<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto">Courtesy of today’s (May 31, 2018) <i>Moscow-Pullman Daily News</i> with thanks to Nils Peterson.<div><br></div><div>———————————————</div><div><br></div><div><div><h1 itemprop="headline" class="headline" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 42px; margin: 0px 100px 0px 0px; font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.1; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); -webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: 100%;"><span style="box-sizing: border-box;">Letter: Syringa, harbinger of the future?</span></h1></div><div><br></div><div>The final act of the Syringa Mobile Home Park drama filled the paper May 25. A place that has been a home in our community over the past 50 years is about to be abandoned.</div><div><br></div><div>The demise stems from lack of maintenance and renewal of the infrastructure.</div><div><br></div><div>As someone prone to driving old cars into the ground, I understand my father's saying, "A quart of oil is cheaper than a new car." It's easier to run things out than do maintenance.</div><div><br></div><div>Last fall, I wrote a letter to the editor in support of Brandy Sullivan's candidacy for City Council, encouraging her suggestions to invest more in infrastructure repair and not in the Third Street bridge.</div><div><br></div><div>The city budget spends $800,000 for road repair toward an estimated $1.4 million/year need.</div><div><br></div><div>To spend more, we'd need to cut other city services or raise taxes.</div><div><br></div><div>In Syringa's case, water, sewer and the mobile homes owned by the park are all deteriorating, which makes it hard to attract new tenants and investment.</div><div><br></div><div>New investment might require raising rents, which is hard. The park was valuable to its residents because it was affordable.</div><div><br></div><div>Various people have ascribed motivations to the owner for this under investment.</div><div><br></div><div>The hard fact is infrastructure is expensive and getting more so.</div><div><br></div><div>I think one of the reasons is rooted in the diminishing returns on fossil energy. The net energy yield from a barrel of oil goes down as we spend more effort getting each barrel.</div><div><br></div><div>With less net yield, society can do less work - it becomes more expensive to maintain infrastructure.</div><div><br></div><div>We need to ask if the infrastructure we depend on is affordable. The road, sewer, roof, transportation and all the other stuff that supports our lifestyle.</div><div><br></div><div>If not, can we transition to use less or do we abandon it?</div><div><br></div><div>Nils Peterson</div><div>Moscow</div></div><div><br></div><div>———————————————<br><br><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div><br></div></div></div></body></html>