[Vision2020] When Moscow Doubles - Questioning the premise

[Jerry Weitz]

Like Mark I do not see doubling potential for the Palouse in general.  What 
would be the driving variables?  Anecdotally, at the dental office, I have 
observed a moderate influx of retired folks relocating here, not families 
with children.  My basic premise for encouraging growth (economic/business) 
is to help bolster  UI's fortunes through a research triangle.  Hence, if 
this has validity, then we need planning.  Mark deserves credit for being 
the commissioner who kept D-8 in Latah County.  Mark really suffered 
through a recall that was initiated by his efforts for D-8.  jerry

At 08:22 PM 5/21/06, Nils Peterson wrote:
>(Thanks Mark, for pointing out that I mis-addressed this; I did want it go
>into the general conversation)
>
>
>
>I think the pivotal issue here is demographics. Who are these would-be
>doublers?
>
>They are not UI or NSA students. The demographic of 18-22 year olds is
>peaking and headed down. More likely the university will struggle to hold on
>to its position in an increasingly competitive market. WSU seems to be
>positioning itself as a graduate university. NSA may fare better than UI in
>that it has a very special market niche.
>
>The doublers are not university employees. See above. WSU's move up-market
>may increase its faculty numbers, but not hugely.
>
>What about high tech? Schweitzer et al? Harder to predict. The right company
>could grow from nothing today. More likely, if the right handful that are
>small today experienced double digit growth. Less likely, but possible, is a
>company re-locating here. Not a huge company. 100 employees.  This makes a
>topic for this discussion, how would we recruit/ screen/ facilitate or
>impede such a company? Given my theme of identifying gov't & civic
>organizations that are needed for this doubling -- the Chamber and LEDC seem
>to be the organizations we have to do this work.
>
>Are the would-be doublers retirees? At age 50, I consider myself the end of
>the baby boom, and have watched recreational property that I might enjoy
>(like a place at the Oregon Coast) jump way up in price as the boomers ahead
>of me got similar ideas.  Imagine a couple that have had good, steady
>employment for the last 20+ years. They purchased and paid off a home. It
>has appreciated significantly because of its location in an urban area,
>perhaps to $400,000 or more. This couple is 62, kids grown and gone, and
>they are tired of the urban life. They draw $50K in retirement from several
>sources. There are thousands of these people. Might they come to Moscow?
>This is a wild card, but unlike new high tech business, I'm not sure what
>gov't and civic organizations might be needed.
>
>
>
>
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>
>On 5/21/06 8:34 AM, "Mark Solomon" <msolomon at moscow.com> wrote:
>
> > ...more likely that we'll see a leveling of the growth rates between
> > the two: 0.75% annually for Moscow. Of course, we are a different
> > community with different amenities (such as a forested mountain just
> > outside of town) but I would like someone to explain why we should
> > either plan for or expect our population to double in 15 years when
> > there is no historical trend to indicate it will occur. We are not
> > Boise or Coeur d'Alene or Sandpoint or McCall or Kuna or Meridian
> > or....
>
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