is such a critical investment for the people who have lost their homes and are pulling it together trying to find ways to get get their get their units back online get their home livable so we can make it through a winter and have a warm place to sleep at night. So thank you so much. Our next speaker is city manager Nicholas Dora LeCastro who has been everywhere throughout this process. When we asked him whether or not we could host something here in Barry knowing how impacted the community was to make the difference here. He not only said yes but he said thank you. He said thank you for remembering the people of Barry. We're happy to be here today. Thank you city manager LeCastro. Good afternoon everyone and thanks to efficiency Vermont and all those present here today for for announcing this program in Barry. You know it's a beautiful day here on the heels of a fantastic weekend the best weekend of the summer finally arrived. But you know downtown's bustling traffic's moving our stores are open our restaurants are open just a mile down the street though. There's a lot of people who are still struggling to recover and that's why I think it's very important that efficiency Vermont is not only announcing this program but announcing it here in the city of Barry. As the heating season approaches we know we're racing against the clock to make sure that that those who are still on the front lines of this recovery because there is still a front line in this recovery that they can get back into their homes. We had a housing crisis before this happened this flood made it worse and that's why programs like this are just crucial to make sure it's another important part of our recovery. I also want to say that listening to Peter talk about all the agencies groups partners that have to come together to do this I think is just an example of government and cross sector response at its very best when everybody puts down what they're doing we break down silos which is the hardest thing to do in this kind of work that we're involved in and do it for the people who need it the most so I think I'm very thankful that all those involved made that happen because we know how difficult it is to to work across sectors and to break down silos. So I also I want to finish by urging the Berry residents to apply and as Peter said before you do make sure you go to FEMA. I want to thank the Scott administration which worked very hard to extend the application to apply for individual assistance. It's now October 12th. That's not an invitation to delay. Do it. Do it today. FEMA is here in Berry as well. We fought very hard for them to be here and they have been here and that and we'll stay here through the end of that next deadline. So get to the FEMA by October 12th and then come talk to efficiency Vermont and let's get some of these homes back online. Thank you. Thank you for being here. I have known our next speaker for very long time. We've had the pleasure of working together and now now she regulates me. It's a slightly different relationship. I try to be on my best behavior but it's not my best trait. But I you know it was heartwarming to see what we could do and what we could turn around quickly in a very short period of time. Anybody who's been through a government granting process knows that it's not it's not a quick quick endeavor. And this was exactly the opposite. It was how do we get these things resolved. How do we figure these things out in the midst of building a program at the same time. It started with how do we get heat and hot water back in people's homes because we know winter is coming. And so without further ado I'd like to invite Public Service Department Commissioner June Tierney up to the stage to say a few words. Good afternoon. A piece of personal history June Tierney Commissioner of the Department of Public Service. It when tropical storm Irene hit over a decade ago it was a very personal experience for me. In the end I lost my home to the storm. And I remember those weeks and months of grueling uncertainty fear anger frustration and above all solitude. And if you had told me at that time that a decade later I would be standing here in the position to help I would have thought you were nuts. I couldn't see my future. It was a slog day after day to fight to get through. What I took with away with me from that experience is that FEMA rocks and FEMA has been rocking it again this time. With all the frustration and criticism you might feel I might hear from other quarters about how FEMA works. I get that I've been there but they rock. I'm telling you what we were able to do this time around is learn from tropical storm Irene and to recognize that we needed to hit the ground running in getting this recovery going. Yay. We had a little more time this year than we did with tropical storm Irene because the storm hit in July not the end of August. But as everybody here knows today, winter's coming quickly and people are hurting and people are in need. And so we had FEMA who's been through this a few times. We had me for better or for worse has been through at least once. What I didn't know is how many other partners they would be in quick order who would come to the fray and say let's get this done without Peters leadership. This doesn't happen without the mayor of Barry and the mayor of Montpelier and the mayors and town officials of all those other little pockets that aren't here today but that are hurting every bit as badly. None of this gets done without the capable town manager whom about whom I read all the time. It doesn't get help get done in Barry either. But what most of all I think is a moving force and where Vermont is so fortunate is that we have a legislature that also gets it a legislature that is not in session but the nonetheless functions at times as if it's still work. And so representative Lanfers here today representing the people who helped get this done. He has a colleague and as a executive branch official I am just