4 Investigate: Phone owners are desperate

ALAMOGORDO, NM – No hot water, no heat; some people in Alamogordo have not received gas for five months now.

Fixing gas services at another park is part of a growing to-do list for a local park owner who is moving out of the country, and residents are frustrated.

Palm trees and a front porch view of the mountains helped sell the property for Florence Dean. What he says is his last big investment.

A decision that he spends a lot of time questioning these days.

“I mean it wouldn’t kill me to wash the dishes, but I love my dishwasher,” said Dean.

Eight years into his retirement, he found the gas shut off at his Desert Palms Mobile Home Park in Alamogordo.

“Like ‘Wow, how do I cook? Like, I don’t have hot water.’ “There is no problem with the heating because it is the middle of summer, but I thought they would fix this,” said Dean.

It was the beginning of June. An NMGCO spokesperson told 4 Investigators that they found a leak in Palms Desert on June 13.

“On June 13, we received a call from a resident of Desert Palms reporting the smell of natural gas. That day, our technicians responded and identified surface leaks in several areas. Our technicians worked with Desert Palms management to try to find isolation valves that would allow isolation of the leak; however, they were not found. As a result, and as required by law, we stopped the flow of gas at the main public meter and notified Desert Palms management of the need for repairs before gas service could be restored. We will not be making repairs to non-NMGC systems such as the Desert Palms community gas supply system,” said an NMGCO spokesperson. (full statement below).

“We can’t live without some kind of help to heat our homes,” Dean said.

Desert Palms has what is called a large meter. That means instead of gas meters in every house, there is one controlled by the house owner.

A spokesperson for the gas company says that after they discovered the leak, they shut everything off, leaving it up to the home owner to fix.

Neighbor Alice Evans said she sees no urgency to fix the problem.

“I had to buy a hot plate to cook with,” said Desert Palms resident Alice Evans. “I had to heat my water in a small pot, a small electric tea pot that I have. I have a cold shower.”

They say the owner is still trying to fix it. Evans said they took care of the holes in the floor with the contractors. But he said in four months, that should not be enough.

“The coming of winter is not a good prospect. It’s scary,” said Evans.

The owner of Desert Palms is from California. We wanted to talk to him, but he never called us back. He happens to be the owner of a street garden called Amber Skies. People are there, they told us that cutting is expected.

“We’re cash cows,” said Gary Perry, a resident of Amber Skies Mobile Home Park in Alamogordo. We are actually prisoners.

Perry has helped organize outspoken residents who say rents are rising, while the quality of life is falling. He points to the time the front gate stopped working, which is the service they are charged for.

They said that there is ongoing flooding that happens sometimes for days at a time. Now, it’s hard to sell and it’s not easy to leave.

“You can’t move these houses. You can, but the cost is out of the question without the potential damage,” Perry said.

“This is one of the last affordable ways to own a beautiful home,” said Carolyn Ross, a resident of Amber Skies Mobile Home Park.

Carolyn Ross said her home passed the required inspection in New Mexico. But now, his new home is sinking.

“Where the holes are under water, my food tastes very bad. It feels like the Titanic when I walk on it,” Ross said.

Ross called New Mexico State Regulation and Licensing which inspected the property and found out, staff said it violated New Mexico state law.

“I received a fancy letterhead from the governor listing all the code violations they blamed 50% on Amber Skies for not properly preparing my lot, or not, and half on the seller, or installer. because when they drive, they would have looked at the lot and said it’s not good,” said Ross.

“They gave me the decision to break the rules that it was all legal, and fancy, and good looking. Then he told me to go hire a lawyer. They won’t enforce it. They won’t help me .All the people listed in this violation walked away free to do this to the next innocent person,” Ross said.

However, the state Department of Manufactured Housing dismissed Ross’ case for “lack of jurisdiction”.

Ross said: “I have to play bingo now. But all I do is cry at night and worry and fight.

The state won’t require a fix, telling him in an email that it “doesn’t have the legal authority to compel a contractor to comply with code fixes.”

Ross said: “If they would just enforce the law, it would save my house right now.”

There are several laws in place to control the houses and protect the local witness residents but there are no teeth to enforce them.

We wanted to sit down with RLD’s Manufactured Housing Division to discuss this case, and possibly a legal solution. But even after a few months, the speaker refused.

The White Sands mobile home community is also affected by the gas leak. NMGCO said it is working with management to restore the service.

Full Statement NMGCO:

“New Mexico Gas Company provides natural gas service to the communities of Desert Palms and White Sands through large meters. As major meter customers, Desert Palms and White Sands own and maintain their own systems of natural gas distribution on the other side of our main meter. We are not authorized to provide natural gas service to any metered customer if the customer’s gas distribution method is found to be a danger to people or property.

On April 6th and 7th, we received calls about a natural gas odor in the White Sands community. Our technicians responded in two days and identified leaks above and below multiple locations. Our experts worked with White Sands management to try to find isolation valves that would allow isolation of the leak; however, they were not found. As a result, and as required by law, we stopped the flow of gas at two main public service meters and notified White Sands management of the need for repairs before gas service could be restored. . We will not perform repairs on non-NMGC systems such as the White Sands public gas distribution system.

On June 13th, we received a call from a Desert Palms resident reporting the smell of natural gas. That day, our technicians responded and identified surface leaks in several areas. Our technicians worked with Desert Palms management to try to find isolation valves that would allow isolation of the leak; however, they were not found. As a result, and as required by law, we stopped the flow of gas at the main public meter and notified Desert Palms management of the need for repairs before gas service could be restored. We will not make repairs to non-NMGC systems such as the Desert Palms public gas distribution system.

Since discovering the leak in both public distribution systems, we have been in contact with the management of Desert Palms and White Sands, and have provided them with assistance as they work to resolve the issues with their systems. . Our staff visited the villages as requested by the authorities and provided cost estimates for installing new NMGC systems, instead of better meter sets. It is our understanding that both communities have chosen to repair and/or replace their current systems and remain active meter customers, rather than switch to the new NMGC system.

At this time, we have been informed that renovations at White Sands Village are nearing completion. We will re-produce gas once the White Sands gas distribution system has passed all required tests. We will work with White Sands management and review authorities regarding these reviews. We believe that Desert Palms management is currently working on plans to repair or update their system, but we have not been given any further details.

We appreciate the problems that the residents of White Sands and Desert Palms have and the concerns they have raised. Although NMGC is not responsible for the gas distribution systems within these communities, we have been responding to requests from the management of White Sands and Desert Palms and providing the assistance we can, while note our commitment to take reasonable steps to ensure that gas distribution systems are served. with our master meters are safe.”