[Vision2020] The Future

[Tom Hansen]

For the umpteenth and final time, Mr. Nisbet -

Being an employee at UI, yes, I am extremely concerned about the direction
which UI is taking.

As Mr. Dickinson had mentioned to you earlier, the problem is NOT here in
Moscow.  The problem is approximately 350 miles south of Moscow.  If you
cared to examine the history of how the powers that be in Boise have treated
UI like a vagrant that must fight for every nickel and dime it receives from
state appropriations.

Do you realize that back in the 1998/99 school year, Boise was trying to
move the College of Law to Bozo State (Boise State University [bSU] to you
lesser primates).  That didn't work out.  A couple years earlier they
terminated UI's College of Engineering classes in Boise and created Bozo
State's College of Engineering.  That created traffic jams on northbound
I-95 as engineering students were told that they could either attend their
unaccredited courses at Bozo State or transfer to UI.  It took bSU's College
of Engineering another 5 years to qualify for accreditation.

There is a long distasteful history between UI and the state.  It dates back
to when Boise Junior College became a 4-year university and given a lion's
share of the pie ever since.

So, you see, Mr. Nisbet, I am concerned.  I am just as certain that UI will
survive this storm.  I know it will.  It has experienced worse weather in
its history.

Now to address something alot more immediate:  Tax-paying, locally owned and
operated retail businesses on Main Street, the very heart of the central
business district and their likelihood of survival over the next five to ten
years.

As more and more non-commercial school entities procure Main Street
addresses under the guise of "conditional use", the more locally owned and
operated retail businesses on Main Street are pushed to the side until they
join the ranks of urban legend, gone but not forgotten.

As more and more non-qualified entities are gifted with tax-exempt status,
the more and more difficult it becomes for the local hard-working property
owner to pay his/her bills and keep food on the table.

As special case "conditional use" entities chase Mom and Pop off of Main
Street and ever-increasing property taxes chase everybody else out of town,
we cannot blame the university for this.  We as a community MUST assume some
responsibility.

I want for Moscow to grow economically as a community that provides for its
citizens.  I want for Moscow to grow socially so that every person is
treated as every other person.

I simply do not wish to look down Main Street five or ten years from now and
say, "Wouldn't it be nice if . . . "

Until then . . .

Take care of yourselves and each other, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil
and steady dedication of a lifetime." 
 
--Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.