J-U-B Engineers Inc., a large, Boise-based civil engineering firm that has offices in Coeur dAlene and Spokane, has spun off its Web-design operations into a separate, Coeur dAlene-based company called Civic Mind Media Inc.


Civic Mind Media shares office space with J-U-B Engineers in Coeur dAlene, at 7825 Meadowlark Way, says Jim Coleman, the Coeur dAlene-based CEO of both companies.


Even though J-U-Bs head office is in Boise, Coleman, its top executive, is located in Coeur dAlene.


Civic Mind Media employs five people in Coeur dAlene, while J-U-B has 45 people in its Coeur dAlene office and eight in its Spokane location, at 422 W. Riverside, Coleman says. J-U-B Engineers employs about 250 people companywide, in offices in Idaho, Washington, and Utah.


Coleman says J-U-B started developing Web sites for its clients, most of which are government agencies, because, We have civil engineers and planners and the type of people who deal with government agencies every day. We thought it would be easier to train ourselves to develop Web pages than to train (outside Web developers) to work with governments.


And, several J-U-B employees had an interest in the Internet and what it could offer in whats called e-government, Coleman says. One of those employees was Carl Stearns, who was J-U-Bs lead city-planning consultant for the Inland Northwest region and became one of the founders of Civic Mind Media. Stearns wife, Kim, a consultant with Coeur dAlene-based Stearns Communications, is directing Civic Minds initial marketing and sales activities.


J-U-B decided to create a separate company for its Web-design and Internet-consulting activities because J-U-B Engineers is a civil-engineering company, and the business model just didnt fit real well (with a Web-design company), Coleman says.


Carl Stearns says the work of government agencies could benefit from the access provided by the Internet.