Elk Ridge residents demand answers
Hasty fuel switch, elusive management, and gas lines discovered under homes spark fear and confusion in community
Story by Stephanie Nakhleh
Photos by Minesh Bacrania
Cristina Pendergraft and her Elk Ridge Mobile Home Park neighbors face an unexpected crisis. Their community, a privately owned mobile home park of approximately 175 sites surrounded by federal land, is facing a sudden energy conversion — switching from natural gas to propane. Even more alarming, 25 homes were found to be sitting on top of natural gas lines, raising serious safety concerns.
In late August, Yes! Communities, the Colorado-based company that owns and manages Elk Ridge, emailed residents to notify them of the impending change. The email (see end of the story for the full text), signed by office administrator Vanessa Bencomo, stated, “Our community is working in partnership with Los Alamos County to begin a very near future project to convert all homes from natural gas to propane. This conversion is necessary because the current natural gas distribution system has reached the end of its useful life, and it is not feasible to replace it.”
No further details were provided on the timing, costs, or logistics of the major infrastructure change that could impact residents’ ability to heat their homes and use appliances as winter approaches — and no information has been made available since.
“Why is this change happening?”
About a dozen Elk Ridge residents gathered at the Sept. 24th County Council meeting to voice their concerns and request that the council look into the propane conversion issue. Among them was Cristina Pendergraft, who has lived at Elk Ridge since June 2023.
“Why is this change happening? Who’s 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?” asked Pendergraft. She and other Elk Ridge residents lined up to speak during the public comment period, echoing many residents’ questions since receiving the brief notice from Yes! Communities.
Despite repeated attempts by residents, County officials, and media to contact the company, Yes! Communities has provided little additional information beyond the initial letter. Boomtown couldn’t even leave a voicemail when calling the contact number provided for Yes! Communities. The phone tree offers three options: two that lead to endless ringing and one that immediately drops the line.
Perhaps related, Elk Ridge posted this job ad on Friday, Sept. 27:
The communication vacuum has left residents anxious about potential costs and disruptions. “We pay extremely high rent, and they don’t maintain any of the infrastructure as it is,” Pendergraft said in an interview with Boomtown. “It just seems like they’re just passing the buck. And we want some answers.”
“Who’s going to cover the cost?”
An Elk Ridge resident who identified himself only as “Edmundo” voiced similar worries at the Council meeting: “My concern is who’s going to cover the cost of this transition. I’ve been living in Elk Ridge for the last three years, and during that time, my rent has gone up immensely.” He said he pays over $800 for his mortgage and another $900 to rent the lot where his mobile home sits — a common arrangement in mobile home parks, where residents own their homes but must rent the land underneath. This mixed owner-renter situation often puts residents at a disadvantage: across the country, mobile home parks, one of the last bastions of naturally occurring affordable housing, are being bought up by corporations that extract money from residents without providing basic services.
Edmundo said that he pays nearly $1,800 per month between his mortgage and lot rent — comparable to the mortgage many spend on a comfortable single-family home in Los Alamos. “I don’t think it’s fair for Yes! Communities, who doesn’t even live here and does nothing for our community, to just charge us, take our money, without doing anything,” he said.
The issues at Elk Ridge aren’t unique. Yes! Communities, which owns and operates mobile home communities across the country, has faced similar criticisms elsewhere. In Michigan, for instance, residents of Yes! Communities properties have reported steep rent hikes, poor maintenance, and infrastructure problems, echoing many of the concerns raised by Elk Ridge residents.
County officials try to bridge the information gap
While other mobile home communities face similar issues in terms of rent and property conditions, the gas supply situation at Elk Ridge is unique. Philo Shelton, Los Alamos County’s utilities manager, confirmed in an interview with Boomtown that Yes! Communities owns the land and is responsible for maintaining gas, water, and sewer infrastructure at Elk Ridge. The county’s Department of Public Utilities (DPU) only maintains electrical infrastructure and handles residential utility billing. As Deputy Utilities Manager/Engineer James Alarid explained at the Aug. 7, 2024, Board of Public Utilities meeting, the gas comes from the Department of Energy (DOE). “It is their meter that feeds this subdivision,” Alarid said. This arrangement, unusual for a residential development, stems from Elk Ridge’s unique location as an isolated, private parcel surrounded by DOE land.