beyond stunned and grateful for the partnership that we've been able to have with them and figuring out how to take dollars that were already directed toward these ends in furtherance of climate policy and make them count in real time while we have our friends FEMA on the ground working with us. There's no doubt in my mind that mistakes will be made. But what I've learned over the past seven years of working in the Scott administration is you can't focus on the mistakes. You got to focus on the momentum going forward and you have to trust that good things are going to get done. This program today is a perfect example of that. It's real time help for people who need to understand that the choices they're making today won't just help them recover from this flood. It will also help them their communities and their states deal with climate change which is priority number one for my own part. I am more a member of team resiliency than I am team emissions reductions. I'm going to tell you that frankly because I think as we work on policy to reduce emissions we've got to be able to deal with what is confronting us here today and having dealt with this a decade ago and seeing it 10 years later and knowing that it's coming in greater frequency. I'm beyond grateful that we've been able to direct our state government, our town officials, our county officials, everybody who has the ability to help in one direction with this program. What you need to take away from today is this. If you are a flood impacted person, this program can help you. If you know somebody who is flood impacted, tell them about this program. If you are in a leadership position and you don't quite understand it, ask the questions because you need to get out there with your full reach and get a hold of the people who can be helped by this program. Last but not least, in addition to the many things that Peter mentioned that we've been able to do by way of funding whether it's the $10 million that Representative Lanford and her colleagues helped us direct toward this relief program or the $20 million that was already budgeted for it and the other $5 million that was budgeted not for it, but for the ends that this program serves or even the $1 million that Peter was able to find with the VisionCity of Vermont and we were able to get the PUC to direct for businesses. Another key player here has been Capstone. Without Capstone, we don't find the people who need this kind of help and they were so very impressive in coming to me and saying, Hey, among other things, can you help us with getting a moratorium on disconnections so that people aren't going to lose their power as they try to come back from the flood? Capstone has been an amazing partner and an amazing advocate and I'm just deeply grateful to them for their engagement. I look forward to working with them on making this program reach as far as it possibly can. Thank you so much. Thank you, Commissioner Junee. Our next speaker represents a part of the state that has the new unique privilege of not being a female eligible county. I'm not sure that's a privilege, but what I will say is that we as we were going through the process, we heard the need loud and clear and understood that it needed to it be for any flood impacted resident or business, not simply those who had reached the threshold to become female eligible. So we're very excited that all of these programs will be able to cover anybody impacted by flooding in the state. And so without further ado, Representative Diane Lanford, chair of the House Appropriations Committee. Thank you for joining us. Good afternoon. Thank you very much for the invitation for me to participate in this announcement today. I'm only one voice of well, I guess of the few of us that are on the emergency board or the joint fiscal committee and as chair of the Appropriations Committee. I have the privilege of working with pretty much all of all of state government as as we work to bring the needs of Vermonters forward within within the budget, which is a document or plan that's just for a moment of time. And then real life happens and things change. And I am so grateful for the example of this program that we've been able to put together as an example of where Vermonters really work together. The administration FEMA are efficiency Vermont partners. But I have to say that we matched opportunity was with a very good idea. And people went to work on that. And I can honestly say that the first phone call that I got because we were having an upcoming emergency board meeting that we could see that there was an opportunity for if there was other work that needed to get done. What would it look like? And the first phone call I got or contact was from our Secretary of State, Sarah Copeland Hansis, who said, Representative Lanford, have you talked to Peter walk? Have you talked to Peter? There's an idea about there's a foot that that could help Vermonters to transition when they replace equipment to something that is much more efficient and will will will act more efficiently for them and economically for them. So this was an example of how that started. And I have to thank that that although they can't be here and I live in Addison County, but Barry is the hometown of my husband. And in Vermont is small, and we all have families somewhere in the state. And anything that happens anywhere in the state, we know that we feel it deeply no matter where we are. So I'm grateful that this particular program is available to anyone beyond those that were designated as disaster counties. And I'm also want to make sure that I mentioned the fact of the hard work of Representative Emily Kornheiser and Senator Jane Kitchell on that weekend before putting this together to get the language, get the administrations by and getting all of our input. And we put it together really, really fast, which is not typically the way we operate. But it is so good. And it feels so good when we can. So I just want to stand here