7-25-2024 11:46am

Mobile Home Park Owners Under AG Investigation: Residents Ask City Commissioners to Act

Chris Edwards Editor

A mobile home park resident relies on the park owner to properly maintain the park. The park owner is also responsible for honoring the resident's legal rights. In the City of Alamogordo, it appears that Mobile Home Park operators are not held accountable to maintain parks when one looks at various parks in Alamogordo and based on feedback from park residents throughout the city. From busted water pipes, to busted gas lines, to derilct upkeep of parks that are a public safety issue like the one located at the end of New York Avenue. Residents are feedup with the city and park owners failing to manage park upkeep snd public safety.

Residents are speaking out with a perception that Alamogordo city ordinances are weak for any enforcement actions and limited in scope of what the city can do under existing ordinances, or there is a missing will to tackle the challenges.

Issues that can arise with park management involve plumbing and sewer system, water, electrical, and other utilities, drainage, and foundation issues. The issues can exist that cause physical injury or illnes to park residents.

Waiting for the park owner to do the right thing is rarely a good strategy and in the case of Alamogordo mobile home park operators, it appears to be a futile strategy based feedback from park inhabitants of Desert Palms Mobile Home Estates, several of which attended this weeks Alamogordo City Commission meeting.

Park residents have been without natural gas to cook, heat their water heaters to shower and heating, due to a leak. The park owners have failed to address the issue.

The gas was shut off June 14, over month ago, prompted by a leak in the system, and to date, residents have no alternatives.

The mobile home park’s owner told residents initially that restoration of the gas lines could take months or even years, and recommended residents switch to propane.

However, it is in violation of city ordinances for mobile home parks to use propane, and city officials notified residents on July 18 that would not work.

About a dozen residents of the park attended this weeks city commission meeting to voice their concerns. Several spoke including Shari Adkisson who expressed concern with the park ownership and concern with the city's response to date. She spoke in public comments...

"Madame Mayor and esteemed City Councilors. I am speaking here as an individual.

My name is Shari Adkisson and I live at 2000 First St, Desert Palms Mobile Home Estates. We are a senior only park (55+). We are involved in a frightening bureaucratic blackhole. On June 14th, a leak in our gas lines was discovered, and the State of New Mexico and New Mexico Gas shut off service to the entire park. There are 74 homes in our park.

Our gas provider is Desert Palms. We were billed monthly with our space rental payments, per our lease agreement.

The corporate owners have been investigating options and after discovering that reworking all existing gas lines would take months or even years,as required for the service to be restored, they investigated an option with Pinnacle Propane. A contract was negotiated, and the project could be complete before winter set in.

Then last Thursday, July 18th, the City of Alamogordo served notice to the park and tenants that installing propane in a mobile home park was in violation of city ordinances. So we were back to square one, still no gas service for over a month and no resolution is sight.

At a tenant meeting, we were also informed that an upgrade to an all electric home would require extensive installation of transformers in the park to handle the extra load. Homeowners would have to purchase all new appliances, wiring and breakers, etc. required inside and outside the mobile home. Few of our reisdents would be able to do that.

So it appears we are left with no viable options. We cannot convert to propane per the city of Alamogordo. We are not all able to convert to electric service without expensive upgrades. And we cannot do a major repair of the current leaks and a phased in replacement of the remainder of the gas lines in the park. Completing any of this in a timely manner before winter sets in is an unknown.

We understand that White Sands Mobile Home Park has been waiting on a contractor to replace their lines. They have been without gas service for 5 months and still have not broken ground.

We cannot ethically sell our mobile homes with our current substandard utilities. We are homeowners, who only rent our spaces. We cannot just walk away from this bad situation.

We see 2 solutions available to us. One option is repairing the existing leaks, testing and turning service back on to the park and completing a phased in replacement of all gas lines. The second option is for the Alamogordo City Council to grant an exception to the Propane rule.

Winter will soon be here and most options do not guarantee (or consider) that senior citizens will be huddling around electric space heaters to stay warm over this winter.

What would you do if these senior citizens were your mother, father, sister or brother? "

This system has aged and nit been maintained along for 20 years and has had 2 gas leaks per residents

Another mobile home property owner managing the White Sands Community Mobile Home Park has been without natural gas since April 7, 2024.

The New Mexico Attorney General’s Office has sent an investigator to Alsmogordo to review this and other mobile home park complaints that have been filed with the state. Alamogordo City Manager Rick Holden states thst city staff visited with investigator Serna from the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office and is collaborating where it can.

The Mobile Home Act is a law that the state AG's office is investigating under that includes civil penalties for owners who don’t comply with maintenance and safety standards.

According to state statute 47-10-23, a landlord can be charged a civil penalty up to $500 for each violation.

The city also has the power to revoke demand a meeting with the property owner and require action orcthey could revoke the owners business license to operate within the city. Tools are available to government officials within the existing ordinances relating to code enforcement and business licensing laws.

Mobile Home safety and the use of propane and or natural gas safely and safety within mobile homes is a concern to fire officials within the City of Alamogordo, as recently as February 6th, 2024, a person was found dead after a mobile home fire in Alamogordo. Firefighters were called to the trailer near the 2200 block of North Florida early that Sunday evening. After they put out the flames, crews found the body inside. They also found a dog but efforts to save its life failed.

In the meantime the mobile home owners and renters are hopeful but wary.

Several area mobile home residents have said they have reached out to legal experts in addition to seeking assistance from the city and the attorney general's office.

AlamogordoTownNews.com has reached out to both park owners for comment but has not yet received a reply nor response to our multiple messages. Stay tuned as this story develops...