briekelman Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 it's up! http://houstontx.swagit.com/play/04252013-644 Click Item III Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Posted April 26, 2013 Share Posted April 26, 2013 So, we have dozens of people sitting around a room discussing window replacements for an hour, after another session a while back, and after another group of people discussed the same thing. What a crock. Congratulations to the applicant on successfully navigating the minefield of public process. She should not have had to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briekelman Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 hey everyone...the banter has been pretty quiet lately (I'm going through a bit of withdrawl!). I don't really have much interesting to say, other than to let folks know that there is a Historic Preservation Fair on Saturday. I have read up on how to make old windows as energy efficient (or more?) as new windows, but I want to hear what the group has to say about it since I'm keeping my old windows, as well as how easy the process is to get a CoA in Historic Districts. I also want to shake hands with and meet several of the key players that had a big voice in my CoA process. I actually consider myself a preservationist and spend my weekends trolling through local antique shops to find things like old 1920's doors and light fixtures. I was painted a bit differently by a lot of people (a destroyer or historic material), which is quite unfortunate. See the agenda below. If you end up going to, I hope we cross paths and please introduce yourself (my photo is on my profile and there are videos of my cases in earlier posts)! http://www.houstontx.gov/planning/HistoricPres/docs_pdfs/hist_pres_fair_sked_2013.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fwki Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 My next move (aftertheroof) is windows. I'm not in the district, but after the Planning Commission ruling on April 25th (based on past HAHC rulings and Gafrick's words during her 2010 sales pitch) , those in the district should have a much easier time with window CoA. I have 29 including French doors etc. The six vinyl windows in the 1990 add-on are absolute crap and will be replaced. I would say 12 are from the1920's original house and the rest from undated additions. The twelve are inoperable and you really can't see through those with melted glass. Glass drips after so many years and must be replaced if you care to see through it. I would love to have working windows with screens, but for that kind of money, I'm going with new, high tech....double pane with alarm-armed screens. I gave all my original screen frames away to someone with handy skills years ago knowing full well they were in better hands. Lots to think about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksmu Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 My next move (aftertheroof) is windows. I'm not in the district, but after the Planning Commission ruling on April 25th (based on past HAHC rulings and Gafrick's words during her 2010 sales pitch) , those in the district should have a much easier time with window CoA. I have 29 including French doors etc. The six vinyl windows in the 1990 add-on are absolute crap and will be replaced. I would say 12 are from the1920's original house and the rest from undated additions. The twelve are inoperable and you really can't see through those with melted glass. Glass drips after so many years and must be replaced if you care to see through it. I would love to have working windows with screens, but for that kind of money, I'm going with new, high tech....double pane with alarm-armed screens. I gave all my original screen frames away to someone with handy skills years ago knowing full well they were in better hands. Lots to think about. Little known fact - glass is actually a liquid...not a solid. Its just an extremely slow flowing liquid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 Glass drips after so many years and must be replaced if you care to see through it. All of one of my windows are original. I cannot see any evidence of the glass flowing and have no problem seeing out them. I have been in buildings from the 18th century that had original windows. You can see just fine through them. The only evidence of the age is a rumple at the bottom of the window where the glass is starting to accumulate as it falls. Glass from the 1920s will be stronger than glass from the 18th century and will hardly flow at all over decades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJxvi Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 Glass is not a liquid and it generally does not flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 All of one of my windows are original. I cannot see any evidence of the glass flowing and have no problem seeing out them. I have been in buildings from the 18th century that had original windows. You can see just fine through them. The only evidence of the age is a rumple at the bottom of the window where the glass is starting to accumulate as it falls. Glass from the 1920s will be stronger than glass from the 18th century and will hardly flow at all over decades. If you can't see evidence of the glass flowing and your house is from the 20s, your even more clueless about historic homes that I previously thought. There are blatant signs on all of my orig. windows (i think there are 20), I can see through all of them just fine, but to say there is no evidence would be an outright lie. (btw, that "rumple" you are seeing is most likely a sign of flowing...