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<DIV><SPAN class=984554403-14012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>ted,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=984554403-14012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>it
seems easiest, far too frequently, to react to situations rather than anticipate
and proact. even more so when the world's super-power is so willing to use
avoidance rather than creative problem solving.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=984554403-14012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=984554403-14012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>even
if buildings are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions (<A
href="http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/architecture-and-climate-change.html">http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/architecture-and-climate-change.html</A><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3><A
href="http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/01/29/interview-ed-mazria-from-architecture-2030/"></A></FONT><FONT
face="Times New Roman" color=#000000 size=3>) </FONT>i do not think that a
"green" Hawkins project will solve anything; it only has the opportunity to
address a set of pressing issues. we all need to consider our impact on
the next decade, and the ones after. conscientiously acting today,
we can help develop solutions to known problems and give social and
environmental meaning to progress. increasing awareness and cultural
changes to todays' realities are needed (electric or human propelled
vehicles might be an example) to provide the global mass to make a
significant difference.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=984554403-14012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=984554403-14012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>i
think the "remote" location of is minor considering alternative methods of
transportation could accomodate people's travel. i would also much rather
see palouse-sprawl lead to moscow/pullman growing together rather than growing
apart. and if governments can work together, the state line effect could
be neutralized to the benefit of ID & WA. the downtowns can remain
vital and core elements, they won't be the same and will need to make
adjustments, but services and goods will be needed there.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=984554403-14012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=984554403-14012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Hawkins and other stakeholders (governments included) can take a stand on
being progressive and seek common ground towards good solutions. smarter
use of our natural resources and greater energy conservation in construction are
just quick & obvious approaches. developing programs and
infrastructure to provide sustained benefit take greater effort and time to
implement.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=984554403-14012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=984554403-14012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>i
think moscow's water rights appeal was a good move to make people stop and
allow time for negotiation of better long-term solutions. without the
appeal, progress would have been status quo. everyone needs to come
to the table with the intent of strategically planning for a long-term
journey.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=984554403-14012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=984554403-14012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>whether local or global - where there are influences that shrink
economies, there are usually markets that can provide some level of compensation
and expansion. new minds see the opportunities and fill the gap. if
(when) the petroleum industry is gone, there will be alternative markets.
how well or how quickly we adapt to change is a critical factor. we have
valid info to use to begin making changes and the coming years will provide the
metrics so we can adjust our speed.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=984554403-14012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=984554403-14012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>mark</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=984554403-14012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>(i'm
outta town w/o internet for the next 2 weeks)</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=984554403-14012008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><A href="mailto:bau@moscow.com"></A><IMG style="WIDTH: 124px; HEIGHT: 72px"
height=83 alt="" hspace=0 src="cid:984554403@14012008-2f61" width=124
border=0> <BR><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-FAMILY: agency fb">mark
r. seman, architect</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: agency fb"><FONT size=2>
<BIG> v=928.925.7617</BIG></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><BIG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: agency fb">
f=928.776.9107</SPAN></BIG><BR></FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> Ted Moffett
[mailto:starbliss@gmail.com]<BR><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, January 13, 2008 6:58
PM<BR><B>To:</B> mark r. seman<BR><B>Cc:</B> Vision2020<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re:
[Vision2020] Will Moscow support Hawkins sprawl-mall?<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Mark et. al.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>It is astonishing to perceive how the very serious energy and
environmental crises we are facing somehow get dismissed or down played
in the economic arguments for local development. We are living in a
world where our local actions are having profound impacts on economies and the
environment, nationally and internationally. No longer can we
responsibly view our behavior just through the lens of a local cost/benefit
analysis. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Oil depletion, peak oil, etc. alone is a national security issue, given
our nations economic dependence on 20 million barrels of oil a day, </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/quickfacts/quickoil.html">http://www.eia.doe.gov/neic/quickfacts/quickoil.html</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>oil that recently hit 100 dollars a barrel (I posted this news to
Vision2020, and astonishingly this generated not a single
response). Yet we continue to proceed with business as usual as
though a development model based primarily on a fossil fuel powered
economy is not soon to be a "dinosaur." Do we have an energy and
transportation infrastructure in place to address this? No. Should
this be a priority now for every community in the USA? Of course. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Add to this the approximately 20 tons of CO2e per capita (yes, for every
women, man and child) that the USA economy dumps into our atmosphere annually,
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt/">http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/1605/ggrpt/</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>the most by far per capita of any nation, and the USA earns the
shocking and shameful status of the greatest contributor to what is very
likely a massive planetary environmental disaster in anthropogenic climate
change, recognized by the Pentagon as a serious national security risk (if the
Pentagon is worried, this means business, because I do not think the Pentagon
is populated by wild eyed environmentalist socialist tree huggers, to use a
derogatory composite stereotype lobbed at those warning of the dangers of
human sourced climate change): </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A
href="http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1153513,00.html">http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1153513,00.html</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>'Disruption and conflict will be endemic features of life,' concludes the
Pentagon analysis. 'Once again, warfare would define human life.'
