Thursday 30 August 2007

New Bank Statement


Here is the latest statement from Banco Popular

Click Here Get all the information you need - When you need it

Monday 27 August 2007

Further Udate to Trouble.

I have been asked by the Parents of the two Teenagers who were originally arrested by the Guardia Civil concerning this incident, to advise you that their two Sons were released, after witnesses came forward. Two other teenage boys, both English and resident in Spain, have since been arrested and are in custody.

Hopefully, we will soon be able to implement plans to stop the congregation of groups outside the Bar area, and on other parts of Mi Sol. A number of trouble makers are known not to be from Mi Sol, but from other Urbanisations.

Bank Statement


Attached is the latest statement from Banco Popular.

Thursday 23 August 2007

Savings Account

As mentioned in a previous post, I accompanied Pepe to the Banco Popular this morning to determine what happened to the 7000 Euro recently withdrawn from the Mi Sol Bank Account.

I was advised that it had been deposited in a Savings Account number 0075 1412 725000309.
Unfortunately the Manager of the Branch is on holiday until the 3rd of September, so the relevant documents could not be produced to back this up today. However I was told the manager would give me a copy of the documents, when he returns from holiday. I also asked how the money could be withdrawn from this account and was told it required the 2 signatures the same as the Current Account

I am not entirely happy with this explanation, as I notice the account number only has 9 digits, 10 is normal. I will be returning to the bank in September to obtain the copy of the documents, and will report here when I have them.

Tuesday 21 August 2007

Trouble Update

Further to the post regarding the trouble between English and Spanish teenagers, it now transpires that a gang of English teenagers were roaming the Park in the early hours of the morning, when a Spanish Gentleman of about 40 years of age, came out to see what they were doing. He was hit over the head with a bottle by one of the teenagers. He is seriously injured in hospital, he has been transferred from Torrevieja hospital to a hospital in Madrid. Reports indicate that it will be several months before his recovery is complete. Two English teenagers are in Police custody regarding the incident.

I am sure all of you would join me in expressing our deep regret for this cowardly and disgusting behaviour, to the Gentleman concerned and his family. Hopefully he will make a speedy and full recovery.

The Guardia Civil have said the Parents of any under-age children who are caught drinking or under the influence of alcohol are likely to be subject to a 6000 Euro fine and/or 3 days in Prison.


New Shower Block













I have attached some photos of the new Shower Block with facilities for people with disabilities.

An inspection today by some members of the Committee revealed.

  • Only one light in each of the Ladies and Gents compartment. The light in the Ladies not working.
  • Second hand wooden doors in places.
  • Very sharp rough edges on the shower trays, both inside and out.
  • One water heater with no plug, wires just pushed into socket. ( see photo )
  • Smooth wall tiles mixed with floor tiles.
  • All washbasin taps loose.
  • The disabled section is accessed from within the GENTS shower block.
  • All doors are standard width, not wide enough for a wheelchair.
  • Only toilet with handrail, and low level washbasin in disabled section.
  • No shower with seat and handrails for disabled use.
  • Too many other faults to list here.
The shoddy standard of workmanship has to be seen to be believed. The work has already been paid for and the cheques cashed.

This work cost the Community 14,500 Euro and was not sanctioned or authorised by any member of the Committee.

Remember, to view the photos full size, just left click on the photo.

Sunday 19 August 2007

Electricity Account


As mentioned in a previous post, the Electricity Account from Ibedrola is in the name of Pepe not Mi Sol. This is done for practical reasons, mainly the huge cost Mi Sol would incur, the Administrator advising it would cost in the region of 30,000 Euro.

At the recent Committee meeting, Pepe asked that his name be removed from this account. I have agreed to take over this responsibility. Attached is a copy of the agreement drawn up by the Administrator. A new contract will now be made with Ibedrola, which will be authorised by a Notario. The cost of changing the contract will be in the region of 300 Euro.

Trouble

Whilst the Committee meeting mentioned in the last post was in progress, a Spanish family arrived to complain that an English youth had hit their Son in the face with a bottle, causing serious injury and rendering their Son unconscious. The English youth had been arrested and was in the custody of the Guardia Civil, it is believed he was on holiday here and aged about 13.
It is also believed a second English boy, a resident of Mi Sol, is being sought by the Guardia Civil in connection with this incident.

Members of the Committee then explained that the previous evening there had been trouble between groups of English and Spanish teenagers. It would appear that many of them were drunk. It is also believed that the alcohol was supplied to them by the Kiosk next to the fence and not by the Bar. It is quite common for empty litre beer bottles to be found in the space between the Bar and the Petanque Court every morning. I am given to understand that the Bar does not sell litre bottles of beer.

Another incident during the evening, concerned a 15 year old English girl who had her head pulled back by a Spanish youth, whilst his girlfriend threatened to slit the girls throat. The youth concerned is known to be from a neighbouring estate.