with the rest of my colleagues that can't be here and the administration to say thank you for the great ideas and the ability to work together an example that I believe is going to help Vermonters to get to the next step. So I will add my voice to the fact that I think people need to please take advantage of this opportunity. It's here. It's for you. And if you have questions, as with as the commissioner had said, reach out, talk to efficiency Vermont as as they go forward with what's possible. So I thank you for letting me be here today with this and and there'll be more. I'm sure. Thank you. Give one chance for the dump truck to go by. So we all know that Vermont faces workforce shortages in key areas. Some of those key areas are electricians, plumbers and HVAC installers, weatherization technique technicians, the like the exact people we need to do this work. We wouldn't be here today. We wouldn't be able to launch this program. We wouldn't feel comfortable moving forward without the partnership of Secretary of State Sarah Copeland, Hansis and the entire office. I'm grateful to have Deputy Secretary of State Lauren Hibbert here today to talk a little bit about the efforts to try to expand the workforce in the short term and in the long term so we can recover as quickly as possible and get people back into warm, comfortable homes before winter. Good afternoon. Thank you so much for the invitation to be here, Peter. I am here representing Secretary of State Sarah Copeland Hansis. She's out of the country. Otherwise, she would be here behind this podium because the program that's launching today is something that's so near and dear to her heart. She has deep excitement about the energy efficiency and about all of the work that went into creating this program. So thank you so much. I'm here to really talk about workforce. We did pass registration for home contractors in 2022. We are fortuitously have already launched the registration. It went live in April. And if you check out our website for the Office of Professional Regulation, you can find an inter... Why am I blanking on the word? It's a map that's interactive. That's the word that I was looking for. An interactive map of contractors in your area. You can also look up contractors and find information about home contractors. We are in the process of creating voluntary certifications for home contractors, particularly around energy efficiency and green building. Those will become functional in the next couple of months. We did play a big part in flood response working with the Scott administration, creating emergency licenses for people who are licensed in other states so that they could come into our state to help with our flood response. We have information about that on our website. And then just another note of thanks to the Scott administration and the Department of Public Safety. We worked doing outreach to plumbers and electricians, people who would be available to do work on people's homes. That information is on the Office of Professional Regulations website, but also on the Department of Public Safety's website. You can search by county for plumbers and electricians who have volunteered to be on the list, who are volunteering to do work through contracts, through money, but they have availability and are open to being contracted to do the work. So we are really here doing our best to provide all the tools we have available, trying to think outside of the box and provide new solutions. The Secretary of State's office really wants to extend its support to bury to all of our monitors in rebuilding better and more efficiently with more efficiency and in keeping our changing climate in mind. Thank you so much. All right, now we're going to get into some of the details. This is where your quiz will come in. So be ready for the materials. There's a lot here. All right, we're going to go back to the FEMA first. What that's going to be the actually the only question on the test? What do you need to do first? FEMA process first, because if you apply through Efficiency Permand for one of these programs before you apply for FEMA, you might not be eligible for that FEMA aid as it comes out of the bite. We want to make sure that everybody can access as many resources as possible, because we know no matter how much we do, it's not going to be enough. So as as we launch these programs today, I'm really glad that the city manager mentioned that the deadline to apply to FEMA has been extended. Thank you to the Scott administration for pushing for that. Great to see the October 12th. We have a little bit more time. But as you said, don't wait. Get started now. Make sure you've completed your insurance process and the FEMA process to get that money out that get money rolling as quickly as possible. I'm going to break down. So just quick math, 36 million dollars, 10 million dollars in direct flood program for low and moderate income residential programs, which I'll detail now. One million dollars in business flood impact recovery programs. 20 million dollars in electric panel upgrade money that is available across Vermont to low and moderate income from Rogers as well as five million dollars for heat pump hot water heater transitions again available to all low and moderate income from Otters. So we're going to break that down a little bit, but I just there's a lot of detail. One of the things that I would ask you to is as we've been navigating the FEMA process and understanding how best to support from Otters along the way. We're considering this a launch and learn opportunity. We are getting money out the door. We're getting started and we're going to learn and evolve as we go. So please, you know, give us feedback, help us understand where we can improve programs where we can improve the customer experience along the way. Alright, some of the details for the 10 million dollars. Damaged appliances like fridges, washers and dryers, freezers can get up to a thousand dollars in rebates. New