Site Plan Hearing

Last night our site plan went before the Town Planning Board for approval. Prior to tonight, a couple committees as well as the town engineer reviewed the plan and made comments. Those were then reviewed by the Board in an open forum. It was very interesting to witness this process, which took some time but was very exciting for us nonetheless. Overall the review of our plan was relatively uncomplicated, but there were a few notes requiring discussion:

• The fire district recommend a sprinkler system because of distance from road and lack of water source. After some discussion we decided this was unnecessary.
• Requirement of drainage easement means and bounds map because of stream on property
• Do we need a description of corridor or a detailed survey? 
• A detailed survey would be exceedingly difficult (and expensive and inaccurate) because it is a meandering creek
• Description would be good enough.
• The Conservation Board asked, "Will it be a modular house?" - and no one knows why.
• The Conservation Board also noted that the "sensitive areas" (farms, etc) listing was missing, while in fact it was included and for some reason they just overlooked it - and again no one knows why.
• Steep slopes need approximate labeling on the plan.
• Must edit note about visibility from driveway to agree with Dept. of Transportation assessment.

Besides all of that, the Board found no issue with our plan. So after our discussion they moved on to what was next on the agenda, and we had to wait until the end of the meeting to get our ruling. All in all:

• No futher environmental review
• Must make updates to comply with town engineer comments (need easement language, steep slope labeling, etc.)
• Must also comply with Monroe County Department of Planning & Development comments, when received

On those conditions, our application request is approved! So moving forward, we have to wait for our surveyor to make some updates, and for the Department of Health to approve our plan, and then we should be able to get our subsequent permits (driveway, building, etc) after all the necessary signatures. I fear that this may be a long process despite sounding relatively straightforward, especially considering the fact that it has taken months to even get to this point. Thankfully, we don't need another review at a Town Board meeting, which is welcome news since you have to wait one month from submission to actually be reviewed (i.e., our plan was actually submitted back in February, and wasn't on the agenda until now in March).

Overall, the meeting was very interesting, and it was very nice to meet the gentlemen who sit on the board. They were very friendly and welcoming, and actually seemed rather excited about our little project. In fact, one member of the board also has geothermal, and was very excited to tell us how great it is - and it turns out, his was also installed by Roth Green Energy! He is very happy with it, which is reassuring for us (not that we had any doubts). All in all, an encouraging and exciting meeting - we can't wait to get moving! But for right now, we still have to...

Updated budget:
+$125.00 - Rush Planning Board Site Plan Hearing Fee
+$300.00 - Monroe County Department of Health site plan review fee
+$50.00 - Monroe County Highway Department site plan review fee
+$3,265.00 - Balance to surveyor
TOTAL SPENT SO FAR: $36,328.29

An inadvertent head start

In the conclusion of my last post I pretty accurately predicted what ended up happening today. Yesterday we got a flyer in the mail inviting us to a "private sale only open to preferred customers" at Charlotte Furniture and Appliance. Although it seemed like a gimmicky promotion, everything in the store was promised to be on sale up to 50% off so we figured, why not check it out? My mom sent my dad out with a shopping list, and we met up to check out the offerings. While the visit was initially meant only to replace my parents' broken oven (as well as replace their toaster oven and microwave with an over-the-range (OTR) convection microwave like I mentioned in my last post), we ended up going whole hog, as my mom would say. She sent me with a couple secret messages that if they had good deals on refrigerators and dishwashers, go ahead and get those, too (all of my parents' appliances are 20+ years old). But it's not only that - Matt and I ended up getting all of our appliances, too. Say what!

As we were helping my dad with picking out an oven, we mentioned to the salesman that we were also looking for ourselves for down the road. The salesman said that they can hold appliances for 6 months, or even longer if necessary, all it takes is a phone call. Bingo! The oven/microwave combinations we were looking at ended up meeting both my mom's and our needs, so that got two birds with one stone, as did the dishwasher they had on special. We also went with the fridge, washer, and dryer they had on super special, seeing as how we were not picky on any of those appliances (like I outlined in my last post). Below is a list of what we got; you can click on the linked name to see the detailed specs on each appliance.

Maytag MIR8890AS Freestanding Induction Range - There really aren't that many induction ranges out there, and this is pretty much the only affordable one with a coordinating OTR convection microwave. Plus, this Maytag range is designed, engineered, and assembled in the USA.

Maytag MMV6186WS Convection Over the Range (OTR) Microwave - This is the convection microwave that matches the range, so - sold. (You want the range and microwave to coordinate because otherwise the finishes won't match and will look goofy. Since induction ranges and convection ranges are high-end, pretty much all of them are stainless steel; so, we didn't have a whole lot of choice here to get a convection microwave + induction oven.) It's not made in the USA, but apparently NO microwaves are.

Maytag MDB8949SAW Dishwasher - Basically we went with this dishwasher because it came at an incredible value. It washes dishes and is energy star - the end. It does have some sweet features like an adjustable height top rack, a split silverware basket for flexibility, and an auto clean cycle that gauges how dirty the dishes are so that resources aren't overused. The tub is stainless steel which apparently attracts condensation and improves heat retention, improving performance overall. It also has steam settings that we'll have to look into more. Even better, this is another appliance designed, engineered, and assembled in the USA. We got white because we are planning white cabinets and didn't care to pay more for either hidden controls or stainless steel, both of which would be unnecessary expenses.

