"Commissioners schedule third public meeting to discuss Hawkins proposal"

I applaud the county commissioners' efforts to clear up the misconceptions, misunderstandings and outright lies about the Hawkins bond proposal. However, I also hope that they pull the trigger quickly and not get bogged down in endless public hearings. The naysayers will only garner more press as a result, as we have seen with the WSU golf course. And private development does not have the fiat of the state government to keep things moving forward.

A comment on the Daily News website in response to Moscow Civic Association member Jack Porter's letter yesterday sums it beautifully:

What ignorant oaf first said Hawkins was looking for a subsidy and how dumb are those who keep repeating that falsehood?

Check the record. Hawkins is proposing a government entity supply it the same kind of services provided to most existing businesses within the political subdivision. For that service, it proposes to repay the capital and operating costs as well as providing a positive revenue stream into the foreseeable future through payment of taxes and fees. If the numbers available in public documents are correct, the Whitman County stands to do quite well by the deal.

Of course Mr. Porter is no ignorant fool. He's bright enough to see where a considerable sum of money which now flows into Moscow and Latah County will go and to use rhetoric proven to strike a chord with and manipulate both anti-growth activists and anti-government reactionaries.

Nice try, Jack but I think there are enough people in Whitman County who can “do the math” to win the day. Fortunately, it appears we can count our county commissioners among the enlightened.

From today's Moscow-Pullman Daily News:

Whitman County commissioners want to hear more public input before they make a decision on selling $10.5 million in bonds to cover the costs of public infrastructure at the proposed site of the Hawkins Companies' development just west of the Idaho state line.

A third public comment session is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Monday in the commissioner's chambers at the Whitman County Courthouse. The bonds and Hawkins' proposal to form a public/private partnership with the county for the purpose of constructing the infrastructure will be discussed.

The commissioners hoped to make a decision on the proposal Monday, but Commissioner Jerry Finch said they have decided to delay their decision after several county residents raised concerns about the development during last Tuesday's public input session.

"It was obvious after that meeting last week people had a lot of questions in their minds, and we want to clear up some of those misconceptions," Finch said.

One way the commissioners hope to clear up questions is by making a fact sheet available to the public, detailing the proposal and the county's plan.

Finch said the fact sheets should be available early next week and can be obtained by calling the courthouse at (509) 397-6200.