<P>The findings will prove humiliating to the Bush administration, which has
repeatedly denied that climate change even exists. Experts said that they will
also make unsettling reading for a President who has insisted national defence
is a priority. </P>
<P>Sir John Houghton, former chief executive of the Meteorological Office -
and the first senior figure to liken the threat of climate change to that of
terrorism - said: 'If the Pentagon is sending out that sort of message, then
this is an important document indeed.'
<P>Bob Watson, chief scientist for the World Bank and former chair of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, added that the Pentagon's dire
warnings could no longer be ignored. </P>
<P>'Can Bush ignore the Pentagon? It's going be hard to blow off this sort of
document. Its hugely embarrassing. After all, Bush's single highest priority
is national defence. The Pentagon is no wacko, liberal group, generally
speaking it is conservative. If climate change is a threat to national
security and the economy, then he has to act. There are two groups the Bush
Administration tend to listen to, the oil lobby and the Pentagon,' added
Watson.
<P>'You've got a President who says global warming is a hoax, and across the
Potomac river you've got a Pentagon preparing for climate wars. It's pretty
scary when Bush starts to ignore his own government on this issue,' said Rob
Gueterbock of Greenpeace.
<P>Already, according to Randall and Schwartz, the planet is carrying a higher
population than it can sustain. By 2020 'catastrophic' shortages of water and
energy supply will become increasingly harder to overcome, plunging the planet
into war. They warn that 8,200 years ago climatic conditions brought
widespread crop failure, famine, disease and mass migration of populations
that could soon be repeated.
<P>------------------------------------</P>
<P>We are not paying for the economic externalities of our CO2 emissions,
which will cost the economy in the future billions of dollars, due to damages
from climate change. So we can have our fossil fueled wealth now, and
leave the damage to future generations? Is this an ethical approach?
</P>
<P><A
href="http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/index.php/csw/details/ucs_northeast/">http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/index.php/csw/details/ucs_northeast/</A></P>
<P>------------------------</P>
<P><A
href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6096084.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6096084.stm</A></P>
<P>A report by economist Sir Nicholas Stern suggests that global warming could
shrink the global economy by 20%.
<P>But taking action now would cost just 1% of global gross domestic product,
the 700-page study says. </P>
<P>-------------------------------</P>
<P>Given these daunting realities, if we are going to promote development, the
issues of reduction in fossil fuel dependence and CO2 emissions,
developing a clean energy, energy conservation and alternative
powered transportation infrastructure, should be top priorities, as national
security issues. </P>
<P>Is there a way to have a new mall operate in the Pullman/Moscow corridor
that can substantially address these concerns? Perhaps, though limiting
the CO2 emissions associated with the extra distance shoppers will drive
from Moscow to the mall and back is a far more difficult problem to solve
(plug in electric gas or diesel hybrids partially powered by clean
electric sources) than building a "Green" mall incorporating
alternative energy and resource and energy conservation
strategies. Building a mall on the far edge of a city
that will encourage driving miles from the city for some residents to
shop is inherently an inefficient proposal. </P>
<P>It could be argued that those who commute on the corridor daily might use
less fossil fuel to shop, due to stopping at the mall on their daily
commute, rather than making a longer shopping trip to other outlets. Of
course, the massive fossil fuel use and CO2 emissions associated with the
commuter lifestyle demands mitigation of these impacts. </P>
<P>As has been pointed out, some shoppers who drive to Lewiston or Spokane
might instead shop more locally if they could find the products locally that
draw them to Lewiston or Spokane. However, I think some shoppers go to
Lewiston or Spokane to "escape" from the local area, and shopping is just
an added attraction, not the primary motivation. </P>
<P>Mark's suggestions address some of these issues, yet I have not heard,
except perhaps from councilman Tom Lamar, comments from the Moscow
City Council indicating they are prioritizing the national security
issues of fossil fuel dependence/depletion, anthropogenic climate change, and
the inevitable and critical necessity of the rapid development of clean energy
technologies, energy conservation strategies, and alternative energy
transportation infrastructure. </P>
<P>Information on the most environmentally advanced large city building in the
Inland Empire:</P>
<P><A
href="http://www.landscouncil.org/news/welcome_to_saranac.asp">http://www.landscouncil.org/news/welcome_to_saranac.asp</A></P>
<P>------------------------------------------</P>
<P>Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett</P>
<P></P>
<P></P>
<P></P>
<P></P>
<P></P></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=gmail_quote>On 1/13/08, <B class=gmail_sendername>mark r.
