Elk Ridge Mobile Home Park has plans to convert residents’ heat from natural gas to propane although the details of the plans remain a mystery. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
Yes! Communities announced at the beginning of the month that the heating for Elk Ridge Mobile Home Park is planned to be converted from natural gas to propane. Since then, the owners of the mobile home park have been silent on the issue.
Frustrated with the cliffhanger, Elk Ridge residents attended the Oct. 8 Los Alamos County Council meeting to request that council intervene on the matter.
As one speaker said, “I formally request that the issue of Yes! Communities transition from natural gas to propane be added to the County Council agenda. I seek more information about this transition, specifically why is this change happening, who is responsible for covering the cost associated with the transition, when will this transition take place, how safe is this new system for the residents, what, if any, benefits does this offer the community.”
She added, that for years Yes! Communities have charged high rents while neglecting the park’s infrastructure. Residents’ safety and wellbeing are not high priorities since Yes! Communities fails to maintain critical elements such as water, electrical lines, streets, fencing and common areas. The fear, the speaker said, is that the conversion will increase heating costs and just add to the rising cost of living in Elk Ridge.
“This is harmful to our community and reflects poorly on Los Alamos County,” she said.
Several other Elk Ridge residents said they feel that they are being pushed into the transition without being consulted.
“We hear you and we are sympathetic to your concerns, and the County has reached out to Yes! Communities to provide more information as quickly as possible so they can expeditiously make the transition from natural gas to propane,” Council Chair Denise Derkacs said.
The problem is that since Yes! Communities is a private company operating a private business, the County can’t make it say or do anything.
For the County’s part, a webpage was set up to provide information on the project.
“We set up a webpage for Elk Ridge residents at ladpu.com/elkridge with all the information we know about it and we’ve committed to keeping it up-to-date for them,” Department of Public Utilities (DPU) Public Relations Manager Cathy D’Anna wrote in an email. “We are the billing entity for that gas. At this point, our knowledge is limited to what is on the webpage…”
DPU Deputy Manager of Finance and Administration Karen Kendall explained in an email how the natural gas system and billing process works for the mobile home park.
“The Los Alamos County Department of Public Utilities (DPU) has been metering and billing for the natural gas that comes from DOE/LANL through a master meter at Elk Ridge,” she said. “Natural gas is purchased by both long-term and short-term contracts at the market hub, then transported to Los Alamos by a pipeline operator for distribution to all master meters.”
According to the DPU webpage, the conversion project is necessary because the natural gas distribution system serving the residents has reached the end of its useful life and it is not feasible to replace it. With the permission from Yes Communities, DPU did a comprehensive leak survey of the entire park in July and August and no leaks were detected.
Details shared by Yes! Communities to the County are sparse. It is reported on the webpage that Los Alamos County does not know the details or timing of the conversion project but promises to share updated information as it becomes available. In an email to Elk Ridge residents posted on the DPU webpage, Yes! Communities wrote that, “We are in regular contact with the County regarding the progress and timing of the project and our goal is to minimize any inconvenience or expense to residents as a result of the project.”
Also stated in the email was that Yes! Communities hired Cartwright Plumbing to survey appliances in homes to determine which ones will need to be converted to run off propane.
Once surveys are completed there will be information to all residents regarding the future project timeline, and next steps.
Once each individual home conversion is completed, DPU will conduct a final meter reading at the residence and close out individual natural-gas accounts. When the entire park conversion project is completed, DPU will purge and cap the distribution system.
DPU wants to assure Elk Ridge residents that it will confirm that the conversion project is complete before the gas system is decommissioned.
The Los Alamos Daily Post did reach out to Yes! Communities for comment but no response was received.