[Vision2020] When Moscow Doubles - Questioning the premise

[Mark Solomon]

For those of you unfamiliar with D-8, it is a 
small manufacturing business making aluminum 
injection molds for complex styrofoam pieces such 
as bike helmets and computer packaging. Very 
labor intensive work that employs (I'm guessing 
here) 35-50 people at good wages and benefits. 
They are located just east of Highway 95 a mile 
or so north of the Potlatch 'Y'.

The controversy Jerry refers to involved the 
rezoning of the property to accommodate Light 
Industrial. Several of the neighbors (no longer 
living in the county for other reasons) objected 
and as Jerry points out, carried the petitions 
for the recall election. This is all back in 
1993-94. Not that this was the sole issue in the 
recall, but the people objecting to the rezone 
were the foot-soldiers.

Thanks for the kind words, Jerry.

Mark

At 10:05 PM -0700 5/21/06, Jerry Weitz wrote:
>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.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>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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