seman</B> <<A href="mailto:baukunst@moscow.com">baukunst@moscow.com</A>>
wrote:</SPAN>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote
style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff><SPAN>very few current businesses are
positioned to sustainably operate within the triple bottom-line model
of people/planet/profits [<A
onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"
href="http://getsustainable.net/" target=_blank>
http://getsustainable.net/</A>]. although new and existing businesses
can be encouraged or incentivized to do so if the citizens of their resident
communities perceive a value in doing so. the communities (town,
county, and state entities) of the palouse seem well positioned to do so
with the Hawkins development. but it requires that <U>all</U> parties
at least agree to work towards implementing programs to achieve sustainable
business (& development) practices. negotiations will then
determine how far programs will be taken. there are so many elements
that could be identified to take positive steps and time should be allocated
to identify and deliberate them. why shouldn't the corridor be
developed with enough vision to make it an "oasis" that positively addresses
economic development, the environment, transportation, waste streams,
energy, natural resources, construction materials & methods,
inter-state/multi-county/trans-municipal collaboration, etc?
</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff><SPAN></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff><SPAN>sidebar on achievable water
conservation measures:</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff><SPAN>waterless urinals & dual flush
toilets, IR controlled lowflow faucets, stormwater detention for irrigation
use, rainwater harvesting for irrigation & toilet use, recyling
greywater for toilet use, xeriscape plantings, education programs for
facility users and maintenance staff. </SPAN></FONT></DIV><SPAN class=q>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff><SPAN></SPAN></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff><SPAN>mark</SPAN></FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><A onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"
href="mailto:bau@moscow.com" target=_blank></A><IMG style="WIDTH: 123px"
height=83 alt="" hspace=0 src="cid:984554403@14012008-2f5a" width=128
border=0> <BR><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-FAMILY: agency fb">mark r. seman,
architect</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: agency fb"><FONT size=2>
<BIG> v=928.925.7617</BIG></FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><BIG><SPAN
style="FONT-FAMILY: agency fb">
f=928.776.9107</SPAN></BIG><BR></FONT></DIV></SPAN>
<DIV><SPAN class=e id=q_117749e0e38fc06a_2>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original
Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> <A
onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"
href="mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com"
target=_blank>vision2020-bounces@moscow.com </A>[mailto:<A
onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"
href="mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com"
target=_blank>vision2020-bounces@moscow.com</A>]<B>On Behalf Of </B>keely
emerinemix<BR><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, January 13, 2008 10:20 AM
<BR><B>To:</B> Donovan Arnold; Bill London; v2020<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re:
[Vision2020] Will Moscow support Hawkins
sprawl-mall?<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>I'm astonished at the equation of a
locally-owned (and owned by its customers) food co-op that lives out its
mission of sustainable, healthy, locally-produced and fairly traded
products -- one that "recycled" a vacant building and improved it while
still making it accessible to its community by locating downtown -- with a
huge shopping mall. <BR><BR>I don't think there's enough caffeine in the
world to have that one make sense . . .
