Alturas Park

[Ken Medlin <dev-plan@moscow.com>]

>I will begin by admitting, up front, that I believe Bill London is wrong on
>the Alturas Technology Park issue.  Alturas is an appropriate and necessary
What is it that is "wrong"?  Is it wrong to expect govt. accountability 
to the taxpayers for uses of their funds?  Is it wrong to expect govt. to 
explain to citizens how a legal entity was created by questionable 
interpretations of statute? Is it wrong to raise questions about 
industrial uses of good agricultural land (the most vital resource in 
Latah Co.). when alternatives might have been an option? Is it wrong to 
ask questions about landowners' readiness to convert cultivated land into 
urban pads? Is it wrong to ask why other taxable commercial entitites 
were included in the urban renewal tax entity, which was supposedly the 
source of amortization payments? Is it wrong to support community 
development in the older, more needy sections of the city, where there 
are obvious opportunities? Is it wrong to ask how legal services can be 
classified as "technological development" (the purpose of Alturas)? Is it 
wrong to ask why the citizens should subsidize the legal profession, as 
if their economic status were somehow degraded here? Is it wrong to 
question the data bases on which the venture was planned and launched? Is 
it wrong, and bad business practice, to ask for data on the cost-benefit 
of this public investment? Is it wrong not to question govt. subsidies to 
the private economic sector, but legitimate to question such subsidies in 
other societal sectors? Is this the caliber of economic and community 
development that we deserve, and have to pay for? Who got us into this 
situation, anyway? What kinds of citizen committees were formed to help 
out in the planning, or are we supposed to be too dumb?
   Many, many citizens (the silent majority?) wonder why our local govt. 
is so silent about all these "wrongs". If the govt.-private investor 
connections are fully open, clean and irreproachable, then why haven't 
you/they come forth to tell the public what's going on? Why does it take 
an investigative reporter from a Lewiston paper to dig this stuff out of 
city hall? What do think really builds trust between the ruled and the 
rulers? Your and city hall's replies to these questins should be able to 
enlighten us a little bit, unless you want the reporters to do it for 
you. Thank goodness for the First Amendment and the freedom of the press 
in this country.  Your response, Mr. Parish, is sad-- sad  indeed.  W. 
Ken Medlin

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William K. Medlin
Dev-plan associates
930 Kenneth Street
Moscow ID 83843
208/892-0148
dev-plan@moscow.com