The Guardia Civil had been called to Mi Sol on more than one occasion during the evening. It was reported that during one of these visits, the Guardia Civil had spoken to the Parents of one of the English teenagers, advising them that if their Son was caught drinking alcohol again, they would be denounced leading to a fine of some Euro 6000 or 3 days in prison.

It must be stressed that apart from the visit to the Office by the Spanish family, these are eyewitness reports, I was not there and did not see them myself.

Committee Meeting

A committee meeting was held last Friday 17th August 2007, some two weeks later than normal, here are the salient points.

Pepe asked why we were having the meeting after some of us had visited the Lawyers recently.
He was told that ALL the Committee members should know what is going on, not just some of us.

A discussion was held regarding the letter to be sent to Owners regarding the forthcoming AGM.
Various proposals were asked to be included in the agenda, Alberto the Administrator, replied these would come under "any other business"

I requested that a change in the term of Office of President and Committee from the present 3 years, back to the normal 1 year be included. Alberto explained that under the present rules, the Community could vote an administration into Office for 1,2, or 3 years as they saw fit.

It was explained that payments claimed from Mi Sol Bank account by the Social Security, for persons unknown, had now been re-claimed.

Pepe was then asked what had happened to the 7000 Euro withdrawn from Banco Popular.
Previously we had been told it was for insurance cover for Mi Sol, this was later changed to it being transferred to a contingency fund in case money had to be paid back to debtors who had appealed against the ruling that they should pay to Banco Popular. At this point Pepe became rather defensive, believing he was being accused of wrongdoing. It was explained in strong terms, that we were not accusing anybody of doing anything wrong, but that the Bank Statement showed a withdrawal of 7000 Euro, and that none of us had seen any documentation showing what happened to this money. Surely if this money had been transferred to another account, there must be some paperwork associated with that transfer, and we wanted to see it.
Pepe said he did not have any, but we could see it at the Bank. Arrangements have been made for Pepe and myself to visit Banco Popular this coming Thursday morning 23rd August 2007 at 11 am, so that I may see the relevant documentation and report back to the Committee.

The question was raised, had the Cambank Account opened by Paco and his supporters in the name of Mi Sol now been closed? A copy of a letter from the Legal department of the Cambank was produced. This said in essence that because of a Court Judgement from 24th may 2007, which showed Paco was the Pesident of Mi Sol, the Bank had no grounds on which to close the account. This particular Court Judgement is one of two, which are being appealed against at the High Court in Madrid. The hearings are expected to take place in 2008.

Pepe asked me if it was true that if elected President, I would allow Paco to be on the new Committee, I answered yes, why not? I further pointed out that I would welcome any Owner to join the Committee, whatever their views, provided they had the interests of Mi Sol at heart, and would work in helping to run the Park in the best interests of the whole Community. This lead to a discussion regarding a solution to the problem of those Owners who had paid "twice", The general view was that negotiations must take place between the two sides, to reach an agreement, which must then be put to all Owners at an E:GM. for ratification.

Pepe asked if people renting "lock up storage" had contracts. It was explained that not all of them had contracts at this moment in time, but they were in the process of being produced.
Pepe asked where the money for the lock up stores was, it was explained that the rental for these stores was added to the Owners bills who had the lock up stores. Pepe then said that certain members of the Committee had been acting on their own. This was refuted, as the records show that the Committee as a whole agreed to turning shower blocks into lock up storage units, issuing of contracts, and the rental charges being added to the renters bills.

Pepe complained that no chemicals had been added to the Swimming Pool for 6 days. It was explained that Mr Moran employed a company to maintain the Pool, and was it not a legal requirement that the water quality is tested by a qualified person every two weeks? It was also pointed out that the contractors who had repaired the missing tiles during the Spring, had not done the job properly, and had not cleaned the area properly before the Pool had been refilled.
This could not now be rectified until the pool was emptied. Pepe was told that if the Owners were unhappy with the present arrangement, all that need be done is send a letter to Mr Moran explaining that the Community was taking back the running of the Pool.

Pepe raised the subject of the Mi Sol Electricity account. This will be dealt with as a separate posting.

At this moment in time, it is not known whether there will be another Committee meeting before the AGM next month.

Tuesday 14 August 2007

Garden Rubbish




Some Owners have recently been clearing their gardens and dumping the rubbish on the roadside in Mi Sol, see attached photos for examples.
This is not only unsightly and inconsiderate to other Owners, but is very dangerous in these hot dry conditions of the Summer months. These piles of rubbish could easily catch fire with possible disastrous consequences.
Just this week a local free paper ran an article issued by the Town Hall on how this type of garden rubbish should be disposed of. Small, easily handled pieces should be taken to a "green" skip placed in various locations. For larger pieces, such as in the photos, there is a phone number on the office wall, to have a lorry sent to collect it free. An alternative would be to hire a skip from as little as Euro 45, and dispose of it that way.

