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warp. The windows we are buying have a guarantee for 20 years on both the seals and frames. We can't understand how the staff by taking pictures of the outside of our house can tell anything about what the windows are like on the inside. The staff doesn't have to live with these windows on a day to day basis. The windows are always getting dirty and we have hired contractors to clean them. The last time this happened, even though we paid the contractor $200.00 dollars, the contractor quit in the middle of the job because there were too many windows. He put together storm windows incorrectly so they are a mess. Every time it is humid the windows are very hard to open and shut. Since we live in the house on a day to day basis we feel the replacement windows will not only be a lot easier to clean but they will look better also. They will not look the same; but, the storm windows that are on the house now are not very attractive either. We also look at this from an energy savings point of view. The staff report said that the pay back period is about 30 years; but, with energy prices triple and the windows much more efficient than they were in the past, the payback period is going to be obviously a lot shorter, maybe 10 years or fewer. BRENDA KNOWLES: I also have severe allergies and I am very worried about the lack of ventilation because we literally cannot open most of the windows. They swell shut almost the entire year. I am worried about argon, mold, and the exacerbation of my allergies. So I see health as well as ecological issues here. JOHN OXIAN: You are already violating the standards by going from 4 over 1 window to 1 over 1 window. If you were going to go for new windows that were 4 over 1, which we have some times allowed in other places to match the original ones, then that's a different story. My house is a landmark and it has wood windows. If you have your wood windows taken care of properly they will open and shut properly. You have to check the ropes and weights on the windows periodically to make sure they are working correctly. I can open all of the wood windows I have in my house. You also mention about going inside the house to see what the windows are like. Our inspectpr cannot go inside the house. If you want our inspector to come in and see what the windows look like from the inside to get a better judgment to make us decide on what we would like to approve or reject, then I would suggest that we table this and you allow Wayne Doolittle to come in and look at the windows and then come back. Until you decide to come back with 4 over 1 window I will not approve this one way or another. BRENDA KNOWLES: I had called Mr. Doolittle a couple of times about this; because, we actually don't even know what you are talking about regarding 4 over 1 and 1 over 1. JOHN OXIAN: Then I would suggest that we table this and have you sit down with our inspector and go over this and come back with a mutual understanding among all of you so that next month what ever is approved would be the best thing to do. LYNN PATRICK: I also have wood windows in my house that would not open because they were all painted shut. We did a window rehab workshop with Bob Yapp. He replaced the weights and ropes and did a lot of work on my windows and now they open and shut like a dream. TODD ZEIGER: Have there been bids received for rehab on these windows? BRENDA KNOWLES: No. TODD ZEIGER: I would request that if this is tabled then bids should be brought back in for consideration. The fact that it violates the standards to replace them to begin with really begs the question why there aren't even bids to repair what is there now. 2