<BR><BR>Keely<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE>
<HR>
Date: Sun, 13 Jan 2008 01:36:39 -0800<BR>From: <A
onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"
href="mailto:donovanjarnold2005@yahoo.com"
target=_blank>donovanjarnold2005@yahoo.com</A><BR>To: <A
onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"
href="mailto:london@moscow.com" target=_blank>london@moscow.com</A>; <A
onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"
href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com"
target=_blank>vision2020@moscow.com</A><BR>Subject: Re: [Vision2020]
Will Moscow support Hawkins sprawl-mall? <BR><BR>
<DIV>Mr, London makes the following arguments against a new shopping
center on the edge of town:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"If the <SPAN
style="BACKGROUND: 0% 50%; BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed">Moscow</SPAN>
council ships utilities across the state line to enable this strip
mall, <SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed">Moscow</SPAN> will face
a series of problems, including:</DIV>
<DIV>--depletion of the aquifer that supplies this town with most
of its water</DIV>
<DIV>--massive sprawl that will further uglify the Palouse and ravage
existing downtown vitality</DIV>
<DIV>--bankruptcy of <SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed">Moscow</SPAN>
businesses unable to compete with this new shopping mall </DIV>
<DIV>--continuing future upgrades of <SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed">Moscow</SPAN>
infrastructure to cover the demands made by this extension of services,
upgrades that will be paid for by <SPAN
style="BORDER-BOTTOM: rgb(0,102,204) 1px dashed">Moscow</SPAN>
taxpayers</DIV>
<DIV>Is this what Moscow residents really want?"</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>As I understand it, Mr. London strongly supported the expansion of
the Co-Op, not once, but twice to larger buildings that further deplete
the town's water aquifers, increased sprawl of other businesses to the
outside of town, created more competition with other businesses in the
area, and forcing future upgrades of Moscow's infrastructure to be
paid for by Moscow taxpayers. So I would argue what is good for goose
must also be for the gander. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>"Is this what Moscow wants?" I bet it is. If it isn't, then we will
have a vacant building on the edge of town. I willing to venture out on
a limb, and say those that putting millions into a building of new
shopping center aren't doing it on a guess, but in fact put as much
research into it as Mr. London did for the expansions of his Co-Op
grocery store. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I think it would be a significant advantage to have a mall on the
western edge of Moscow accepts and competes with the big chain only
stores in the Palouse Empire Mall that prohibits local businesses from
leasing there. I also think it would allow other chains in Spokane to
locate here, and provide jobs to local students and residents,
increasing wages and competition for quality laborers rather than
providing them to people in Spokane. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Best,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Donovan</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR><BR><B><I>Bill London <<A
onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)"
href="mailto:london@moscow.com"
target=_blank>london@moscow.com</A>></I></B> wrote:</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid">
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>
<DIV>Won't it be grand? The Moscow-Pullman Highway turned into
one long strip mall.....</DIV>
<DIV>And you can read in today's Lewiston Tribune (below) that the
first big step in that direction will likely soon be taken. The
new Moscow City Council is under pressure to sell use of Moscow
utilities (like sewage and water, and possibly police/fire protection)
to the planned Hawkins shopping center located in Washington state on
the Moscow-Pullman Highway. The new council members (pragmatic
politicians that they are) seem to be willing to ignore the
real issues and fall for a cheap payoff. </DIV>
<DIV>If the Moscow council ships utilities across the state line
to enable this strip mall, Moscow will face a series of problems,
including:</DIV>
<DIV>--depletion of the aquifer that supplies this town with most
of its water</DIV>
<DIV>--massive sprawl that will further uglify the Palouse and ravage
existing downtown vitality</DIV>
<DIV>--bankruptcy of Moscow businesses unable to compete with this new
shopping mall </DIV>
<DIV>--continuing future upgrades of Moscow infrastructure to
cover the demands made by this extension of services, upgrades that
will be paid for by Moscow taxpayers</DIV>
<DIV>Is this what Moscow residents really want?</DIV>
<DIV>BL</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>-----------------------------------------
</DIV>
<DIV>LEWISTON TRIBUNE</DIV>
<DIV>Council shift changes outlook for proposed Hawkins
development</DIV>
<DIV>By David Johnson </DIV>
<DIV>Saturday, January 12, 2008</DIV>
<DIV><BR>MOSCOW - Politics here may have shifted enough after the
November election to trigger talks about the city providing water and
sewer services across the state line for the proposed Hawkins Co.
shopping center.</DIV>
<DIV>A majority of Moscow city councilors, Whitman County
commissioners and a spokesman for Hawkins told the Lewiston Tribune
there's renewed potential for cooperation.</DIV>
<DIV>This despite Moscow's continued legal challenge of Hawkins'
attempts to secure water rights to drill its own wells for the
700,000-square-foot shopping mall.</DIV>
<DIV>The situation comes as the first of two public comment meetings
has been scheduled in Colfax on Monday. The county commissioners will
take comments, beginning at 1:30 p.m., regarding Hawkins' recent
request for Whitman County to float revenue bonds of more than $10
million to help fund infrastructure (including water and sewer) for
the development. </DIV>
<DIV>A Whitman County pro-business citizens group, meanwhile, Friday
endorsed the proposed bond issue and called on Moscow officials to
drop their water rights appeal against Hawkins.</DIV>
<DIV>"It's clear Moscow's appeals are not about water but about
keeping out particular kinds of businesses," April Coggins,
spokeswoman for Businesses and Residents for Economic Opportunity
wrote in a news release. "That attitude was rejected by Moscow voters
in November and it is our hope that the new Moscow city council will
see things differently and seek to cooperate with their neighbors."
