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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<br><br>
At 06:47 AM 5/22/06, Peterson, Nils S wrote:<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""><font size=2>D-8 is a reference
I don't understand.<br><br>
If the consensus here is that Lambert is wildly unrealistic, both based
on<br>
anecdotal evidence and Census projection, and if the demographic that
is<br>
arriving is post-children retirees, then we could ask a couple
questions:<br><br>
1. Is this passive growth (and demographic) alright, or should we be
taking<br>
out ads in AARP magazine? How are we thinking about integrating these
people<br>
into Moscow; lacking children, they may lack some of the means that
many<br>
other people have to integrate themselves into the town.<br><br>
2. Given 1-2% growth rate (not Lambert's 5%), what planning,
organization,<br>
etc, should be undertaken? MarkS will note water. Keely will note
the<br>
schools issues (driven by aging facilities, and flat, or declining?<br>
enrollment).<br><br>
<br>
On 5/21/06 10:05 PM, "Jerry Weitz" <gweitz@moscow.com>
wrote:<br><br>
> Like Mark I do not see doubling potential for the Palouse in
general. What<br>
> would be the driving variables? Anecdotally, at the dental
office, I have<br>
> observed a moderate influx of retired folks relocating here, not
families<br>
> with children. My basic premise for encouraging growth
(economic/business)<br>
> is to help bolster UI's fortunes through a research
triangle. Hence, if<br>
> this has validity, then we need planning. Mark deserves credit
for being<br>
> the commissioner who kept D-8 in Latah County. Mark really
suffered<br>
> through a recall that was initiated by his efforts for D-8.
jerry<br>
><br>
> At 08:22 PM 5/21/06, Nils Peterson wrote:<br>
>> (Thanks Mark, for pointing out that I mis-addressed this; I did
want it go<br>
>> into the general conversation)<br>
>><br>
>><br>
>><br>
>> I think the pivotal issue here is demographics. Who are these
would-be<br>
>> doublers?<br>
>><br>
>> They are not UI or NSA students. The demographic of 18-22 year
olds is<br>
>> peaking and headed down. More likely the university will
struggle to hold on<br>
>> to its position in an increasingly competitive market. WSU seems
to be<br>
>> positioning itself as a graduate university. NSA may fare better
than UI in<br>
>> that it has a very special market niche.<br>
>><br>
>> The doublers are not university employees. See above. WSU's move
up-market<br>
>> may increase its faculty numbers, but not hugely.<br>
>><br>
>> What about high tech? Schweitzer et al? Harder to predict. The
right company<br>
>> could grow from nothing today. More likely, if the right handful
that are<br>
>> small today experienced double digit growth. Less likely, but
possible, is a<br>
>> company re-locating here. Not a huge company. 100
employees. This makes a<br>
>> topic for this discussion, how would we recruit/ screen/
facilitate or<br>
>> impede such a company? Given my theme of identifying gov't &
civic<br>
>> organizations that are needed for this doubling -- the Chamber
and LEDC seem<br>
>> to be the organizations we have to do this work.<br>
>><br>
>> Are the would-be doublers retirees? At age 50, I consider myself
the end of<br>
>> the baby boom, and have watched recreational property that I
might enjoy<br>
>> (like a place at the Oregon Coast) jump way up in price as the
boomers ahead<br>
>> of me got similar ideas. Imagine a couple that have had
good, steady<br>
>> employment for the last 20+ years. They purchased and paid off a
home. It<br>
>> has appreciated significantly because of its location in an
urban area,<br>
>> perhaps to $400,000 or more. This couple is 62, kids grown and
gone, and<br>
>> they are tired of the urban life. They draw $50K in retirement
from several<br>
>> sources. There are thousands of these people. Might they come to
Moscow?<br>
>> This is a wild card, but unlike new high tech business, I'm not
sure what<br>
>> gov't and civic organizations might be needed.<br>
>><br>
>><br>
>><br>
>><br>
>><br>
>><br>
>> On 5/21/06 8:34 AM, "Mark Solomon"
<msolomon@moscow.com> wrote:<br>
>><br>
>>> ...more likely that we'll see a leveling of the growth rates
between<br>
>>> the two: 0.75% annually for Moscow. Of course, we are a
different<br>
>>> community with different amenities (such as a forested
mountain just<br>
>>> outside of town) but I would like someone to explain why we
should<br>
>>> either plan for or expect our population to double in 15
years when<br>
>>> there is no historical trend to indicate it will occur. We
are not<br>
>>> Boise or Coeur d'Alene or Sandpoint or McCall or Kuna or
Meridian<br>
>>> or....<br>
>><br>
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