By RICHARD NEBEL
Los Alamos
This is an answer to Ann Perkins’s recent letter to the editor (link) on the demise of businesses in Los Alamos. If you want to solve the problem, the first thing you need to do is understand what the problem is. In Los Alamos, the costs are high and the market is small. Low dollar businesses have a hard time competing with LANL, doctors, dentists, lawyers, etc. for space.
The best solution for this is for small businesses to own the buildings they are located in. Not having to pay rent makes businesses more resilient and better able to weather events like the coronavirus pandemic. Real Estate is also an investment that is likely to appreciate in time, so it’s not money down the drain like rent is.
Most communities lack the capital to make this approach viable. That’s not true in Los Alamos. 20% of the families in Los Alamos are millionaires. There are plenty of people in this community who could afford to buy a commercial building and open a small business. If they don’t have rent to pay, then it’s pretty likely that those businesses will be successful. You probably won’t get rich, but you’ll get by and you will be providing a service that is beneficial to the community. We own a couple of commercial buildings on DP Road, and I know of at least 2 other buildings on DP Road that are for sale. With all of the development presently going on and the planned development for DP Road, these are probably good investments.
What’s needed here is some leadership, particularly people leading by example. Bill Deal did that with the Reel Deal theater. He knew that wasn’t going to be a major moneymaker. We have several members of the County Council who could easily invest in Los Alamos as well. Also, there are many progressives in this community who decry the income disparity created by Wall Street and then ship them all of their money for investment. One way to show that they care about this community would be to invest at least some of that money in businesses here.
The other side of the question is the small market side. I think the County Council should be commended for trying to get more land from LANL for development. I hope that they don’t get discouraged and give up on this. Having more commercial space available would help both the market size and perhaps put some downward pressure on rent.
However, I am reminded of an admonition my father (who was an attorney) gave me many years ago. He said that “You should never ask a question that you don’t already know the answer to”. Obviously, the County Council didn’t have their political ducks in a row on this one. Do you think this would have happened if Pete Domenici was still representing New Mexico?
So what should we do about KRSN? If people want it to continue then they should consider buying it. If you want something done, then you should do it yourself. You can’t count on other people doing it for you.