[Vision2020] The Future

[Phil Nisbet]

Chris and Andreas

This is exactly the debate I was hoping to see when I first posted to the 
subject.

We all know that the U of I needs to have a focus on being able to get and 
hold grant generating programs.  I think that Chris's point is that growth 
in Fairbanks has benefited from getting exactly those kinds of programs and 
that those in turn have lead to use of brownfields area being redeveloped 
into retail space.  Big Boxes for the sake of Big Boxes are no salvation and 
Andreas is correct that we can not have a stable economy here based on 
retail, especially retail that is not locally based.

So what programs can we work to see move in and how can we as a community 
make the area more business friendly for the kinds of development we want to 
see in the future?

For that matter, what are acceptable developments in things like light 
manufactuing or particular industries that we would want to see drawn here?

Phil Nisbet

>From: Andreas Schou <ophite at gmail.com>
>Reply-To: Andreas Schou <ophite at gmail.com>
>To: Chris Storhok <cstorhok at co.fairbanks.ak.us>
>CC: Mark Seman <FCS at moscow.com>, Phil Nisbet <pcnisbet1 at hotmail.com>, 
>vision2020 at moscow.com
>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] The Future
>Date: Tue, 5 Jul 2005 16:23:28 -0700
>
>Chris --
>
>Though not all big-box stores are drains on the economy -- CostCo and
>Bed, Bath, and Beyond are good examples -- some big-box development
>demonstrably has negative effects on local economies, especially small
>economies. Retail pays less and has fewer benefits than any sector of
>the economy than food service.
>
>We cannot compete with Spokane as a nexus for big-box development. Any
>attempt to do so w idiocy -- we don't have the population base to
>support it. Unless we bring in more shoppers from outside Moscow --
>and we don't have any coherent plan to do so -- the only town that
>will show any net economic benefit from another Wal-Mart is
>Bentonville, AR. We cannot have an economy that cannibalizes itself:
>fewer, lower-paying jobs replacing local retail* will simply Hoover
>money out of the local economy -- and that's not even including the
>bribes in tax write-offs it would require to make them come.
>
>Retail cannot save Latah county. Relying on retail is a sucker's bet.
>
>-- ACS

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