Yes! Communities’ stated reason for the propane conversion is that the “current natural gas distribution system has reached the end of its useful life, and it is not feasible to replace it.” Another factor might have been the discovery of gas lines running underneath a number of mobile homes — a hazardous situation.
As Alarid explained, the discovery of those lines led County officials to involve additional regulatory oversight. “We made a notification to the New Mexico PRC [Public Regulation Commission] pipeline safety bureau. These are the folks that have the regulatory authority on gas systems in New Mexico,” he said. “This is a safety concern that doesn’t have a quick and easy solution.” While the PRC has been notified, they haven’t yet provided guidance or directives. The County is awaiting a response that may determine further action by all parties involved.
“It’s not an allowed practice,” Shelton said of gas lines under homes. “We didn’t find leaks, but should there be a leak, that is a problem.”
He said the County conducted a comprehensive leak survey at the park manager’s request in July and August, finding no leaks. However, County officials initially reported that lines were found under 62 homes during the inspections. Shelton said that number has since been revised down to 25 homes after a more thorough investigation. But the presence of lines under homes might be one reason why Yes! Communities pursued the propane conversion rather than trying to relocate or replace the existing natural gas infrastructure.
(Alarid’s detailed explanation can be seen here, starting at 3:11.)
NNSA expresses “heightened interest” but offers limited assurance
The complexity of Elk Ridge’s situation extends beyond just the county and Yes! Communities. At the same County Council meeting where residents voiced their concerns, Ted Wyka, the National Nuclear Security Administration’s (NNSA) field office manager, was present on an unrelated matter. He addressed the issue during councilor questions after his presentation to the Council.
Wyka acknowledged the NNSA’s interest in the situation, given its role in supplying some of the county’s less unaffordable housing and Elk Ridge’s proximity to Department of Energy property. “It’s obviously an area we’re interested in,” Wyka said. “It’s a community that houses many of our employees, so it’s of heightened interest.”
However, Wyka’s response offered little concrete assurance to residents. While he emphasized that safety was paramount in their discussions with the county manager, his commitment to action remained vague: “We’re willing to provide whatever support we could legally provide to assist in that matter.”
Residents like Pendergraft and Edmundo find themselves caught between multiple agencies and entities. While the County and NNSA each expressed concern and some willingness to help within their legal bounds, their ability to directly address the propane conversion appears limited. Meanwhile, Yes! Communities, the entity most directly responsible for the park’s infrastructure and proposed changes, is nowhere to be found. Residents are caught in an information vacuum as the conversion deadline looms.
County seeks answers, creates fact sheet for residents
Shelton said the County has been trying to get more information from Yes! Communities to share with residents. “We’re hoping they communicate with their tenants,” he said. The community’s gas supply does not come from the county, so the county is not able to fix the situation: “We can only try to facilitate [communication],” he said.
The County has created a fact sheet on its website to provide updates as information becomes available. Asked if the residents are right to worry about losing their heat just as winter arrives, Shelton said, “I don’t think the gas system would be shut off before everyone was converted. We’d want some assurance that everyone’s done,” meaning, that they have access to another heat source. He said that after the conversion takes place, “We do the final meter read and cap and purge the lines.”
Key questions remain unanswered
With conversion looking inevitable, residents are left wondering who will cover the potentially significant costs associated with the switch: the one-time cost of converting homes and appliances to propane, and the ongoing higher costs of using propane for heating and cooking.
Regarding the conversion costs, Pendergraft shared information she received from a resident with connections in the propane industry: converting a single mobile home could cost as much as $20,000, depending on its size and the number of appliances that need to be modified. This estimate includes the cost of converting all gas orifices and appliances to work with propane, she said. If these estimates are accurate, the total conversion cost for the entire 175-unit park could potentially reach $3.5 million.
