[Vision2020] Walmart Gets Nod for Starting Work

[a]

"As for the water we use for irrigation on our farm, it all comes from a 
shallow well, which is more than likely recharged yearly."

Sounds as though you aren't all that sure how your own well recharges. By 
your own argument shouldn't you cease using it till more is known? I'd 
venture to guess that most of what is sold at The Clev's veggie farm can now 
be found in Moscow, why waste additional water producing more? Aren't you 
deliberately creating a situation that imposes "a loss of sales to 
businesses in Moscow."

 It doesn't seem like there is enough demand for vegetable items in this 
area to support a farm the size of The Clev's. Someone is going to lose due 
to the increased supply of cheap produce.

g
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Garrett Clevenger" <garrettmc at verizon.net>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>; "g. crabtree" <jampot at roadrunner.com>
Sent: Thursday, March 12, 2009 12:45 PM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Walmart Gets Nod for Starting Work


>
> g's comments and my reply:
>
>
>> 1. My business is not located in Whitman county.
>
> True. To clarify what I said, I like to shop at locally owned stores. I've 
> gone to yours, and to stores in Whitman County.
>
>
>> 2. Predatory? All business competes with other business.
>> This is the nature of the game. Will Idaho lose some tax
>> revenue? Some, but probably not as much as you think. Those
>> same tax dollars are lost when Idaho residents go to Spokane
>> to shop ... > 4. I am willing to accept any legal, legitimate 
>> business.... Period.
>
> I consider a mall twice the size as ours, who's stated intent is to take 
> business from Moscow, as more predatory than your average store like 
> Crossroads. I have no problem with Crossroads. I have no problem with 
> competition per say. I believe in evolution, and competition drives 
> natural selection, which is a good thing. I also understand some dogs will 
> eat other dogs unless you put them on a leash. I have no problem 
> regulating the free-for-all you endorse that seems to come at the expense 
> of Moscow.
>
> I doubt everything that may be bought at Hawkins are things that can't now 
> be found in Moscow already. I'd venture to guess that most of what is sold 
> at Hawkins can now be found in Moscow, so in general, if people buy things 
> at Hawkins instead of Moscow, not only is it a loss of tax revenue for 
> Moscow, but a loss of sales to businesses in Moscow. That's probably a 
> reason why the owner of Tri-State is against the the water sale to 
> Hawkins, as he expressed in the MCA forum last year.
>
> It doesn't seem like there is enough demand for retail items in this area 
> to support a mall the size of Hawkins. Someone is going to lose due to the 
> increased supply of cheap goods.
>
>
>> > 3. Water. We've been over this one repeatedly. Whether
>> it is delivered by the City of Moscow, pumped from private
>> wells, or provided by the City of Pullman, it's all the
>> same water. ... I suspect that your
>> vegetable production facility uses far more water than any
>> individual business will and provides far fewer jobs. If the
>> Hawkins property were to be turned into a truck farm the
>> same argument you attempt to use applies. Competition with
>> Moscow business. (you) No tax dollars for Idaho. Far higher
>> water consumption. Perhaps you would prefer the land lay
>> fallow?
>
>
> I don't think we know what affect Hawkins pumping from their well will 
> have on Moscow's well. It probably wouldn't affect our well as much as if 
> we pump that same water from our well to sell to Hawkins. But that's the 
> crux of the problem. We really don't know enough about how the aquifer 
> works to say for certain, except that it is declining at a rate that can't 
> last forever, and that should be cause for concern that we are using more 
> than the natural recharge rate.
>
> So not only will we have an over-supply of retail goods, we have an 
> under-supply of water to meet our needs over the long run.
>
> As for the water we use for irrigation on our farm, it all comes from a 
> shallow well, which is more than likely recharged yearly. That's a big 
> difference from pumping from the deeper aquifer, which is better quality 
> water, and doesn't recharge as quickly. It is possible we use more water 
> than your average store, but it is a different water source. Ours 
> replenishes yearly, yours probably takes a lot, lot longer to replenish.
>
> We need to be conscious about how much water we use, because being a 
> shallow water source, it potentially could dry up by the end of the 
> season. So unlike many larger scale farms, our water use is probably way 
> more efficient, as we use drip line instead of sprinklers, which are very 
> inefficient. We also time our watering to reduce evaporation.
>
> That's a big intent of our farm: to provide a necessity with as little 
> impact as possible.
>
> I think growing food is way more important than importing cheap foreign 
> goods that have a history of being toxic, so I'd rather use a limited 
> resource for what people need as opposed to using it for what people want, 
> especially considering the size and potential affects to Moscow's 
> businesses and water that Hawkins imposes.
>
>
>> 5. If a doctor or nurse
>> hired on with one of these facilities they would have a
>> reasonable expectation of working in an environment that did
>> not promote a culture of death. Forcing institutions such as
>> these to provide a service that they did not originally is
>> to force every person employed there to do something that
>> was not in their original job description. I stand by my
>> red herring assertion.
>
>
> I agree with this, though your red herring answer still didn't address the 
> questions I asked.
>
> You're trying to prevent something that hasn't happened yet, but could be 
> a big deal. That seems very similar to my diatribes about water and 
> Hawkins...
>
> gclev
>
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