Inspector on wheels: Norm Verworn sees his biking habit as the ethical thing to do - plus, it's good training for this triathlet
By KEILA SZPALLER of the Missoulian
Norm Verworn is building up strong legs for himself and a small savings for the Missoula Housing Authority.
Verworn, a housing inspector and triathlete, makes his rounds by bicycle, and has logged more than 1,000 cycling miles since April.
The bike trips have proved practical for Verworn, but they're also an example of how the public housing agency is advancing a green ethic to save money and shrink its carbon footprint.
“What's more ethical than conserving energy right now?” said Jim McGrath, admissions and occupancy manager for the Housing Authority.
McGrath said conserving energy saves some of the limited money the agency can use to house people - and the practice helps the planet to boot. But that's in the long run.
In the short run, it's helped Verworn's training. He's worked for the Housing Authority for about 3 1/2 years and has been the housing quality inspector for a year and a half.
By the numbers, the inspector's story goes like this: Verworn conducts 120 inspections a month. He visits 95 percent of those places on his bike. He carries about 10 pounds of gear. He rides anywhere from five miles to 30 miles a day. And he's completed 17 triathlons in less than three years, as well as a half-marathon and half-Ironman.
MICHAEL GALLACHER/Missoulian Housing inspector Norm Verworn is working to reduce his carbon footprint. The Missoula Housing Authority inspector rides his bike to inspections whenever possible, and has been saving taxpayers money on the fuel he would be b
Oh, and another thing: Verworn is 62 years old.
He wanted to complete a triathlon before hitting 60, and while that number and others tell the tale, some of Verworn's motivation can't easily be quantified. It comes in the form of a much younger Ironman.
“I can't be outdone by my son-in-law,” Verworn said. Then, he has second thoughts about the man, Chris Blair. “Actually, I'll never catch him.”
Verworn started doing inspections by bike because MHA's McGrath suggested it. The inspector wasn't an easy convert - “I thought, ‘Oh, man.' I just thought of the area I cover” - but he hopped aboard during Bike-Walk-Bus Week, Missoula's annual “celebration of healthy transportation.” He found shortcuts, less traffic and an easy way to log training miles.
“I found out I could get around town a whole lot easier on my bike,” he said.
The valley has been mostly smoke- and snow-free since April, but Verworn's goal is to bike this winter, too.
McGrath estimated the bike inspections have saved the agency at least $200 in gas.The Housing Authority keeps a six- or seven-year-old Mercury Sable, and it gets just 18 miles per gallon in town.
“We'd love to have something very efficient,” McGrath said.
He wants the housing units to be efficient, too, and the Housing Authority is heading that way. Other housing authorities are as well, said Tom Friesen, HUD field officer in Helena.
“Housing authorities are certainly being encouraged to put more effort into energy conservation,” Friesen said.
In many cases, the housing authorities themselves are pushing that agenda, he said. Helena saved money in conservation and passed on some savings to residents. The energy companies are willing to help, too.
“They've decided that it's less expensive for them to get clients to use conservation methods than it is to produce more,” Friesen said.
The Missoula Housing Authority is hiring a contractor to do an energy audit of at least 174 units and as many as 325, McGrath said. He said the audit is timely in light of a new program offered through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Basically, if a housing authority can show that upgrades will save money in energy bills over time, HUD will loan the agency the savings upfront to make the improvements, he said. And while the audit isn't complete, the consultant pegged the 20-year savings in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“It's kind of a neat opportunity at HUD,” McGrath said.
Improvements will likely mean doing the basics - but the Housing Authority is taking the long look as well, McGrath said.
It will likely upgrade boilers and furnace systems, he said. At the same time, installing photovoltaics on the top of The Palace Apartments is part of the discussion, too.
Of course, some smaller improvements are already in place. Verworn, who carries a clipboard and inspection kit, got saddle bags for his bike.
Reporter Keila Szpaller can be reached at 523-5262 or at keila.szpaller@missoulian.com.
