Children's pool ready for tiling
Hardcore being laid ready for steel reinforcing to raise floor level.
Walls repaired and ready for tiling
Friday 30 May 2008
Pool Update
Work is continuing at a good pace with regard to the Swimming Pool, as these photos show. Apparently a lady Owner visited the Office on Monday morning and asked when work was starting on the pool !!! I believe Specsavers have a good offer on at the moment !!!
Children's pool ready for tiling
Hardcore being laid ready for steel reinforcing to raise floor level.
Walls repaired and ready for tiling
Children's pool ready for tiling
Hardcore being laid ready for steel reinforcing to raise floor level.
Walls repaired and ready for tiling
Thursday 29 May 2008
Social Security
As you will remember from a previous post I was due to visit the Social Security office in Alicante on Wednesday with our Administrator Alberto. However, on Tuesday a letter arrived from the Social Security Office giving the information we required.
Essentially the original payments due of about Euro 1270 were for payments missing regarding a cleaner and a gardener employed by the other faction in the name of the Community, and some payments not made in respect of Juan our gardener at the time.
Pepe wrote to, and visited the Social Security Office in Alicante to explain that the cleaner and gardener employed by the other faction were not employed by the legal Community, and therefore the payments should be made by the other faction. Social Security were not interested in the politics of the situation, as far as they were concerned, these two people were employed in the name of the Community, and the Community must pay. Pepe did not pay these amounts owing, and in due course two Inspectors arrived at Mi Sol Office, to collect the outstanding amounts. They left without any money, this happened on two occasions, after each visit a Multa (charge) was applied of Euro 3000. This is the minimum charge, we could have been charged up to Euro 60,000 for each visit !!!
We could appeal against these Multas, however I was advised that it could take up to five years, during which time the charges would be increasing, and the chances of winning the appeals are virtually nil. In view of this I decided not to appeal.
To avoid these sort of problems in the future I believe the Community should only employ outside contractors for any work we need carrying out, it is just not worth getting involved with agencies such as Social Security by having employees of the Community.
Essentially the original payments due of about Euro 1270 were for payments missing regarding a cleaner and a gardener employed by the other faction in the name of the Community, and some payments not made in respect of Juan our gardener at the time.
Pepe wrote to, and visited the Social Security Office in Alicante to explain that the cleaner and gardener employed by the other faction were not employed by the legal Community, and therefore the payments should be made by the other faction. Social Security were not interested in the politics of the situation, as far as they were concerned, these two people were employed in the name of the Community, and the Community must pay. Pepe did not pay these amounts owing, and in due course two Inspectors arrived at Mi Sol Office, to collect the outstanding amounts. They left without any money, this happened on two occasions, after each visit a Multa (charge) was applied of Euro 3000. This is the minimum charge, we could have been charged up to Euro 60,000 for each visit !!!
We could appeal against these Multas, however I was advised that it could take up to five years, during which time the charges would be increasing, and the chances of winning the appeals are virtually nil. In view of this I decided not to appeal.
To avoid these sort of problems in the future I believe the Community should only employ outside contractors for any work we need carrying out, it is just not worth getting involved with agencies such as Social Security by having employees of the Community.
Wednesday 28 May 2008
Cambank account
The Cambank account used by the other faction was frozen last week by presenting the papers relating to the recent Court case in Elche. It had been hoped to transfer the money to Banco Popular, believed to be around Euro 15,000, this week. However the other faction presented a letter admitting the Court decision, but claiming a Court ruling had allowed them to open the account in the name of the Community.
The matter is now in the hands of the Cambank legal department, a decision is expected next week.
In the meantime the account is frozen.
The matter is now in the hands of the Cambank legal department, a decision is expected next week.
In the meantime the account is frozen.
Tuesday 27 May 2008
Swimming Pool update
After a fairly slow start, things are now moving forward quite quickly, there were 6 men on the job today.
All the tiles have been removed from the walls of the main pool and from all of the Children's pool.
