Meet Your Neighbors – Tom & Amanda
November 30, 2009 by RickM
Filed under Neighbor Introductions, Neighborhood Discussion
Meet Tom Long & Amanda Berard… Gretta and Harvey as well.
From: Amanda is from Hayward WI, Tom is originally from San Francisco and more recently from Chippewa Falls WI.
How long in the neighborhood: 10 months, February 09′
Family: Gretta, the white coat golden-doodle looking dog and Harvey the dark haired mix are both rescue dogs they had prior to moving to Beloit. Gretta loves to run, Harvey… he likes being carried.
Occupation: Amanda works for United Health Care and telecommutes managing her team from their home office. Tom works at Kerry as a commercial & operations controller – dairy division.
For Fun: They enjoy walking and playing with Gretta and Harvey. They’re into their Roku digital player for watching TV programming over the net. And on the other end of the technology spectrum Amanda knits, and very well too. Yes we’ve told her about the fanatic knitters in the neighborhood along with the when-n-where. Tom is looking to hone his handi-man skills with various projects planned for the house.
Community Involvement: As they’re new to the community and still settling in their focus has been on getting their new home set up.
Why this neighborhood: They had looked at homes in various communities in the state line area and as far south as Rockford. By chance they drove past the home on Bushnell and saw it for sale. Prior to moving to Beloit they’d lived in a new home where they were the first owner. They were intrigued by the distinctive architectural character of the old house. They contacted the realtor that afternoon and checked out the home that evening. Following that, looking at vintage homes elsewhere regionally they chose their Bushnell St. home. Tom appreciates having a short commute to work.
Best part of living here: They really enjoy being able to walk downtown. They particularly enjoy Nikki’s because they’re open late and they tend to work late. Having the park directly across the street is very nice and they’ve enjoyed events hosted there. They enjoy taking walks through the neighborhood looking at the old houses. There is a lot to do but regret that they’ve missed a number of things they’d have like to attended but they heard about too late.
Aspirations for the neighborhood community: It would be nice if there was a dog park nearby. Tom would also like to bike to work if there was a bike route available. They enjoy the growing number downtown restaurants and look forward to more downtown development of this sort.
Meet Tom & Amanda (and possibly Gretta & Harvey): You’ll bump into Tom & Amanda down at Nikki’s, usually late. You’ll see Gretta & Harvey out early walking their people around the neighborhood.
Cash For Caulkers
November 29, 2009 by RickM
Filed under Neighborhood Discussion, Old House Renovation / Restoration
So, ok. We’ve been through the Cash for Clunkers program. Stay tuned for…
Cash For Caulkers
Or… leveraging economic stimulus funding for old house home owners.
I received the following from Adrian Fine who is a director at the Center for State and Local Policy at the National Trust. It would seem that historic home owners may be misinformed about ineligibility of storm windows for tax credit. Not surprisingly, it is usually a window replacement contractor who tells them this.
So here’s the deal….
__________________________________
Question: Do storm windows/doors qualify for the $1,500 tax credit.
Answer: YES!
Despite some confusion and misleading information, storm windows and doors do qualify for the tax credit. This chart from the U.S. Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency and Energy Star clearly lists storm windows/doors as eligible products for the tax credit.
Question: Are all storm windows/doors eligible?
Answer: NO.
As stated earlier, the 2009/2010 provisions established a higher standard than in 2007 and all eligible storm windows/doors (purchased from June 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010) must have a U-value of 0.30 or lower and solar heat gain coefficient of 0.30 or lower. Here’s where the main problem lies regarding questions on eligibility. While it is common for new windows to offer specific qualifications regarding performance, it is a difficult to assess for storm windows/doors. Measuring the U-value and solar heat gain of storm windows/doors depends on the performance of the existing window in combination with a storm window, which will always be a case-by-case basis. This can only be tested after storm windows/doors are installed and will vary greatly from building to building.
While some storm window/door manufacturers are marketing their products in conjunction with the tax credit, others are not because the performance standard is difficult to substantiate for all cases. Some are listing classes of exterior windows (single pane, clear glass, double pane, low-E coating, etc.) that a product may be combined with to be eligible in specific climate zones (for a map, go to http://resourcecenter.pnl.gov/cocoon/morf/ResourceCenter/dbimages/full/973.jpg).
