The residents of Dedham Housing Authority's family developments - Veteran's Road and Parker Staples Road -- were warmer this winter thanks to new, stimulus-funded furnaces and boilers.

Joanne Toomey and Jay Johnson
They also anticipate saving money.

"These families pay their own utilities so it impacts the families directly," said Jay Johnson, director of maintenance for the Dedham Housing Authority. "I spoke to some tenants and the heat has been good and their bills are lower."

Recovery Act Impact: Dedham Housing Authority

  • Total stimulus funding: $565,000

  • Installed 108 new furnaces

  • Installed 42 new water heaters

  • Improved heating conditions, reduced utility bills

The Dedham Housing Authority received $565,000 in stimulus funds which it used to install 108 new furnaces and 42 new water heaters at the Veteran's Road and Parker Staples Road developments. According to Johnson, the new equipment is high efficiency and is much more cost effective for the tenants.

New furnace and boiler at Veteran's Road Project
"This helps the tenants who are low income and paying their own bills," said Johnson. "This helps reduce their living costs."

Joanne Toomey, executive director of the Housing Authority noted that the furnaces and boilers that were replaced were old and not working efficiently. But without the stimulus funds, the Authority could not have taken on this project. "We are very grateful because with cuts in our budget we never would have been able to do it ourselves," said Toomey. "This impacted our funds tremendously."

The tenants agree. "My bills were lowered by quite a bit compared to last year," said one tenant. "It's a big impact."