Shelton sympathized with residents over the lack of communication from Yes! Communities and said he doesn’t know if the company plans to cover these conversion costs or pass them on to residents. The uncertainty around who will bear this expense has heightened anxiety in the Elk Ridge community.
Beyond the initial conversion costs, residents face the prospect of higher ongoing expenses for heating and cooking. Propane is often more expensive than natural gas, which could lead to increased monthly utility bills for Elk Ridge residents. While some assistance programs exist for low-income residents, it’s unclear if or how they might apply when a private company is mandating the switch.
The lack of clarity has stoked fears among residents, many of whom are on fixed incomes or struggling to make ends meet. Some worry they could lose heat entirely if the conversion isn’t handled properly.
“How I will cook meals for my family”
“Your Los Alamos residents are in fear that they won’t have heat during the freezing winter,” Elk Ridge resident Morgan said at the Council meeting. “I am a mom with a soon to be one-year-old. I fear, if we switch to propane, how I will cook meals for my family and keep warm.”
Safety concerns have also been raised about placing propane tanks in the densely packed mobile home community. “I fear what type of accidents that will happen if we have highly flammable propane tanks mixed in with condensed mobile homes with little room,” Morgan added. “It’s an accident waiting to happen.”
Pendergraft said that Yes! Communities has a poor track record of maintaining infrastructure and communicating with residents about repairs and outages. She described frequent water shutoffs with little warning and electrical issues due to a lack of tree maintenance.
“Living here is a constant stress between the management who’s going to harass you over something ridiculous, not having regular water, and now possibly having our heat gone,” she said.
“They owe their tenants an answer”
For now, residents are left waiting and worrying as winter approaches. County officials say they are doing what they can to facilitate communication and ensure safety but ultimately have limited authority over the private development.
“They owe their tenants an answer. That’s the bottom line,” Shelton said of Yes! Communities. “I wish they would, soon.”
Pendergraft and other residents who spoke out said many of their neighbors are too afraid of retaliation to voice concerns publicly. But they feel compelled to push for answers and accountability.
“We are tax-paying citizens. We adhere to your rules, regulations. Please help us out,” Edmundo implored the County Council.
In response to the pleas for help, Council Chair Denise Derkacs made an exception to procedural rules and issued a response: “We normally don’t respond to public comment that’s not on the agenda, but I will say that we hear you, and we are sympathetic to your concerns,” she said. “The county has reached out to Yes! Communities to provide more information as quickly as possible so that they can expeditiously make the transition from natural gas to propane.”
This did not seem to be the response the residents were looking for. One shouted, “No!” before the group filed out the door.
As the situation remains unresolved, the people of Elk Ridge say they need stronger protections and oversight. Residents are left waiting and wondering about their homes and finances with no word from their missing landlord.
“We just want transparency,” Pendergraft said. “We just want to know what’s going on.”
Note: Today, Oct. 2, just as this story was going to press, Yes! Communities sent an email to Elk Ridge residents announcing plans to survey homes in preparation for the gas-to-propane conversion. The email states that a third-party plumbing company will conduct inspections of each home’s appliances in the “next several months.” While the company promises to cover the cost of these surveys, it provides no timeline for the actual conversion process or any indication of who will bear those potentially significant costs. The email directs residents to the Los Alamos County fact sheet for more information — the same fact sheet that, as of this publication, contains little concrete information about the conversion plans.
Boomtown will continue to follow this developing story.
Thank you for covering this story with your usual detail and precision. This situation is complex and needs as much conversation and understanding is can be mustered. I feel for the Elk Ridge Community and the uncertainty this has created. Citizens must be protected from greedy corporations who take everything and give back nothing.
These are their homes, not pawns to be moved around on a chess board by some caricature of a robber baron capitalist in an old political cartoon.