Amana AFD2535FES Refrigerator - This was basically a 36" french door fridge at a special closeout price, so - okay. We get an ice maker which is bonus, and inside there is a little spout for cold filtered water. I'm not sure how efficient that water spout really is, to have to hold the door open to get water, but we;ll see whether we ever use it or not. Upon further inspection there are some spotty online reviews regarding reliability (people either love it or hate it), and I'm not sure whether the fridge is actually energy star certified. However, it is listed as consuming 505 kwh/yr, whereas comparable refrigerators that are energy star are rated anywhere from 473 to 551 kwh/yr, so I'm not sure that it's a problem. We didn't intend to get stainless steel, but it was actually less expensive than its black/white counterparts, so we went with it. However, given the reviews and questionable energy star status, we may go back to ask about other refrigerators; or if it's too late to switch, we will ask to add the extended warranty (which we initially declined but I expect we can still get since we haven't actually taken possession yet).

Frigidaire FAFW3921NW Washer and FASE7021NW Dryer - These were another case where there was an incredible bundle deal. We said, "Efficient front load washer and dryer" and these fit the bill. Sold. Apparently the washer comes with an energy saver mode and was named Energy Star Most Efficient 2012, so that's gravy.

Overall, we feel super ahead of the game, but we are very glad we went ahead and purchased all of our appliances today. For one, it's one less thing to worry about; and secondly, from what we can tell from online prices (not even retail, which in almost every case was a couple hundred dollars more), we saved over $1,000! Or rather, we will once we actually fully pay for them. For now we put down a 50% deposit, and then we pay the rest upon delivery. And, we actually get a price guarantee from now until 30 days after delivery, so we can feel safe knowing we got phenomenal deals. No wonder Charlotte is an 11-time winner in the D&C Rochester's Choice awards. And I suppose it goes without saying it felt like a lot of fun to go on an appliance shopping spree! The only downside is having to wait to be able to use any of them...

Updated Budget:
+$2,000.00 - Down payment for appliances
TOTAL SPENT SO FAR: $34,588.29

Getting a little ahead of ourselves

As it happens, my mom's oven died recently; so, we got a little head start on appliance shopping since we accompanied her on a search for a replacement. We spent today simply browsing around to get an idea what options are available and roughly how much they cost.

Ovens
We basically already decided on an induction stove because of their supreme efficiency and how easy they are to clean. We also want a split oven, since we typically don't need to use a whole oven to cook or bake things like casseroles or pizza. However, we learned that an induction cooktop plus a split/double oven simply does not exist; so if that's what we wanted, we would have to do a separate cooktop and wall oven (which could still be installed under a countertop). However, upon further research, we have found that there is only one option for a split wall oven that only takes up as much space as a regular oven, and it is SUPER expensive (other double wall ovens are literally that - two full-size ovens stacked one-atop another). We also found an Electrolux that claims to be a double oven with induction cooktop; however, the smaller oven portion is really just a variable-temperate warming drawer, so that wouldn't really work. So in the end we decided we would want a regular, full size oven with an induction cooktop.

Microwaves
As it happens, another thing we learned was about the resurgence of convection microwaves. These microwaves serve triple duty: they microwave, they toast, and they bake. Basically they are designed to replace both a microwave and a toaster oven, and to top it off you can get them to fit over the stove and also behave as exhaust fans. My mom said that she used to have one, and she loved it. I'm not sure why they fell out of favor for a while (just a price point issue I assume), but they sound great - especially for reheating pizza, as you get the combined benefits of microwave speeds and toaster crispiness. Plus our smaller baking jobs can be done in one of these, since we can't get a split oven.

Refrigerators
There isn't a whole lot to say about refrigerators, since it seems they are all relatively similar when it comes to efficiency. Fundamentally what differentiates them from one another are features and sizes. Pretty much we know we want french doors and a pull-out freezer on bottom. Beyond that, we're not picky, and don't care about things like ice and water in the door. Pretty much we'll take whatever seems like a good value for the money.

Dishwashers
Like refrigerators, it seems that most dishwashers are on the same level when it comes to efficiency. There are some that claim to be particularly conservative with water or energy, but the differences do not appear significant. For example, Bosch claims to have the most efficient dishwashers, but they mostly achieve this claim by not having a drying cycle. We typically open our dishwasher to preempt this cycle and let our dishes air dry, anyways. We may still consider these types of models, and apparently Bosch makes its appliances in the USA even though it's a German company, but overall we'll take a similar approach as the fridge: so long as it washes dishes and is energy star compliant, we'll take whatever seems like a good deal. Our greatest green impact with any dishwasher can be to continue to make sure we run it only when full (and don't dirty more dishes than necessary in the first place), and can try safer (non-phosphate) detergents.

Washers and dryers
We haven't looked at washers or dryers at all yet, but we know we plan on getting front-loaders. Front-loading washers use less water to start and spin more water out, shortening dry time. Since we'll have them tucked away in a utility room, we couldn't care less about the appearance of our washer/dryer, so that is not a factor. Once again, so long as they're energy star certified we'll just search out a good value.

Now that we have a good idea about what kinds of appliances we want, we should be able to narrow down our search and be educated consumers when the time actually comes to buy them. To help narrow things down further, we will try as much as possible to by products made in America. And who knows, the purchasing may come sooner than later - if, when my mom goes to buy her new oven, anyone feels like giving us a nice little bundle deal and can hold our appliances for a few months, we may be business (even though it feels super early at this point).