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Border</title></head><body>
<div>Dan/Joan:</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Just catching up on messages after a week away skiing the back
country of Yosemite. Very handy to be out of town for the last week of
candidacy filings as all temptation to file is eliminated when
climbing on 20' of snow at 10,000 foot with the sun shining when it
isn't blizzarding.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Anyway, water over the state line: unless the city of Moscow
supplies the water (an unlikely idea as the city simply doesn't have
that amount of water to give away even if they could figure out how to
work across the state line) the developer must secure water rights to
somewhere between 70-100 acre foot of water. That's a lot of water.
Compared to Moscow pumping, it's about 10% of the entire amount pumped
by the city last year. Washington law allows two paths to secure a
water right: apply for a new water right or transfer an existing
right. New rights are about impossible to acquire as a de facto
moratorium is in place while WA evaluates how much they've already
given away. Transferring a right is allowed. But here's the kicker: a
transfer has to be from within the same source of water as the new
well to be drilled.</div>
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<div>We know a lot about the hydrogeology of the subject area and
without getting into a lot of details, it is just about impossible to
find existing rights that would add up to enough water for this
development even if they purchased and then shut down all the other
uses in the corridor.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>Bottom line: the argument that if we don't build in Moscow retail
development will go just across the line doesn't hold water. Big boxes
could locate to Pullman proper but they've got the same water
capacity concerns Moscow has. They just haven't been pushed as hard as
Moscow. Yet.</div>
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<div>Mark Solomon</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>At 11:13 AM -0800 3/15/06, Joan Opyr wrote:</div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>On 15 Mar 2006, at 10:20, Area Man
wrote:</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="-1"
color="#800000">Vision people (and illustrious City
people),</font></blockquote>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite> </blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="-1"
color="#800000">After reading the articles in last night's Daily News
(March 14) and this morning's Lewiston Trib (March 15), it got me
thinking (dangerous prospect, I know).</font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br></blockquote>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite> </blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="-1"
color="#800000">There was some talk about how there is the
"physical" (but not necessarily "legal" or
"desirable") ability to connect water and
sewer to the proposed shopping center across the border
(</font><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="-1"
color="#0000EE"
>http://www.hawkinscompanies.com/fliers/WA_Pullman_Hwy270_AirportRd_F<span
></span>.pdf</font><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="-1"
color="#800000"> -- for those who haven't seen it), and also talk
of how allowing such a hookup would be a "momentous
decision." There are questions as to whether the city of
Moscow can even collect fees for allowing such a
hookup.</font></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br></blockquote>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite> </blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="-1"
color="#800000">I wonder how other places do it. The first place
that popped into my head was Kansas City Missouri/Kansas, which
obviously straddles the border between those two states. Then I
started thinking about places in Idaho, and two jump out at me:
Oldtown ID/Newport WA up North, and Fruitland ID/Ontario OR to the
South. Lewiston/Clarkston would be a good example as well, but I
don't believe there is much sharing of infrastructure due to the
geographic seperation by the Snake River.</font></blockquote>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite> </blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="-1"
color="#800000">Anyhow, these are probably only a miniscule few of
such communities. I think the City of Moscow should look at how
things are done in such cases to help guide them in making this work
the best for everyone, especially for Moscow. I hate to say it,
but I think this development across the border is inevitable, due to
the Whitman County Commission's recent turn toward retail development
in the county. None of us have to like it, but wouldn't it
behoove the City of Moscow to do all they can to make it benefit us as
much as possible over here on the east side of the
border? </font></blockquote>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite> </blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="-1"
color="#800000">Starting to hear a sucking sound from the west . .
.</font></blockquote>
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<blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Comic Sans MS" size="-1"
color="#800000">Dan Carscallen</font></blockquote>
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</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Just a question -- can we (Moscow) supply
water and sewer services to Pullman without upgrading our systems to
meet Washington standards? Don't know where I heard this
(perhaps it came to me in a dream), but I believe that our neighboring
state has more stringent requirements for such things than
laissez-faire Idaho. Are we up to snuff? And, if not, what
would it take to get us there, and would it, in the end, be
worth?</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>Joan Opyr/Auntie
Establishment</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>www.joanopyr.com</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>PS: On a related note, I'm really puzzled
by the Daily News and the Lewiston Tribune's coordinated and concerted
effort to portray the new Moscow City Council as anti-growth.
Rubbish! What we have in place now is a majority of
pro-business, smart growth liberals; they have no interest in stifling
the economy. Far from it. Our present city council is more
far-sighted than its predecessor, and consequently recognizes that not
all development is good. It's best to target development to
support existing business while growing new opportunities. This
is a new economy council, not an old boys network, thank God.
I'm looking forward to what Mayor Chaney and the council will
accomplish in the next few years. Just for a start, we, the
citizens, are talking to one another about exactly what kind of Moscow
we want rather than sitting on our complacent backsides and allowing
city development to be dictated by the wants and (monetary) needs of
real estate agents and developers.</blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite><br></blockquote>
<blockquote type="cite" cite>BTW, Tom and Virginia Henderson -- of the
Trib and the Daily News, respectively -- need to get out more.
Tell you what, let's have a few of us pro-business liberals (yes, I am
one) offer to meet them on Turkey Tuesday at Moscow's Subway.
I'll treat them to buy-one-get-one-free foot longs with the works.
While they're chewing, they won't be writing. It'll be a lovely
chance for them to be quiet and listen.</blockquote>
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