Admit it–you’ve all been going through Ed Corridor withdrawal, haven’t you? Well, wait no more, Dan and I both attended last night’s final Ed Corridor meeting, which was held in Post Falls.
It was the usual group: Mic Armon, Judy Meyer, Ron Vieslemeyer–all NIC Trustees. Also, CdA Mayor Sandi Bloem, Tony Berns from LCDC and some other U of I, LCSC and NIC people. They were basically the panel, in a semi-circle of chairs at the front of the room.
The audience was made up of about 35 people, I didn’t know everyone, but several Post Falls officials were there: State Rep. Frank Henderson, Mayor Larkin, city councilwoman Kerri Thorson. Then there were the rest of us regular folks, and some business owners and such. We were all in rows of chairs about 15′ away from the Trustees.
A few big, new subjects came up: Ron Nilson, owner of Groundforce Manufacturing in PF, gave an impassioned defense of Professional-Technical Edcuation (PTE) needs. Ron has created a coalition of manufacturers in our area that represents 7,000 employees! He said that, in spite of the high unemployment in Kootenai County right now (higher than the state average), manufacturing has hundreds of open, available jobs which pay livable wages. They cannot find the skilled workers to fill the jobs. Ron strongly supports increasing PTE out on the prairie and has brought together officials from PF, Rathdrum and CdA’s school districts to plan a PTE high school out there. Ron is a man of action.
Rep. Frank Henderson stood up and asked the Trustees to create a resolution to set aside 5% of the Foregone Taxes they are taking from us all, to the tune of $2.4 million per year forever more. Frank wants the 5%, which is about $125,000 to be set aside to help fund the PTE high school. He also wants 5% more to be set aside to start a Dental Hygenist program at NIC. Both great projects that can really help create good jobs in our community!
Sadly, Ron and Frank got a lukewarm response, not the committment and support I thought they deserved. The panel seemed cautious but maybe that was just my take on it.
Let’s hope they follow through with the money and not plow all available funds into the Mill site for $10 million, which will be unnecessary for expansion until well into the future. (of course the commercial part of the land will probably develop first)
One last thing: When there was concern about taxes and the cost of hiring more teachers and building more buildings, Mic Armon explained that it was not so bad because 50% of the funding for NIC comes from the state and only 27% comes from Kootenai County. It’s ALL taxpayer money, Mic! It has to come from somewhere.
I was there, too. I would characterize the response to Representative Henderson’s proposal as polite disinterest rather than lukewarm. There was absolutely no hint that the proponents of the education corridor would open their minds to any proposals other than their own under any circumstance. As Mr. Armon has said previoulsy, “It’s a done deal”
Comment by Gary Ingram — November 13, 2008 @ 4:52 pm
Gary, I was going to say you were also there, but I was hoping you would comment for yourself, and you have. Yes, my choice of “lukewarm” was too nice–I was honestly surprised at how seemingly cold they were to State Representative Frank Henderson’s ideas, considering his position on the powerful JFAC Committee that controls NIC’s state allotment!
Comment by mary — November 13, 2008 @ 7:48 pm
It’s nice that Mayor Bloem is using my term “career-level jobs” when she refers to employment here. I trust she’s been reading my old campaign literature, or perhaps blogging on this site. Or maybe Victoria is. (Hello, Victoria!)
Jesting aside, I was appalled by the reaction of the NIC Trustees toward PTE. To me, they look down their noses at it. They seem to be pushing some type of elite education — the term is now “cultural capital” — to justify the mill site purchase. But their true motive is the commercial development of Northwest Blvd. They said nothing to prove otherwise.
Comment by Dan — November 13, 2008 @ 9:20 pm
Bloem knows all the PTE that is needed for CdA jobs is how to deliver food or wipe down a dirty table. The more accurate description would be “dismissed the notion (you are idiots)”.
Comment by Wallypog — November 14, 2008 @ 6:17 am
I strongly applaud all of you who are Energizer Bunnies in the fight for good government and true tax payer representation. Maybe it will happen, but these “meetings” designed to change the minds of the “empty headed and moronic” citizens (that must be the way they see us) seem to be a waste. I don’t think 500 people showing up and saying no would do the trick. As long as they hold the power, they just don’t care. This is so apparent in all they do. Very very discouraging and I really dislike being patronized. Don’t say it, if we give up the fight, nothing will happen. I know that, which is why I applaud all of you. Given the distressing economic climate we find ourselves living in, perhaps the local voters will wake up and smell the proverbial coffee. However, re-electing the incumbants in this election, doesn’t bode well for the future. How can you vote down the absurd jail bond and then re-elect Watson and Tondee??? As the King of Siam said, “tis a puzzlement”.