Work is well advanced with repairing, rendering and waterproofing the walls ready for tiling.
The hole has been made through to the Pump house ready to take the new sump pipe.
I anticipate that the work of reinforcing and concreting to raise the floor level will begin soon.
The second payment of Euro 5,000 is due to be made on the 1st June, the cheque has already been written, signed and countersigned,and I will be giving it to the Company later this week.
All the tiles have been removed from the walls of the main pool and from all of the Children's pool.
Work is well advanced with repairing, rendering and waterproofing the walls ready for tiling.
The hole has been made through to the Pump house ready to take the new sump pipe.
I anticipate that the work of reinforcing and concreting to raise the floor level will begin soon.
The second payment of Euro 5,000 is due to be made on the 1st June, the cheque has already been written, signed and countersigned,and I will be giving it to the Company later this week.
Gardening
Attached is a copy of the letter I wrote to the Gardening contractors, as we have had no word from them for some time.
Almost everyone agrees they did an excellent job of pruning the trees and clearing up Mi Sol, many Owners have expressed the view that it seems strange that having done all the hard work, they seem not to want to carry on with the long term contract to keep the Park maintained.
It is particularly upsetting that they did not let us know, after several failed attempts to telephone them, I finally spoke to them outside their house about three weeks ago, and even then they gave no indication anything was amiss. We could have spent that time trying to find a replacement company.
Since the recent rain, the weeds are growing again at an alarming rate, and the Mosquitoes have arrived in large numbers, this is the very time we really needed the Gardeners to appear.
I am trying to locate a new company, but as we are now at the start of Summer, this may not be an easy task.
Almost everyone agrees they did an excellent job of pruning the trees and clearing up Mi Sol, many Owners have expressed the view that it seems strange that having done all the hard work, they seem not to want to carry on with the long term contract to keep the Park maintained.
It is particularly upsetting that they did not let us know, after several failed attempts to telephone them, I finally spoke to them outside their house about three weeks ago, and even then they gave no indication anything was amiss. We could have spent that time trying to find a replacement company.
Since the recent rain, the weeds are growing again at an alarming rate, and the Mosquitoes have arrived in large numbers, this is the very time we really needed the Gardeners to appear.
I am trying to locate a new company, but as we are now at the start of Summer, this may not be an easy task.
Sunday 25 May 2008
Court Case Translation
Here attached as promised, the English translation of the judgement given in the Court case held in Elche on the 16th April 2008
Friday 23 May 2008
Thursday 22 May 2008
Committee meeting minutes
Attached are the minutes from the Committee meeting held on the Bar Terrace this Tuesday 20th May 2008.
Meeting Notes
Attached are notes taken by an Owner at the recent informal meeting held on Sunday 18th May 2008.
Sunday 18 May 2008
Meeeting
An informal meeting was held on the Bar Terrace this morning, originally requested by the other faction, ostensibly to put forward their proposals for reuniting the Community.
It was attended by a large number of Owners, both English and Spanish, and included their Administrator. They supplied a young man as a translator who did an excellent job throughout.
Before the meeting commenced, I addressed the English Owners present to inform them of the significance of the judgement in the recent Court case held in Elche on 16th April 2008, and to explain some of my personal feelings on how we might move forward.
The meeting started by my asking their Administrator to inform us of their suggestions on how we might move forward, this he declined to do, explaining instead he would answer questions from the Owners present. This is how the meeting proceeded for a time.
To be perfectly blunt, it seemed to me, and many others present, that it was just a repetition of the same old things we have all heard before. It appeared that they did not know, or did not want to accept the recent judgement in favour of Pepe. The main thrust of their argument seemed to centre around wanting meetings between the two Administrators to compare accounts, and nothing to be done until the AGM in September.
Seeing that the Owners were becoming restless with the lack of progress towards the other side actually rejoining the Community proper, I explained that I had no problem with the Administrators examining the accounts of both sides, prior to September 2007, but that was a separate issue from us going forward from now on as a single Community.