Question: What do I need to claim the tax credit?
Answer: Manufacturer’s Certification Statement
A Manufacturer’s Certification Statement is a signed statement from the manufacturer certifying that the product or component qualifies for the tax credit. Taxpayers must keep a copy of the certification statement for their records, but do not have to submit a copy with their tax return. Some manufacturers are providing these Certificates on their website. Other manufacturers are not, taking a more conservation approach and not issuing these certificates since it’s difficult to substantiate on a case-by-case basis. Though there are others, two storm window/door manufacturers that do provide certificates are Gorell (http://www.gorell.com/pages/energy_tax_incentive_act.htm) and Kaufmann (http://www.kaufmannwindow.com/2009energytaxcredit.htm).
As always, please check with your tax advisor for advice.
**Also, for more information on the stimulus funding, and constantly-expanding case studies, check out the Perfect Storm webpage(s) on PreservationNation
–Adrian
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For more information visit the National Trust website > The Perfect Storm
Or contact Adrian directly at: Adrian_Fine@nthp.org
Meet Your Neighbors – LaVaughn Kunny
November 29, 2009 by RickM
Filed under Neighbor Introductions, Neighborhood Discussion
Meet LaVaughn Kunny
From: Finley, North Dakota (north of Fargo – it’s very much like the movie)
How long in the neighborhood: 59 yrs. Moved in with Husband Bart in 1950.
Family: Husband Bart passed nine years ago. Three grown children, daughter, daughter, son. Bart was chairman of the biology department at Beloit College.
Occupation: Retired. Taught biology at Aldrich middle school.
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Community Involvements:
- - The Arts League of Beloit – Past president
- - SLU (Society for Learning Unlimited) – Founding member and past president
- - Beloit Historical Society – volunteer
- - Atonement Lutheran Church – member
Why this neighborhood: Bart had accepted a teaching position at Beloit College. Initially they moved into a rental home on the 700 block of Park. They subsequently purchased their home on Church. They moved into the neighborhood because of home values and proximity to work. Also, having studied art and architecture in college LaVaughn loved the character of their distinctive old house.
Best part about living here: LaVaughn loves her home, her neighbors and the neighborhood/community. With her appreciation for architecture and wanting to maintain the unique character of her home, subsequent updates to the home were done with professional architect design. As they entertained frequently they enlarged both the dining room and first floor bathroom.
As for the community, the best part is the diversity she and her family have enjoyed. Her children attended Wright School, Aldrich and BMHS and are the better for having experienced diversity in their education and upbringing. She’s proud of the diverse makeup of her and her children’s friendships.
LaVaughn loves being so close to the college. There is so much made available for the broader community that there is more to do then time to take advantage, and it’s so close. She’s particularly fond of the symphony, Wright and Logan Museums.
Being a retired teacher she enjoys the affection of many former students who still go out of their way to show her their appreciation and friendship. She has lots of stories. Ask her and you’ll get her going. 
Aspirations for the neighborhood community: LaVaughn looks forward to ever more cultural diversity in the community. She’s particularly hopeful for more active involvement from Beloit’s Hispanic community.
Meet LaVaughn: “You’ll find me at out for lunch downtown somewhere. Stop and say hello.”
Next NPA Gathering: Mon. Dec. 7th.
- - Guest: Acting Police Chief, Norm Jacobs
- - Date: Monday Dec. 7th
- - Time: 6:00 PM
- - Location: Bushel & Peck’s (328 State Street, downtown Beloit)
About this time last year a detective from the Beloit Police Department joined us for one of our regular meetings. It turned out to be a very informative, supportive and helpful exchange. We received a lot of very positive and appreciative comments from those who attended for having hosted that exchange. Well its been a year now and we thought it would be good to get together again.
We’re very pleased that acting police chief Norm Jacobs volunteered to meet with us personally. Given tight scheduling we’ve only got him for about fifteen minutes though so get there early. Additionally, we’ll be meeting a bit earlier then usual in order to accomodate. So note the earlier 6:00 time. He’s scheduled to join us ~6:15.
We appreciate and support the hard work the Beloit Police Dept. provides for us and the challenges they face. Please join us for some direct communication with Chief Jacobs.
