Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting for this year was held on the Bar terrace yesterday morning.

The meeting was very well attended, including Paco and his supporters.

At first two meetings were being held at the same time, I spoke to Mi Sol Lawyers Rosario and Fuensanta, asking them to try and arrange with the Lawyer for Paco´s side, a single meeting where everyone could vote. They agreed to do this, and reported back a successful result. Alberto the Administrator explained that the two meetings would continue through points 1 and 2 of the Agenda, this being Acceptance of last years minutes, and discussion of the financial report.

Point 3 would be the election of a new President. At this point we were informed that Paco and his supporters would not vote, it was explained that they would support me but not Pepe. This was apparently on the advice of their Lawyer.

The election for a new President was announced, there being two candidates, namely Pepe and myself. We were both given the opportunity to address the meeting.

Voting then took place and the result was as follows :-

Pepe 13 Neill 90

There then followed elections for the new Committee, it was explained that under Spanish Law, I had been obliged to supply in writing, before the meeting, up to five people I wished to serve on the Committee. As I had been elected President, these five people were automatically elected with me, without need for a vote.

A discussion then took place regarding the election of Paco and some of his supporters to the Committee, some calling for Paco to become Vice President. I explained to the meeting that in order to reach an agreement, it would be much easier if both sides were represented on the Committee. After asking Paco if he and some of his supporters would join the Committee, their Lawyer explained, that it was not possible at this time for that to happen. I will not go into the technicalities here, until I have had an opportunity to discuss with our Lawyers how we can move forward.

New members to the Committee were elected by the Owners present on a show of hands. Four Owners presented themselves and were duly elected. A maximum of five is permitted.
One of the newly elected members expressed her wish to be considered for the post of Vice President, an election was held between her and my preferred choice for the position. The new member was not successful in her challenge.

A full list of the Committee members will be given in a separate post.

I explained to the meeting that once an agreement had been made between the two sides to unite the Community an EGM would be called to explain the agreement and seek approval to implement it. A discussion took place regarding the time scale of such a meeting, I was not able to give any date for an EGM, and said it was not going to be easy to reach such an agreement between the two sides, but that every effort must be made to do so.

The Owners present were asked to approve a resolution to change the Presidents´ term of office from three years to one year. This was accepted.

A proposal was also made to charge Owners dumping rubbish on Mi sol land for it´s removal, this included abandoned vehicles. This was accepted.

At this point the meeting was closed.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who voted for me, and hope to be worthy of their trust.

I would also like to thank everyone who attended the meeting from BOTH sides for showing restraint and calmness in a situation that had obvious potential to be a very difficult time. I believe this shows a desire by EVERYONE to reach agreement, and end this very damaging dispute once and for all.

When I have a copy of the Official Minutes they will be posted here.

Electricity Account

Yesterday a meeting was held in the Office between Pepe, an Engineer from Iberdrola, and myself.
The contract was signed transferring the responsibility for the Mi Sol Electricity account from Pepe to me. Documents are attached.

I asked whether the account could be transferred into the name of the Community, the Engineer replied that whilst it was "technically" possible, "practically" it was not feasible due to the excessive costs that the Community would incur to do it

Bank Statement

Here is the latest statement from Banco Popular.

A Big Thank You

I would like to say Thank You Very Much, to all those many Owners who took the time and trouble to post me their proxy votes.

Hopefully combined with the votes of Owners attending the forthcoming meeting, we can move forward to a new era of open and democratic administration, which will enable us to make Mi Sol a much better place for all Owners to enjoy.

Converstaion with Pepe

An opportunity arose today to speak to Pepe, he informed me that he intended to stand for re-election at the forthcoming AGM for one more year. His reason being that he wanted the Community to tell him if they no longer wanted him as president, not just "two Committee Members"

I found this to be very surprising, to say the least, given the strength of feeling expressed to him at the EGM held in May this year. To read the post entitled AGM of the 15th of May 2007 Click here.

Note that at that meeting Pepe expressly said he was standing down this September and would not seek re-election. The meeting asked that this statement be noted in the Official minutes of the meeting.

Bank Statement

Here is the latest statement from Banco Popular

Pepe

I spoke to the Administrators APYME today, they informed me that they had received a communication from Mi sol Lawyer Rosario. She advised them that Pepe had informed her he was going to stand for re-election at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. She also informed them that because of this decision, she was unwilling to attend the meeting herself as Mi Sol lawyer.