small appliances for health and safety such as dehumidifiers, air purifiers, window air conditioning units can get up to four hundred dollars per appliance, limited to appliances per type. Home heating and cooling systems uses a great piece, including energy efficient boilers and furnaces are eligible for up to ten thousand dollars. Central pellet boilers or furnaces are also available for up to ten thousand or up to ten thousand dollars. Wood and pellet stoves replacing a broken system or adding a new supplemental heating system to your home eligible for up to ten thousand dollars. And ductless inducted heat pumps whether replacing or adding a supplemental heating source again up to ten thousand dollars. Water heaters including on demand are eligible for up to three thousand dollars. We will be rolling out within the next week the additional five million dollars for heat pump hot water heaters for eligible customers, which can provide another amazing resource for folks along the way. These rebates are eligible for items purchased on or after July 10th. So if you have already made equipment purchases, you will still be eligible for these rebates. That is critical. People have needed to make decisions quickly. We know people are in different stages along the way. And so we want to make sure that everybody gets to benefit if you buy an eligible appliance. So these these the but working with the administration and the legislature with these dollars were prioritized to be for low and moderate income Vermonters. Those that eligibility is defined based on where you live in Vermont, your income and the size of your household. We have a very simple table on our website that can help answer that question as well as flyers here today for those who would like to check it out. These again these we will work. We are taking in FEMA data thanks to a sharing agreement with FEMA and the public service department to be able to make sure that we are tailoring the incentive to the need in in people's homes and to make sure that you can get as much as as you can along the way. Some of these other products are also available for our existing incentives. Now it's a it's a complicated landscape. I would suggest both going to our website and calling our customer service line to help access as much as you can along the way. I did want to note that the for those $10 million which is really about the appliance dollars. There is and not not the heat pump hot water heaters but just the sort of direct appliance incentives. There is a $10,000 per per unit cap on those dollars. So you wouldn't be eligible for 10,000 for each one of those things would be up to a total combined cap of $10,000. We also have programs for renters and rental property owners. We can work with you and understand who owns which piece of equipment and work through those pieces and we will do it how we do similar programs based on the rent amount to help define those low and moderate income categories with up to $10,000 per unit for hot water appliances and Douglas heat pumps and then a $10,000 allotment for building central heating systems. We're also there will be rental rate protection requirements as there are in many of these programs to ensure that these units remain affordable over the long run. And we know that as folks are rebuilding you've walked by stores and houses torn down to the studs. All of it starts with good weatherization, insulation, air sealing. So we are working to make improvements to our existing weatherization incentives to be able to roll those out as well and then working with the community action agencies and other weatherization partners to help folks access as many resources as possible and offering incentives for the low and moderate income community of up to 75% of the project costs up to $9,500. So really expanding the access to those programs overall and to make sure that they're more accessible because it's difficult to do a blower door test in when you don't have a door anymore or it doesn't close because it's swollen from floodwaters. So we're working to improve that process to be able to get those dollars out the door as quickly as possible. We also know that the upfront costs are going to be more than what some folks can bear. So we've been working with our financing partners, the both the weatherization repayment assistance program that is the partnership between VGS and the Vermont Housing Finance Agency to get those dollars out the door as quickly as possible as well as the home energy loan program, which we work with local lending institutions to be able to offer low to 0% interest financing on home energy projects to make sure that folks can access these funds now and then pay them off with the incentives that come later because we understand that some folks may not be able to handle the upfront cost of these appliances. I want to pivot quickly to the to the business programs. We were able to identify a million dollars in unspent energy efficiency charge dollars that had the fastest PUC action I've ever seen taken. Within 18 hours, we filed the petition. The Public Service Department within an hour endorsed that petition and within 18 hours the PUC had approved repurposing a million dollars towards business incentives. We found that with the funding that came through the emergency board, there were only so many opportunities that could come out and we had to focus those dollars on residential customers as we want to make sure that we helped businesses as well. And so businesses will be eligible for up to $1,000 for new qualified kitchen, HVAC and refrigeration and other heating equipment can be applied to up to four appliances in businesses. So that's up to a $4,000 incentive. We do ask that you give us a call so that we can work through that process, understand what you're doing, where you're going so we can figure out how best to help you. This also works in conjunction with the Agency of Commerce and Community Development and their