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 btw, what i'm considering glass flow is not the same as Marksmu... the glass does not actually "flow" but due to the nature of the glass becomes more wavy and distorted. Glass is not a liquid, that is a myth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJxvi Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 (edited) Old glass is wavy and not uniform in thickness due to older imprecise manufacturing methods, whereas modern techniques produce glass that has perfectly smooth surfaces and uniform thicknesses. Once the glass is made, it doesn't really change. The glass in your old windows has probably always looked like that. Edited May 16, 2013 by JJxvi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksmu Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 btw, what i'm considering glass flow is not the same as Marksmu... the glass does not actually "flow" but due to the nature of the glass becomes more wavy and distorted. Glass is not a liquid, that is a myth. Glass is actually something between a solid and a liquid. Its not a myth. I've seen shows on glass, and we studied it in strength of materials when I was getting my engineering degree in undergrad....I wasnt trying to start a debate on it, but its worth knowing. Our textbook considered it closer to a liquid than a solid b/c the atoms never stop moving. You can look it up - ahh what the heck - here: Glass, however, is actually neither a liquid—supercooled or otherwise—nor a solid. It is an amorphous solid—a state somewhere between those two states of matter. And yet glass's liquidlike properties are not enough to explain the thicker-bottomed windows, because glass atoms move too slowly for changes to be visible. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fact-fiction-glass-liquid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 If you can't see evidence of the glass flowing and your house is from the 20s, your even more clueless about historic homes that I previously thought. There are blatant signs on all of my orig. windows (i think there are 20), I can see through all of them just fine, but to say there is no evidence would be an outright lie. (btw, that "rumple" you are seeing is most likely a sign of flowing...) Actually, although I had previously been told that the rumple was a sign of flowing, I just read up on the subject and the rumple was actually a remnant of the old glass manufacturing process that is no longer in use. JJ is right. Glass does not flow. So, it looks like you have blatant signs of something that does not happen on your windows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 (edited) The wavyness of the class and distortion increasese over the years. It causes an appearance of "flowing". I believe it has to do with the glass reacting to the weather changes over the years (I saw something about it on this old house). I thought s3mh was claiming that his/her window's do not have any signs of distortion/wavyness. If you would have read my second post that would have been obvious... Mark... thanks for posting that link that proves what I said... glass is not a liquid. Edited May 16, 2013 by SilverJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted May 16, 2013 Share Posted May 16, 2013 The wavyness of the class and distortion increasese over the years. It causes an appearance of "flowing". I believe it has to do with the glass reacting to the weather changes over the years (I saw something about it on this old house). I thought s3mh was claiming that his/her window's do not have any signs of distortion/wavyness. If you would have read my second post that would have been obvious... Mark... thanks for posting that link that proves what I said... glass is not a liquid. Got it. When you said "flow", you really meant further exageration of original manufacturing imperfections. All I said in my original post was that I can see through my windows just fine and have not had any deterioration in the glass affect the visibility. My house is fairly well shaded. So, my windows have been spared a lot of heat from the direct sun. But even in the most sun soaked house, I have never seen a window that had to be replaced because you could no longer see out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fwki Posted May 17, 2013 Share Posted May 17, 2013 I get seasick looking through it, now give me my damn CoA. This is the crux of the issue, some people like seasick windows, some people don't, so don't make me puke in my living room just so you can walk by and think it's October 29, 1929 unless you pay me for it big time, like no taxes. That'll get you some grass-roots historians. Right now it's just weirdos (take a look at that Thursday circus called the HAHC), nostalgia hobbyists and people with no jobs advocating for the HAHC. Go down there to speak on an issue and see for yourselves. Ten-to-one impassioned citizens against forcing people to part with hard-earned treasure to satisfy those with enough cash to play the game...a few weaklings from the other side show up occasionally and murmur a few useless things. But regular working people won't stick their necks out for preservation, but they will when they see wrongs being foisted on others. It takes a real strange bird to stick out his neck in support of those doing the foisting. Change where the money goes because of this ordinance and the whole debate changes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briekelman Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 (edited) Hi everyone, I have been nominated and already vetted/approved through the Committee Boards and Commissions to be appointed to the HAHC. Council Member Cohen (my council member) nominated me. I really want to serve, as I think I could bring significant value as someone who has been through the process. I support both Historic Preservation and owners' rights as outlined in the Historic Preservation ordinance. Recently (the past day), there have been several people that have called Council Member Cohen's office against me. I had not told anyone about my nomination, but apperently it leaked ONLY to people that are vocal against me. I'm not sure who they are, but it's unfortunate because they are saying things about me that are simply untrue. It's unfortunate that Council Member Cohen doesn't know how many people actually DID, DO and WILL support me. Therefore, I would greatly appreciate it if you could please take a minute out of your day to call Council Member Cohen's office. Please keep your message simple and positive. All you need to say is: "I've heard that Brie Kelman has been nominated to serve on the HAHC, and I support her nomination. I think she would be good for my neighborhood." Her number is: 832-393-3004 and her and her chief of staff's emails are: Ellen.cohen@houstontx.gov,districtc@houstontx.gov,Brooke.boyett@houstontx.gov Thank you! p.s. I am running out the door for a business lunch, so I owe Council Member Cohen a phone call back. I will call her as soon as I return, but would appreciate your calls in the interim. Edited May 23, 2013 by briekelman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 (edited) Can Disbanding the HAHC be your primary directive? Edited May 23, 2013 by SilverJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