This decision by Pepe to stand for re-election totally contradicts his statement to the Owners attending the recent Extra Ordinary meeting, where he said he was standing down, and would not seek re-election.

I have not been able to ascertain the reason for this about turn, not having had the opportunity to ask him.

Storm

On Friday afternoon a very severe storm hit Mi Sol, whilst relatively short lived, it did cause some damage and flooding to a number of properties. Some of the roads, which were already in a bad state, are now worse than ever, with deep ruts, caused by water erosion.
Some Owners reported that they felt it was the worst storm we had suffered for several years.

Another Rumour

There seems to be a rumour doing the rounds of Mi Sol, that if I were to be elected President, a Bank Loan would be taken out in order to pay for the remainder of the roads to be laid to tarmac.

This is not true, however the idea has been discussed privately, with some members of the Community. My position on this is as follows.

At this moment in time, the finances of Mi Sol are nowhere near stable enough for a Bank to even consider such a proposal. See the latest Bank Statement.

From previous posts you will know that a quotation from a reputable company has been obtained for a total of Euro 200,000 to complete the whole road system. There is no obligation to complete the job in one go, it can be done in stages, as and when finances allow. It will cost more to do it this way as transport for the machinery being brought to and from Mi Sol would have to be factored in, the original quotation having been given to include the transportation once, not several times. Even so, paying an extra premium for having the work completed in stages would still be considerably cheaper than the interest charged on any loan.

If the future Committee were to decide on taking a Bank loan to complete the work, then the proposal would be put to all Owners at a General Meeting for their approval, or otherwise as the case may be.

I do not want to see the Community saddled with any kind of debt, except as a very last resort, due to some dire emergency threatening the survival of Mi Sol.

Bank Statement

Here is the latest statement from Banco Popular.
As you can see it is not good reading. There have been several cheques paid out , I will be making enquiries to try to determine what these cheques were for.

Chalet required for Rent

If any Owner has a chalet available to rent for two weeks, from 19 th September to 1st October, please send me an email asap to misolpark@gmail.com. Only two people will be staying, air-conditioning and English television preferred, but not essential.

Many thanks,

Neill

Artwork

As promised in a previous Post, I have attached some photos of the artwork on the Underpass bridges outside Mi Sol, as commissioned by the Town Hall.

As usual just left click on an image to bring it up full size.

Exchange of Information

It is pleasing to inform you that after more than 3 years of trying, information has now been exchanged with Paco and his supporters, regarding who has paid what to each side.

This now means we know who has been using the dispute between the two sides to not pay either.
These people can now be taken to Court without interfering with any negotiations that take place to resolve the dispute between the two sides.

Whilst it has taken a long time to achieve this, better late than never.

Wet Room Window

Pepe told me this morning that the window in the Wet Room next to the Garage had been broken.

He asked me if we should have steel bars fitted to the window, I replied yes, and pointed out that it was said, both to him and at a Committee meeting, that this should have been done originally by Juan Muñez in the contract at the time the work was carried out. I pointed out steel bars had been fitted to the Garage and Store windows, it seemed silly not to have the Wet Room one not done in the same fashion, if only from an aesthetic point of view.

Investment Account.

As mentioned in previous posts, I visited Banco Popular this morning and spoke to the Manager, regarding the withdrawal of Euro 7,000 from Mi Sol Bank Account. He told me the money had been transferred to an Investment Account. A copy of the account details is attached.
The Manager explained that this was a no risk investment with a consequent low return of 3%, the money could be withdrawn either in part or in whole at any time, subject to the normal signatures that are required for the Mi Sol Current Account. He also explained that no interest would accrue for the first three months. He also said that the status of the investment could be viewed on-line at any time by those authorised to access the Bank Account.

I asked him why Pepe had suddenly decided to do this, he replied that he did not know.

He also said he had given Pepe a form to be signed by him, Shelagh Shaw and myself, but it had not been returned to the Bank. I explained that Pepe had said he did not have any paperwork appertaining to this transaction. The Manager then produced another form, which I have signed.

Later I spoke to Pepe about this, he still maintained he had no paperwork regarding this investment, but that he and Shelagh would go to the Bank tomorrow or Thursday to sign the form.

He also told me he was going today to collect the contract which will change the name on Mi Sol Electricity account from his name to mine.