BGAP program. And we're working with the Regional Development Corporation statewide to help get the word out and get people to help that they need. So our downtowns can be the thriving places we know and love again. As you're seeing, Barry, and my hometown of my pillar re-emerge from the devastations of the flood. We're also working with the Agency of Natural Resources to support contractors who join on to this work to help support it so that they can make themselves available for these customers. We know that these can be complicated projects. And so we want to make sure that the workforce is there and incentivized to be there to help along the way. All right, I'm going to pivot quickly now to quickly talk about the remaining $25 million. These were funds that were appropriated last year from the American Rescue Plan Act monies in state received that the governor and the legislature prioritized towards climate work, recognizing two key needs. First was that if we're going to be able to electrify our heating systems, our transportation systems going forward, we need to have the electric infrastructure inside people's homes to be able to handle it. So there's now going to be $20 million that we will work with partners on from the distribution utilities and other folks to get out the door to make sure that folks can upgrade their panels and their electric systems to be able to handle the increased load from a heat pump, hot water heater, or a heat pump heating system or an electric vehicle along the way. Also, and that will, for eligible households, that will cover up to the full installation cost of that system, which is an incredible benefit and really opens up the possibilities for those remotors who have been least able to participate in the transition so far. And as I mentioned, beginning next week, we will begin phase one of the heat pump, hot water heater program, where again, you will be able to access up to full installation costs of a new heat pump, hot water heater system, which are incredibly efficient and can help people save significant dollars over the long term. And well, again, that's going to be a launch and learn process so we can get the money to folks who need it along the way. And again, these programs are separate from the $10,000 cap. So you can, in theory, get $10,000 to replace key appliances and equipment, get another, get a heat pump, hot water heater installed without any upfront costs and also have your panel upgraded all the way and get dollars for weatherization. So it can be a pretty significant benefit when all stacked together. All right. Is everybody ready for your quiz? All right. What do you have to do first? Thank you. All right. I'll now open the floor for questions. And I'm going to liberally call upon our invited speakers and others in the room to be able to answer questions that folks may have. Mary, alone, on Pealeard, Ludlow, others, do you have any sense of how many households or how many homes this might be able to help? Sure. I'll use one stat that we've heard several times roughly in the 500-plus range of FEMA claims where there was a repair or replace of a heating system is a number that we've seen. And so that gives you sort of an order of magnitude of those folks who have that level of equipment need. But there's significant other need across the board. And there's another 300, I believe, Katie of folks who had a service call to go out and check on the equipment to find out. So that number could be higher. And we know that there are other appliances and other needs across the board. But that gives us a sense of scale. And we know that for many folks, they're going to need everything. So, yeah. If you already applied for FEMA, let's say you got your individual assistance, you're now turning to this program. You apply today. When will the money be able to get out the door? Sure. So we are going to work to get the money out the door as quickly as possible. One of the things we're working with FEMA on is to make sure that we understand the allocation that FEMA has given and whether or not it was a specific allocation for a heating system, for instance, so that we can make sure the incentive matches the need that's out there so we can be good stewards of the state's dollars. But so we're working to get that going as quickly as possible. Again, building the plan as we fly it. So we would ask for a little bit of patience for folks, but we will work with them and help them understand what those timelines are when they give us a call. Our best to work through all those details. We have been working with our finance partners to get the zero percent loan piece increased as quickly as much as we possibly can. We know that upfront costs are a problem. And so we're going to do our best to help folks access dollars as quickly as possible. But it is going to be traditionally in the form of a rebate. Any concessions made for people who may not have good credit in order to get approved for the loan? Can you get Liz? We asked to have a question. Folks in the back were wondering if you could repeat the question or I guess I could repeat the question better since I have the microphone. So forgive me. It's hot up here. The question that Liz asked was whether or not folks were going to be required to to front the capital in order to be able to make the purchase. One of the things that we've discovered along the way with the FEMA process is that where we might want to do a voucher program or something similar as we've done in the past, it doesn't work. We have to do verification on what they've gotten from FEMA. And so we can't just issue that on the same way basis. So we're trying to figure out how to get either financing or how would have you to get. And that's again where the weatherization repayment assistance program could also come into play and other things along the way. So there are lots of tools we're going to need to make things happen. The door for people to come in potentially from out of