It is not the job of the Gardener to move these large quantities of private rubbish, however if it is cut up in small pieces and placed in plastic bags he will be happy to remove it. Owners must take responsibility for disposal of their own rubbish.

This is an opportune moment to remind all Owners that under a ruling by the Town hall, it is prohibited to destroy ANY tree, without prior permission.

Wednesday 8 August 2007

Minutes of meeting English




As promised here is the English version, given to me by Paco, of the meeting held on 15th July2007.

Meeting with Lawyers

Yesterday there was a meeting held at the offices of Mi Sol lawyers.
In attendance were Pepe, Alberto (Administrator), Shelagh Shaw, Pat Olive and myself.

Pepe explained that Social Security had taken a payment of 212 Euro from Mi Sol Bank account, in respect of person or persons unknown. This has now been sorted out and the money returned to Mi Sol account.

Paco and his supporters have opened a Bank account at the Cam Bank, as mentioned in the last posting. This account is also in the name of Mi Sol. Pepe has tried to get this account frozen, the Lawyer is attempting to find out if this has been accomplished yet.

Pepe was asked why 7000 Euro had been spent on insurance this year, when this had not happened in the past. The explanation seems to centre on a translation error. We were told by Melanie at a recent Committee meeting, it was for insurance for the Park and was a reasonable figure. Pepe now says it was not for insurance, but the money was put in a new account as a safeguard for contingencies. No details of the account or account number were given to us.
This point will be further investigated at the next Committee meeting.

You will recall from a previous posting a certificate given to me by Paco stating Pepe was not on the Land Registry as an Owner of property on Mi Sol. At that time I urged caution, as that may not be the full story. Yesterday Pepe was asked directly whether he was an Owner or not. He replied that he and his wife jointly owned plot number 108. This is entirely feasible, as this plot may be under Mi Sol Blanket Escritura, and therefore not entered in the Land Registry as a separate plot.

The question was then asked about the progress regarding the change of names on the electrical bill charged to Mi Sol by Iberdrola. It seems we are obliged to have a contract with an authorised Engineer. The present contract is in the name of Pepe, if Mi Sol does not pay the bill, Pepe is liable to pay it. If he does not pay it, then Mi Sol will have no electricity supply. We were advised to try and make a new contract with the Engineer, when a new President is appointed.

Pepe was asked why he spent 14,500 Euros on the new wet room, without the approval of the Committee. He answered that the new shower block was a "proper bathroom" with disabled persons facilities. Pepe said I had agreed to it, which is patently untrue, I refer you to previous post on this subject. In any event, the Committee should have approved the decision after being presented with the facts, which were not brought to light until after the work was started.

Pepe was then asked why he had been saying he would spend all the money in Mi Sol account before September, so the "other side" could not get hold of it. He denied saying this.

We were advised that a new Law was now in existence, regarding the gaining of Escrituras. Both the buyer and the seller must have a Fiscal number i.e. NIE number, otherwise the plots cannot be put on the Land Registry. Therefore if you wish to buy or sell any property, you must have the NIE number, which you need anyway to do many other things in Spain.

The meeting was told that I had formerly presented in writing, my intention to stand for election as President at the forthcoming AGM, as required by law. So far no other person has presented themselves in this way, although at least one other candidate is expected to do so.

A recent article from a local newspaper was presented. This explained a landmark Court ruling, that an AGM could be held in the language desired by the majority of Owners attending. It was explained that this was an interpretation of the ruling, by the Lawyer writing the article, and that unless every member attending agreed, the meeting would have to be held in Spanish. The reason for raising this subject is that many meetings have been held in Spanish on Mi Sol, where the standard of interpretation has been less than the highest quality, where five minutes of Spanish has been interpreted into ten words of English. This has led to much frustration on the part of those British Owners attending, and errors and omissions occurring in the Official minutes. The AGM of 2006 being a case in point.

Monday 6 August 2007

Recent Meeting




Attached are the minutes of the meeting held by Paco and his supporters on 15th July 2007.

I am expecting a copy in English soon and will post it here when available.

Committee Meeting

Normally I would be reporting on yesterdays Committee Meeting, however as is becoming quite common recently, it was cancelled at short notice. The reason given being " the Administrator was unable to attend"

I have not been informed of any alternative date for the meeting so far.

There is to be a meeting at the Lawyers Office this coming Tuesday morning 7th August, with Pepe, myself and other members of the Committee attending. We have not been informed why the meeting has been called, or what will be on the agenda. I will report here in due course
.

Friday 3 August 2007

Bar Floor

The floor of the Bar has been relaid with new tiles, and looks very nice.

I believe the cost was in the region of 2400 Euro and was shared equally between the Bar and Mi Sol. The Committee were not consulted or told about this expense being agreed to.

It would seem the old tiles were damaged by expansion, there having been no spacing between tiles. Why the damage would suddenly occur now is a mystery as the the old tiles had been there for about 10 years.