samagon Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Can Disbanding the HAHC be your primary directive? I'm sure you are partially serious, but mostly joking. However, I would say that based on the short history of posts from Brie, you could do worse for a HAHC member. http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/23402-historic-districts-in-houston/?p=420532 as an example. Assume that getting rid of the HD is impossible, it is a good idea to do everything you can to ensure level headed people are involved. It appears you could certainly have worse people to choose your the fate of your renovations, and as long as the system is in place, you should be trying to get it to work in your favor. Additionally, it wouldn't hurt to have an active forum member as a part of the HAHC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 I'm sure you are partially serious, but mostly joking. However, I would say that based on the short history of posts from Brie, you could do worse for a HAHC member. http://www.houstonarchitecture.com/haif/topic/23402-historic-districts-in-houston/?p=420532 as an example. Assume that getting rid of the HD is impossible, it is a good idea to do everything you can to ensure level headed people are involved. It appears you could certainly have worse people to choose your the fate of your renovations, and as long as the system is in place, you should be trying to get it to work in your favor. Additionally, it wouldn't hurt to have an active forum member as a part of the HAHC. More like mostly serious, partly joking. I'm happy for Brie and I'm sure after her experience of dealing with this group that she will add a nice fresh view on these issues, and having a whole committe of level headed understanding people would be great. We'll see how things go from here. Its too bad that it will take many more level headed people to overcome the HAHCs current standing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TGM Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Recently (the past day), there have been several people that have called Council Member Cohen's office against me. I had not told anyone about my nomination, but apperently it leaked ONLY to people that are vocal against me. I'm not sure who they are, but it's unfortunate because they are saying things about me that are simply untrue.I would take this is a sign that you're doing something right. Dysfunctional systems will do anything, through any means, to justify their ends. Think of the contrast between a set of rules they want everyone to live up to, and the number of rules they are willing to break to retain their grip on power. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briekelman Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 The only thing anyone can do is speak with their voice. Several have spoken against me, and if you think I would be a benefit to the community, please speak with your voice to show support of me. If they only hear one side, they have no incentive to act any differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briekelman Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Actually, please send your emails also to all of the people below: "Newport, Jonathan - CNL" <Jonathan.Newport@houstontx.gov>, jack.christie@houstontx.gov, "Puente, Sandra - CNL" <sandra.puente@houstontx.gov>, "Bradford, C.O - CNL" <Brad.Bradford@houstontx.gov>, annise.parker@houstontx.gov,Brooke.Boyett@houstontx.gov,ellen.cohen@houstontx.gov,mayor@houstontx.gov, districta@houstontx.gov, districtb@houstontx.gov, districtc@houstontx.gov, districtd@houstontx.gov, districte@houstontx.gov, districtf@houstontx.gov, districtg@houstontx.gov, districth@houstontx.gov, districti@houstontx.gov, districtj@houstontx.gov, districtk@houstontx.gov, atlarge1@houstontx.gov, atlarge2@houstontx.gov, atlarge3@houstontx.gov, atlarge4@houstontx.gov, atlarge5@houstontx.gov Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fwki Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Let your voice be heard, this is not the Obama administration so don't worry about reprisals. So many times I watched one or two misguided fools on the HAHC hold sway over that group. All it would take is one or two normal people on the HAHC willing to explain in simple terms the consequences of some of these idiotic votes, and we can take back our neighborhood. I need some help. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briekelman Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 I finally was able to call Council Member Cohen back since my last post (I was in mtgs all day). CM Cohen has been shocked/impressed with all of the support that has flooded her office today for nominating me to the HAHC. Therefore, please keep it up and thank you!! Also, please send your emails and phone calls to other City Council members as well. It can be short and sweet: literally a phone call with a message to the admin and a 2 sentence email. This does spades in showing how many people think that I would be good for the neighborhood. Bradford, Christie, Gonzalez and Cohen are all very supportive of me. During my appeal process, Costello and Pennington were supportive too, although I'm not sure if this is a big topic for them today (it might be, I just don't know if they are aware of these recent happenings, but I know the first 4 are very involved). Therefore, please send your emails to everyone copied below. If you have a couple of short minutes, please call too - you will only leave a voicemail or message with the admin, which takes ~30 seconds. If you are prioritizing (b/c I know we're all busy), I'd recommend the following order: Cohen: 832.393.3004Bradford: 832.393.3012Christie: 832.393.3017Gonzalez: 832.393.3003Pennington: 832.393.3007Costello: 832.393.3014 If you're still reading, here is the update since talking to CM Cohen. Even though I was vetted and approved through the system (but not voted on by City Council yet b/c they didn't have a public meeting this week), they are likely going to withdraw my nomination. This