</DIV>
<DIV>Moscow's waterlines extend right up to the Hawkins property, and
the sewage treatment plant is located nearby.</DIV>
<DIV>"Hawkins is always open to talking to the city of Moscow," said
Jeff De Voe, project manager for the proposed shopping center. He
declined further comment because of the pending legal appeal.</DIV>
<DIV>It remains unclear how much money Moscow might make (through
fees) or Hawkins might save if the two entities can reach an agreement
about water and sewer services. But City Attorney Randy Fife and
Public Works Director Les McDonald confirmed that a hookup of services
is both legal and technically possible. </DIV>
<DIV>Whitman County Commissioners Jerry Finch and Greg Partch, who
continue to champion the Hawkins project as the beginning of retail
development between here and Pullman, said it's time for Moscow to
either join ranks or get out of the way. </DIV>
<DIV>"Moscow didn't say no, they said hell no," Finch said about the
city's refusal to cooperate with development of the mall. "Before the
election, it's pretty obvious the door had been slammed." </DIV>
<DIV>Three new Moscow councilors were elected in November and appear
to have become part of a five-member, pro-business majority. The
three, Walter Steed, Dan Carscallen and Wayne Krauss, along with
council President Bill Lambert, all said they are willing to talk with
Hawkins and Whitman County officials about water and sewer services.
Councilor John Weber couldn't be reached for comment, but indicated in
the past he favors cooperation. </DIV>
<DIV>Only Councilor Tom Lamar, who has gone on record opposing retail
development in the corridor, balked at renewed talks. "I think the
best way for Hawkins to tap into our sewer and water is to locate in
Moscow," Lamar said. </DIV>
<DIV>Moscow Mayor Nancy Chaney, who's been accused of spearheading
efforts to thwart the Hawkins project, said her intentions are rooted
in environmental and groundwater concerns. That was confirmed by
McDonald. "The mayor's driving concern," he said, "is the water
resource that the whole region relies upon. </DIV>
<DIV>"Moscow has always been open to talking," said Chaney, adding
that the table for such discussion has already been set through the
water rights appeal. She said the city has proposed mediation as a
means of settling the issue. </DIV>
<DIV>But Partch said talks, if they happen, shouldn't happen in a
legal arena. Withdrawal of the appeal, he said, would be the best way
for Moscow to show good faith. "That would be a huge gesture on their
part," he said, "and we would certainly like to work with them."
</DIV>
<DIV>The water rights appeal hearings are scheduled to begin in
March.</DIV>
<DIV>"You can't build without water," Finch said, adding that many
people think Chaney is simply using the water issue as the only legal
lever available to stop retail development in the corridor. "She's the
one who seems to be dead set against it." </DIV>
<DIV>A shopping center, said Finch and Partch, is not necessarily a
big water consumer. But it would surely be a big revenue producer for
the county.</DIV>
<DIV>According to county records, the undeveloped Hawkins acreage,
which abuts the Moscow city limits and the Washington-Idaho state
line, currently generates about $1,400 in annual tax revenue. If the
mall is developed to full capacity, it could produce nearly $1.8
million in annual property and sales taxes for the county, De Voe told
the commissioners when making his pitch for the $10 million in
infrastructure bonds. </DIV>
<DIV>While Moscow couldn't directly tap into those tax dollars,
councilors here said the city might be able to negotiate a fee for
water and sewer services that translates into a profit.</DIV>
<DIV>"If it's going to happen and we can sell them something," Lambert
said, "why not?"</DIV>
<DIV>"I'm very anxious to get together with entities across the
border," said Krauss.</DIV>
<DIV>"I would be interested in talking about the possibility of
extending services to Hawkins," Steed said.</DIV>
<DIV>"I think that I would," Carscallen said about talking. Whether
Hawkins connects to Moscow or drills its own wells, he said, doesn't
seem to make a lot of difference. "They're going to get it out of the
same tub we're getting ours." </DIV>
<DIV>Researchers have said the underground aquifers on the Palouse
have been steadily dropping. But, lacking data about just how much
water is available, the same scientists have said a water management
challenge is at hand, not a crisis. </DIV>
<DIV>Finch suggested its up to Moscow officials, since they've filed
the appeal against Hawkins, to propose new talks. "If they send us a
letter, I would find it more receptive," he said.</DIV>
<DIV>But Lambert said the catalyst for talks might have to come from
elsewhere. "I don't see why it would hurt for these people to approach
us. Somebody has to generate it, but it wouldn't be something
generated by the council, per se." </DIV>
<DIV>Moscow City Supervisor Gary Riedner said the city might reach
out. "I will do what we can to facilitate it at the mayor's
direction."</DIV>
<DIV>"I know lots of people are talking about talking," Fife
said.</DIV>
<DIV>De Voe, meanwhile, told Whitman County officials that his company
wants to begin construction this summer. As proposed, the shopping
complex would be anchored by a Lowe's home improvement center.</DIV>
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