Sun City Summerlin still waiting for response on gas pipeline

By Jeff O'Brien

Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2008 | 1:52 p.m.

The Sun City Summerlin Community Association Board of Directors is still waiting for a response from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, or FERC, concerning the Kern River natural gas pipeline.

The board sent a letter of protest to FERC on July 28, outlining concerns it had regarding the safety of a proposed Kern River expansion project.

Kern River Gas has proposed to increase the pressure in its regional natural gas pipeline, which runs underneath Sun City Summerlin, by 11 percent. The increase would be for the entire length of the pipe, which runs 1,680 miles from Wyoming to Southern California.

The most recent update was in mid-October, when Sun City Summerlin Board President Richard Post received a phone call from David Dahl, an official with Kern River Gas.

"He told me they were still working on a response to our letter," Post said.

In other news, a proposal for a new cellular antenna tower in Sun City Summerlin continues to move forward after the most recent presentation before the board of directors on Oct. 27.

The 60-foot-high faux palm tree, which would be owned and maintained by T-Mobile, would be next to the information booth at the entrance to Sun City Summerlin near the intersection of Lake Mead Boulevard and Sun City Boulevard.

"We sent out 174 notices to all addresses within 1,000 feet of the proposed site," said Dan Vozenilek of T-Mobile.

The letters, which were sent out at the end of August, resulted in nine responses, two of which were negative, Vozenilek said.

A pair of new palm trees would be planted next to the faux palm to improve aesthetics, said Dave Steinman of the Sun City Summerlin Community Association Board of Directors. The new trees would be purchased and installed by T-Mobile, but Sun City Summerlin would handle ongoing maintenance and trimming.

"This project would also have to be approved by the city of Las Vegas planning commission and the Las Vegas City Council," Steinman said. "Another round of notices will be sent out in the future."

The board didn't express any major concerns with the proposal. Vozenilek said the project's engineers will now draft a series of detailed renderings that they will present at a later date.

The project would involve a 10-year contract with T-Mobile that would pay the association approximately $22,000 per year, said Ron Winkel, executive director of the Sun City Summerlin Community Association.

Also during the meeting, board member Patricia Cullen put forth a proposal from the Association's Community Services Department for an earlier closure on Sunday nights for the Mountain Shadows and Desert Vista community centers.

Rather than closing at 10 p.m. on Sunday nights as they do now, the proposal calls for both facilities to lock up at 9 p.m.

Cullen said the recommendation is based on months of tallies and participant counts, which show that traffic is very light at those centers on Sunday evenings — especially after 9 p.m.

"This is an effort to save the association money with regard to salaries and utilities," Cullen said. "It would also improve security. Our staff members are often sitting alone in those buildings for more than an hour."

The issue will be voted upon by the board at its next meeting at 9 a.m. on Nov. 10 in the Desert Vista Community Center ballroom.