[Vision2020] When Moscow Doubles - Questioning the premise

[Jerry Weitz]

Nils, D-8 (Formerly ProTech) is a locally grown manufacturer of world class 
aluminum molds for molded particle foam, thermoformed plastics, 
rotationally molded plastics.  For example, I believe that the injection 
molds for bicylce helmets that have won the tour d' france for the last 
twenty years were made by D-8.  Barry Ramsay, with a Masters in Art from 
WSU, is the owner.  He started out making injection molds for protective 
packaging of copy machines, computers etc.  His business grew and so did 
the number of his employees.  He needed to expand and was being blocked by 
a couple of local farmers.  Mark Solomon kept the operation from having to 
move out of the county.  Recall this was a time that the Potlatch Mill had 
been dismantled and jobs were hard to find around Potlatch. The plant is 
north of Potlatch on the east side of highway 95 on Freeze road.  The 
company pays well, has great benefits and is environmentally 
friendly.  Mark Solomon deserves the noble prize for rural development in 
Latah County for coming to this company's aid.  His recall was initiated by 
folks who were unhappy about the company being allowed to locate on "farm 
ground" although it was legal to place a manufacturing plant in if it dealt 
with agriculture.  For more info:  google D8 Potlatch Idaho or have a site 
visit.  jerry

  At 06:47 AM 5/22/06, Peterson, Nils S wrote:

>D-8 is a reference I don't understand.
>
>If the consensus here is that Lambert is wildly unrealistic, both based on
>anecdotal evidence and Census projection, and if the demographic that is
>arriving is post-children retirees, then we could ask a couple questions:
>
>1. Is this passive growth (and demographic) alright, or should we be taking
>out ads in AARP magazine? How are we thinking about integrating these people
>into Moscow; lacking children, they may lack some of the means that many
>other people have to integrate themselves into the town.
>
>2. Given 1-2% growth rate (not Lambert's 5%), what planning, organization,
>etc, should be undertaken?  MarkS will note water. Keely will note the
>schools issues (driven by aging facilities, and flat, or declining?
>enrollment).
>
>
>On 5/21/06 10:05 PM, "Jerry Weitz" <gweitz at moscow.com> 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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