RE: Alturas Technology Park

["Bill Strand" <strand@pacsim.com>]

Greg,

In an earlier post you wrote to me:

"I'm pleased that your business has been able to endure and succeed. I'm not
convinced the Moscow community would not have otherwise helped without
Alturas"

You seem to know little about our business or its history in the community.
Pacific Simulation was the first commercial tenant in the Technology
Incubator. We worked for over five years to try to develop a "graduation"
from the incubator to a facility that would allow us growth potential. There
was a long list of failed attempts that had us looking at other locations in
Idaho. It was a select few individuals in the Moscow and Pullman communities
that stepped up to the plate to help. That help was partly in the form of
Alturas.

I don't always agree with the tactics that are used to accomplish the goals
of economic development in Moscow, but tactics are often required when
proposed strategies are not implemented, fail or are just plain
unreasonable. As for your comment about gambling in business - welcome to
the world outside academia. Few areas are afforded the protection enjoyed by
higher education. But the health of this community is dependent upon
economic success on a number of fronts - not just the University.

In your more recent email to B.J. Swanson you wrote:

"  You claim that economic benefits exceed $3 million annually.  Who
*specifically* in the community receives this benefit?"

Is this a serious question? If it is, the answer is most everybody who lives
in Moscow. Let's see. I get my food at Tidymans, my car was bought at the
Toyota car lot, I pay my taxes to Moscow City, I voted for the school levy,
I play pool at Mingles and buy my fishing gear at Tri State. Mike Sprenger
built our building and also renovated my bathroom. Almost all my employees
live in town and spend their money here in Moscow. That is where that $3
million goes - into our community.

Let's get down to brass tacks here. There are three real issues:

1. Has Alturas made or lost money for the community of Moscow? - Well we
seem to argue a lot about this one.
2. Does Moscow want businesses like Pacific Simulation and Anatek Labs to
stay in the community or move elsewhere?
3. If Moscow wants to keep businesses like these, is there a "better" way
than Alturas to place these companies. Certainly not downtown. We evaluated
four sites downtown between 1992 - 1995. Where would we put 10,000 sq feet
with parking for 40 people? And I'm not talking about disconnected office
space. So how about the old Moscow Mall or the old Ernst building at Palouse
Empire Mall? No offence meant towards the owners of these spaces, but
relocating an engineering company to an abandoned retail space was NOT in
the best interest of our company.

I would have liked to have heard a viable plan that fit the need of the
technology businesses in this area. Over the years, I have head lots of
high-minded, 50,000 foot strategies but no one ever drives these strategies
to the ground level where it actually benefits the community and the
businesses that make up the community. If we waited for these "strategies"
to actually occur, I would have to uproot 25 families and an entire
business. And almost all of our employees had roots in this community prior
to coming to Pacific Simulation.

Everybody seems to describe business development in nice abstract terms.
Nobody seems to want to talk about the actual companies it affects and the
individuals it involves.

B.C. Strand
Technical Operations Manager
Invensys Pacific Simulation