Protecting Our Town

By Bill Godwin

From a systems point of view, Los Alamos consists of two thoroughly interdependent parts – the lab and the town. I stress the word “interdependent”. The town exists because of the lab, and the lab is the primary economic engine of the town, the largest employer. The town needs a healthy lab to survive. But the lab needs an attractive town to attract and retain high-quality staff. Without a well-funded lab, the town would be in trouble.  But without a vital and attractive town, the lab would be in trouble.

However, despite being the third wealthiest county in America, Los Alamos has historically been remarkably resistant to funding civic improvements. School bonds have failed more than once (and our dilapidated school buildings show it), the civic center proposal was voted down by a healthy margin, and one hears continuous grumbling about everything from the costs of planting trees along Central Avenue to supporting the Aquatic Center to the Trinity Place proposal. I think this is because many people see and judge these as individual decisions – they don’t see the whole systems picture.  A recent proposal to revise the County charter suggests subjecting capital projects and real estate matters to cafeteria style elections would further fragment decision processes.

Los Alamos Laboratory, like any high-tech research facility, depends upon a steady inflow of bright young talent to keep healthy and productive, and to replace retirements.  There is a lot of competition across the country for that bright young talent, and it will tend to go where young families can find good schools, good libraries, attractive living conditions, and a lively recreation life. So the long-term health of the laboratory is directly dependent on how attractive and vital our town is.

And just as important, from the point of view of a homeowner in the town, our property values depend directly on how well the lab is doing, which depends on the quality of the lab staff, which in turn depends pretty directly on how willing we are to fund things like good schools, good libraries, good recreation facilities, and things which make the town attractive to the bright young talent that is the lifeblood of the laboratory. Saving a few mills of property tax may in the long run cost us far more in decreased home values.

So the next time there is a proposal to spend some money or float a bond or raise our taxes to improve our town in some way, look at the whole system, not just the immediate proposal. Remember that a town which will attract new families is not an expensive luxury for us; it is a necessity if we are to compete successfully for the bright young lab talent that keeps the lab – and our property values – healthy.