Comment by Diogenes — November 14, 2008 @ 9:25 am
I was unable to attend the latest citizen appeasement meeting. Whether or not you agree with what they may say; Representative Henderson has earned respect for his decades of service to the region. The fact of the matter is that Frank Henderson is an extremely smart and practical man, who gets it. Ron Nilson has seen the tough times, worked through them and has built a successful business that provides good paying technical jobs. To say that Ron is a man of action is an understatement. He too, with his accomplishments has earned the respect of Northern Idaho. I hope that if any disdain was shown by the panel, that it wasn’t directed at these fine men.
Comment by doubleseetripleeye — November 14, 2008 @ 9:31 am
mary, i too thought that the panel was cautious, but i do not think that is a negative thing. caution moving forward on this entire project is a virtue.
Comment by reagan — November 14, 2008 @ 12:48 pm
three years ago – http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5289/is_/ai_n24294760
now? the opposite. see http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=17740
the sr failed to report dr forsyth’s comments on fdic deposits in kootenai county but they have plunged. real estate prices in kootenai are falling way way faster than spokane. the developer community is in serious ugly trouble.
Comment by TheWiz — November 14, 2008 @ 5:02 pm
‘ caution moving forward on this entire project is a virtue. ‘
way too easy – what caution have they shown? they have told us it is a done deal. they are paying a 2 year old price that is at least a third depreciated in the real world and laughing at serious people like frank henderson. virtue isn’t the word, reckless is.
Comment by TheWiz — November 14, 2008 @ 5:31 pm
That very point, about the downturn in the market and renegotiating the property, was brought up at the meeting. Mic Armon ignored the logic and simply said they are moving forward, even in tough times because that’s what they have to do.
No attention to the reality that prices have dropped dramatically.
Comment by mary — November 14, 2008 @ 8:46 pm
I thought the NIC people and the guy from NICHE who had scheduled the meeting were extremely dismissive of everyone there. No introductions and no acknowledgement of the Post Falls mayor, councilwoman, city administrator or even State Rep. Henderson until Frank stood to make comments and couldn’t be ignored any longer. Tony Berns added nothing to the dialogue and looked like he was bored to have to be in Post Falls. It was a gigantic waste of time. Mic couldn’t answer the simple questions posed like how much will it cost to build and staff the NIC expansion on the mill site property. They have no plan or rather they have a plan but see no reason it should be made public.
Comment by Suzanne R. — November 15, 2008 @ 8:53 am
Welcome to the modus operandi of Coeur d’Alene, Suzanne. It’s why we created this web site.
Remember, they (NIC/CdA/LCDC) didn’t want to do these meetings. They were told it would be good PR.
Comment by Dan — November 15, 2008 @ 9:13 am
Welcome to our world Suzanne. I look forward to hearing more comments from you.
Comment by Faringdon — November 15, 2008 @ 2:19 pm
dan wrote this –Welcome to the modus operandi of Coeur d’Alene, Suzanne. It’s why we created this web site.
mary wrote this–I have personally decided to stop using the term “pro-choice”, instead I am going to say “pro-abortion”
mary what does your statement have to do with coeur d alene?
Comment by reagan — November 15, 2008 @ 9:27 pm
My statement about not using the term “pro-choice” was related to my free weekly newsletter, The City’s Pulse, which I send to the hundreds of local citizens who have requested it, and I it post here as well. (to sign up, click this link: http://www.thecityspulse.com)
Last week’s newsletter was about sexism in the election. In a related comment, I added an excerpt from liberal writer Camille Paglia’s column, denouncing the sexist bashing of Sarah Palin. Camille is an Obama supporter and is staunchly pro-abortion, even though she admires Gov. Palin. To explain why I called Camille “pro-abortion”, I explained:
“… I have personally decided to stop using the term “pro-choice”, instead I am going to say “pro-abortion” because that is more direct and clear. I will refer to myself as “pro-life” because that is easily understood.”
Comment by mary — November 16, 2008 @ 11:10 am
mary reagan was strewing fish not actually asking questions. he likes red herring. watering plant life and feeding them co2 just makes them grow.
Comment by TheWiz — November 16, 2008 @ 1:40 pm
Thanks, Wiz, I did kind of know that but used it as a chance to promote my newsletter and highlight my decision to reject the label “pro-choice” but instead use “pro-abortion” which is a more accurate term. Heck, I am pro-life and “pro-choice”, I just believe that the choice comes before the sex, not after.
Comment by mary — November 16, 2008 @ 4:12 pm