Sewerage Problem

A problem arose concerning the pump that delivers Mi Sol sewerage waste to the main sewer on Torreta Florida. The pump is normally suspended from a lifting pulley by a steel wire, and steel chain. It was discovered that the steel chain had corroded so badly, it gave way allowing the pump to drop and lie free at the bottom of the pit. The only recourse was to remove the pump, repair the base and weld a steel strap to the pump in place of the broken chain. The pump is extremely heavy, it took four of us to lift it out.

Steve the Gardener was asked to clean the pump prior to these repairs and modifications taking place. Unfortunately, whilst doing this he slipped and fell. A visit to the hospital revealed his left wrist was fractured, and it is now in plaster.

The pump has now been modified and lowered back into position.

Committee Meeting

A Committee meeting was held in the Office this morning, amongst the items discussed were the following :-

The meeting opened with a discussion, about the conditions that must be fulfilled for an Owner to be able to exercise their right to vote at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting on the 29th of this month. We as the Committee were always of the opinion that as long as there were no debts from 2006 an Owner could vote. However it now transpires, after much questioning, that in fact the Owner must not only have no debt from previous years, but also must have paid their Community charges for this year (2007) also., before 28 th September, and provide their receipt of the payment from Banco Popular at the meeting. Water and Electricity charges owing for this year are not considered debt.

There are many Owners, who have not yet paid their Community charges so far this year, preferring to wait until a new Administration is elected. If they wish to exercise their right to vote at this years Annual General meeting, they MUST pay their Community fees into the Banco Popular account before the 28th of September.

Many of you may not know, but the Town Hall has instigated a programme of allowing young people to paint various Public buildings with artistic designs. Two of these sites are the underpass bridges close to Mi Sol. These paintings may not to be to everyone´s taste, but it cannot be denied that a lot of talent goes into producing them. This appears to be a very clever piece of thinking on the part of the Town Hall. As we are all well aware, graffiti is a serious problem in Torrevieja, and those who are caught carrying out this form of vandalism are dealt with severely by the Authorities, in some cases, leading to imprisonment for the offenders.
In what appears to be a "if you can´t beat them, join them" strategy, by allowing these walls to be painted, it seems the average graffiti vandal does not deface these places.

Pepe proposed that we ask the Town Hall to consider the front wall of Mi Sol Park to be painted by these artists. I believe he already has had some discussion with Officials on this subject.
Some planning has to go into this, as the Town Hall provide the paint and other materials, but need to include these costs as part of their overall annual budget strategy. The Committee unanimously agreed to this proposal by Pepe, and an immediate application will be made to the Town hall. The front wall of Mi Sol is covered in unsightly graffiti, it would be much nicer to have a"proper" set of paintings there for all to admire, especially as it would be at no cost to Mi Sol. For those that have not seen the existing works I will take some photos and post them here in due course.

There was some discussion regarding water charges for the swimming pool, and other amounts outstanding by the Bar, Mr Moran not being happy about being charged 200 Euro per week towards the cost of water being lost from the pool. The meeting agreed to leave these matters to the Administrators, who indicated they would go and see Mr Moran to resolve the problem.

Mr Moran had spoken to me during the week regarding the payment of half the cost of laying new tiles in the Bar area. This matter was raised at the meeting, where I expressed my dis-satisfaction that this agreement had been reached without the Committee being consulted.
It was pointed out that Mr Moran had been assured that Mi Sol would pay half the cost of this tiling, but that he had employed non registered people, and as a consequence did not receive a proper receipt for payment of this work. Without such a receipt Mi Sol could not make any payment, as this money would have to be accounted for in the book of accounts for the Community.

Pepe asked me if I was happy regarding the 7000 Euro withdrawn from the Bank account, I explained to the Committee that I had been to the Bank with Pepe, and given an account number, but that I would be returning to the Bank next week to collect a copy of the paperwork from the Manager, who has been away on holiday.

It was pointed out to Pepe that the Committee were very angry concerning the poor workmanship in the new Shower block, especially as we had not authorised it or the spending of Euro 14,500 Pepe was shown several photographs, and asked to get Juan Muñez to rectify all the mistakes, as soon as practicable, due to the dangerous condition of the Block. It was also pointed out that the facilities provided as a section for use by people with disabilities was a joke. Only a low level washbasin and one handrail being provided in a room with totally unsuitable access.

Questions were asked about the format of the forthcoming Annual General Meeting, who was actually going to conduct the meeting. Could an independent person be brought in to do this ?
The answer to that question seemed to be no. Given the likelihood of some volatility at the meeting by various factions, it was suggested security guards should be employed to keep order. This idea seemed generally accepted by the meeting.

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