state and from out of state and elsewhere. Do we have any sense of how many people have taken up Vermont on that offer and where that could go over the next few months? Sure. So we have a couple of months under the executive order from the Scott administration. I think that we don't quote me on the numbers because I didn't check them before I came. I should have done that. But I think we're at about 30 to 40 across all of the professions that are affected by the executive order. And that does include plumbers, electricians, home contractors, architects, engineers, land surveyors. Checking my list. Pollution abatement, wastewater, property inspectors, and security guards, pharmacies and well drillers. Follow up on that and wondering if the list of those contractors is available for folks to review? Yes, it would be available on our licensee lookup page at the Office of Professional Regulations. So I could I could find a link and send it to you if you're interested. Go ahead, Cal. Land for, you know, we've we've we're about a month and a half maybe coming up on two months since the flooding. How have you and your committee? How have you wrapped your arms around the totality of the cost of this? You know, this is 36 million. This is the biggest pot of money we've had so far. How will you be approaching that conversation come January? Well, thank you for the question. I think we start approaching it immediately thinking about not only, you know, we think immediately, what is the relief for Vermonters that needs that needs to happen? What is the scale of the situation? And I've had the well, I don't know if it's the privilege, but the opportunity and the unfortunateness to have been through Irene in the past. And when we switch to COVID, our our state employees and the administration are familiar and have quickly turned and a lot of a lot of things that they have learned over dealing with things of this nature in the past. So that's number one that I do believe that there is a ability to quick quicker response, thinking about getting the data, working with FEMA, but you were right. There is an unknown number of what it's going to be as far as the expense goes. I hope you can hear me on this. What? So we have outstanding a few things as we start to think about getting ready for the next session. We have housing, housing and housing that that needs addressing across the state. There's housing as a needs as a result of the flooding, but we needed a lot more prior to this as well. We also have state buildings that are heavily impacted and the process for gathering what needs to be done, how much is that going to cost, how long is it going to take to get? I think you're very familiar with the fact that the pavilion in Montpelier is highly impacted and the elevator system, from what I'm told will take five months just to get the parts here, let alone fix it and the tax department. So we have in the berry area here, it was heavily impacted on the housing side of it. And in Montpelier heavily impacted on the business side of it, but other communities have been hit very hard as well. LeMoyle, Johnson, there's across the state. So to truly answer your question is we won't know what the exact number is going to be. We just know that we're going to be needing to have to respond and adjusting that budget and the next budget accordingly. Does that help? Okay. As we wrap this up, thank you for coming out and joining us today and what is probably the hottest day, at least for a while. I've definitely lost a couple of pounds up here, so thank you for joining us. This work is incredibly personal to me. As I mentioned, I live in Montpelier. As soon as the floodwater started to receive, received many of us figure, tried to figure out the ways in which we could help. I spent a week in downtown Montpelier trying to do whatever we could to organize volunteers to help people get into homes and businesses and help people shovel out muck and remove debris. I can't, I can't tell you that, I never knew what the, like, you know, I was in the Navy, I should probably know this, but I've never seen anybody actually shell shocked. That's the look was on people's faces as they were trying to figure out what their lives were going to look like as they moved forward. I remember sitting with one business owner trying to help them navigate what was going to be the FEMA process. For them, they're a small business owner. They own an Indian restaurant in Montpelier. They have a house in Barry. Both their business and their home were flooded. They had no idea where to start. And they speak incredibly good English and yet a FEMA form was, is daunting for somebody who's a native speaker, let alone somebody who's learned the language and come to our country. It was heartbreaking and it was really hard to watch, but I saw people rally and I saw leadership emerge in different spaces that showed us what this state is possible of. This action today is another milestone in another example of that leadership. Folks coming together in ways that other states cannot and said, we have a problem, people need help. How do we do this and how do we do this quickly and how do we get the money out the door as quickly as possible? So thank you for coming today. I want to thank you, all the partners and guests being here today. We have responded to commissioner charities called the Action. Folks have been out around the state. I want to give a huge shout out to the distribution utilities and the other energy efficiency utilities. Vermont Gas is here with us today and GMP and the Vermont Public Supply Authority and many others who are out on the ground trying to figure out what people needed in their homes. It's been an all hands on deck effort to try to help figure this out. So thank you all for being here today and joining us on this wonderful, lovely day in a rejuvenated Barry, but don't forget that the front lines are just hundreds of feet away. So thank you very much for being here today.