is because they received a "legal opinion" yesterday from the city attorney that the citizen who's position I was going to fill, is not at his term limit and can serve another term. She was embarrassed and sorry that things have turned out this way, and I truly believe that she was blind-sided by all of these events. She does not conduct business this way, and I believe her. My hunch is that this certain citizen representative was going to step down, and then somebody who doesn't like me heard about my nomination and called and asked him to stay. I'm still a bit confused about this, but somehow this prompted legal department to "advice" on his term limit, which he is not at the max yet (he started in 2008). It is unprecedented that the City Council would nominate somebody against an incumbent, so it is likely that they will withdraw my nomination. However, when I asked how that works, she said that is an excellent question!! They have not withdrawn my nomination yet, so the more vocal you can be in support of me, the higher the chance (albeit small) that my nomination will not be withdrawn. I truly believe that CM Cohen has been put in a very bad spot, and this is not fair to her or me or our neighborhood. I know fwki likely thinks I sound cheesy, but all we have are our voices. All of your support calls/emails made a serious impact to CM Cohen today. If the other council members get similar calls/emails, it can do nothing but help. Thank you again for your support. <Jonathan.Newport@houstontx.gov>, jack.christie@houstontx.gov, <sandra.puente@houstontx.gov>, <Brad.Bradford@houstontx.gov>, annise.parker@houstontx.gov,Brooke.Boyett@houstontx.gov,ellen.cohen@houstontx.gov,mayor@houstontx.gov, districta@houstontx.gov, districtb@houstontx.gov, districtc@houstontx.gov, districtd@houstontx.gov, districte@houstontx.gov, districtf@houstontx.gov, districtg@houstontx.gov, districth@houstontx.gov, districti@houstontx.gov, districtj@houstontx.gov, districtk@houstontx.gov, atlarge1@houstontx.gov, atlarge2@houstontx.gov, atlarge3@houstontx.gov, atlarge4@houstontx.gov, atlarge5@houstontx.gov,john.moss@houstontx.gov 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fwki Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 So we have a little intrigue at the palace and it's all about power. The HAHC are pieces on the board. This Gafrick has been around too long and I suspect her of pulling most of the strings. This woman has lied right to CoA applicants faces and then turned tables on them. (Heck, she lied to all of us and tried to pull a fast one on the windows thing until we shot her down at the PC.) I have advocated on behalf of various applicants (never pass an opportunity to hone communication skills) and I've heard the stories from contractors representing the little folk up there. It's like a snake pit...Gafrick has finally run off all the seasoned Planning bureaucrats and has full control over staff, but she has to play the HAHC. The rat on the Commission is Douglas Elliot....remember the dweeb that shot down Kelman's CoA told her to "go the demo route"? If you watch the videos month to month you can see a pattern with this guy and his strings go right back to Gafrick. After all that mess, he felt the pressure (Bucek went to the PC meeting on Elliot's behalf and was roasted for lying) and word was Elliot was stepping down at the end of his term. So they fill all the term-limited positions first and CM Cohen "understands" from Gafrick that Elliot's position though not term-limited will open up. Then the snake-charmer finds out who CM Cohen is nominating, and all of a sudden the dweeb is staying put. I say fine, let's have fun kicking him for another year, making him the YouTube fool. I wrote in this space almost a year ago that if we wanted to take back our neighborhood we would have to go after these carpet baggers personally. Well it's time. Either he goes now under pressure from our email barrage to Council or he goes later, tar, feathers and on a rail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s3mh Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Either he goes now under pressure from our email barrage to Council or he goes later, tar, feathers and on a rail. Anti-ordinance rhetoric always keeping it classy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksmu Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 (edited) Anti-ordinance rhetoric always keeping it classy. Ill take rhetoric over crony-take it or leave politics all day long. Private property rights were stolen without any possible chance for an individual to opt out or have any recourse against a vocal, well connected, well financed minority of snotty know it all, nitty's. If it takes a little name calling to get enough people fired up so that we can repeal the ordinance and put each one of these crooks out on their ass then so be it! We at least have a 100% honest, intellectually accurate, argument. The pro-ordinance people lied, cheated, stole their way to victory....If you look at our arguments and you look at your arguments, our arguments are accurate, concise, and consistent. Your "arguments" throughout this thread have evolved so many times into so many things, that the only thing that we can be certain of is that despite overwhelming evidence of abuse, cronyism, and dirty underhanded tricks, you still blindly support your comrades at the HAHC. Edited May 24, 2013 by Marksmu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fwki Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 Wow, we are making progress with sm...he finally realizes it's the ordinance that is the problem...I am going to get through the inertia of apathy using historically accurate political theatre. Get the pitchforks, Elliot's got to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 I'll gladly put a REMOVE ELLIOT FROM THE HAHC sign in my front yard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverJK Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 (edited) Anti-ordinance rhetoric always keeping it classy. Classy... remember your manic rant after the HDs got approved? I think you gave up all your rights on calling someone else out for not being classy that day. Edited May 24, 2013 by SilverJK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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