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<DIV><SPAN class=078310719-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I
support the Cemetery District taking over Sunset Gardens.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=078310719-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=078310719-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>We
have the title to two lots there that our parents purchased in the
50's.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=078310719-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=078310719-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>I
don't think we'll use them, unless the care is taken over by the Cemetery
District.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=078310719-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=078310719-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff size=2>It
does seem a bit absurd to use so much water in the hottest part of the summer,
just for green lawns on graves. They can still be attractive in their
natural state.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=078310719-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=078310719-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Thanks</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=078310719-17062008><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff
size=2>Bev</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>
vision2020-bounces@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com]<B>On
Behalf Of </B>Bill London<BR><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, June 17, 2008 12:05
PM<BR><B>To:</B> vision2020@mail-gw.fsr.net<BR><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020]
water use at Moscow cemeteries<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">According to a report in the Daily News (June
9), the Moscow Cemetery District could take over maintenance of the Sunset
Memorial Gardens Cemetery, a private cemetery located at Mountain View Road
and the Troy Highway, if Latah County taxpayers agree to an override levy of
about $10,000 annually. A vote to increase county taxes by that amount could
be on the ballot in May.</P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><BR></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">I believe that the Moscow Cemetery District
should take responsibility for Sunset Gardens. That is the right thing to
do.</P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><BR></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">However, I also believe that an override levy
increasing our county taxes by $10,000 annually for that purpose is not likely
to find enough public support.</P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><BR></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">Given that situation, perhaps this is an
appropriate compromise: add Sunset Gardens to the Moscow Cemetery District,
but cut district expenses sufficiently to absorb the additional maintenance
costs. Cut those expenses by drastically reducing water use at both the Moscow
Cemetery and at Sunset Gardens.</P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><BR></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">According to information from the cemetery
district office, the cost of pumping water from the aquifer to irrigate the
cemeteries is about $10,000 annually. The real cost of irrigating those huge
lawns is much higher if labor costs are included.</P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><BR></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">Those two cemeteries could drastically cut water
usage and irrigation costs by maintaining all the trees and bushes, but
allowing the lawn to naturally brown in the summer. If the Moscow Cemetery
District cut its irrigation program, significant savings in the district's
$175,000 annual property tax bill would follow. Both the Moscow Cemetery and
the Sunset Gardens Cemetery would be maintained, and no taxes raised to do
so.</P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><BR></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">Here's some reasons why the Moscow Cemetery
District should cut water usage and allow the cemetery lawns to brown
naturally every summer:</P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><BR></P>
<OL>
<LI>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><FONT color=#000000><FONT size=3>The city of
Moscow has committed itself to water reduction through public education and
a rate schedule that encourages water conservation and significant reduction
in lawn watering. Moscow's citizens have responded and many Moscow lawns are
now browning annually.</FONT></FONT></P>
<LI>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><FONT color=#000000><FONT size=3>The aquifer
that is the source of this irrigation water is a quickly-disappearing and
finite water source that should be protected and conserved. Watering the
cemetery lawns wastes this precious resource.</FONT></FONT></P>
<LI>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><FONT color=#000000><FONT size=3>Most of Latah
County's 30 public cemeteries are not irrigated. Those non-irrigated
cemeteries are well-maintained, mowed, and attractive. The people buried at
the non-irrigated cemeteries in Latah County are not less honored or
respected than those buried at the few irrigated cemeteries.
</FONT></FONT></P>
<LI>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><FONT color=#000000><FONT size=3>The Moscow
Cemetery District presently administers two cemeteries. The other is the
Buchanan Cemetery off Lenville Road, which is not irrigated. Therefore, the
district has no requirement or mandate to irrigate, just a tradition of
doing so. That tradition should change to fit the environmental awareness
and constraints of our era.</FONT></FONT></P>
<LI>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><FONT color=#000000><FONT size=3>Allowing a
cemetery lawn to brown with the summer heat is appropriate, since this
symbolizes the cycles of life and represents the seasonal changes our our
landscape.</FONT></FONT></P></LI></OL>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><BR></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">Conserving our aquifer and resolving the issue
of perpetual maintenance at Sunset Gardens are important goals – and both
goals can best be met by curtailing irrigation by the Moscow Cemetery
District.</P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">BL<BR></P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in"><BR></P></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>