I explained that there was now only one President and one Committee, not two as they keep trying to maintain, and that the only Bank account of the Community is Banco Popular. If they wanted to have influence on the way the Community is administered, they should pay their fees into Banco Popular, put forward their proposals at the AGM and have them subject to a Democratic vote.
To emphasise this point they were told that as the President of the Community, I will be calling the AGM in September, and that it will not be an open meeting for anyone to vote as was held last year, only Owners who have paid their Community fees to Banco Popular will be entitled to vote, as laid down under the Law of horizontal Dwellings. If they are serious about a settlement of the dispute and wish to rejoin the Community, this is what they must do. They had their chance to vote for a new President last year, but their representative declined to excercise that option on the advice of their Lawyer. From the reaction of some of the Spanish Owners it seemed that they were under the impression that the opposite was true. It begs the question whether or not the Spanish owners are being given all the facts. Several times I have spoken to Spanish Owners who have shown surprise when certain facts have been explained to them.
Their Administrator said they did not want "another Pepe" as President, I agree entirely, but it is interesting that the Committee and I carry out our responsibilities to the Community under their Spanish law.
They instigated a long discussion regarding the entrance gates being put back into operation immediately, their Administrator quoting from the judgement of last July, which said the gates had to be removed. I pointed out that to take the course of action he proposed it would have to be put to an AGM, and would require the agreement of 100 % of the Owners. He replied all the Spanish Owners did agree, however I pointed out that it was unlikely every one of the 200 British Owners would agree. Just one vote against would be enough to defeat the motion. I explained that judicial proceedings were already under way to have the gates reinstated legally on the grounds the original people who obtained the judgement to remove the gates are no longer Owners , the judgement was anticipated in the next six months. Once obtained this would have the advantage of not requiring a vote at an AGM because this action was merely an extension of the proceedings when the original decision was taken by the Community to install the gates, this was done in the days before the 100 % rule became law.
The only positive thing from the meeting was their acceptance that the meetings between the Administrators to examine the accounts of both sides, will take place without the presence of Lawyers. Tomorrow morning I will be asking APYME to start this process.
I would like to thank all the Owners who took the trouble and interest to attend the meeting, it is disappointing that at the moment we seem no nearer an amicable settlement, although it is clear that the majority of Spanish Owners do wish to put an end to this dispute. We will have to see how things unfold in the coming days and weeks.
It was attended by a large number of Owners, both English and Spanish, and included their Administrator. They supplied a young man as a translator who did an excellent job throughout.
Before the meeting commenced, I addressed the English Owners present to inform them of the significance of the judgement in the recent Court case held in Elche on 16th April 2008, and to explain some of my personal feelings on how we might move forward.
The meeting started by my asking their Administrator to inform us of their suggestions on how we might move forward, this he declined to do, explaining instead he would answer questions from the Owners present. This is how the meeting proceeded for a time.
To be perfectly blunt, it seemed to me, and many others present, that it was just a repetition of the same old things we have all heard before. It appeared that they did not know, or did not want to accept the recent judgement in favour of Pepe. The main thrust of their argument seemed to centre around wanting meetings between the two Administrators to compare accounts, and nothing to be done until the AGM in September.
Seeing that the Owners were becoming restless with the lack of progress towards the other side actually rejoining the Community proper, I explained that I had no problem with the Administrators examining the accounts of both sides, prior to September 2007, but that was a separate issue from us going forward from now on as a single Community.
I explained that there was now only one President and one Committee, not two as they keep trying to maintain, and that the only Bank account of the Community is Banco Popular. If they wanted to have influence on the way the Community is administered, they should pay their fees into Banco Popular, put forward their proposals at the AGM and have them subject to a Democratic vote.
To emphasise this point they were told that as the President of the Community, I will be calling the AGM in September, and that it will not be an open meeting for anyone to vote as was held last year, only Owners who have paid their Community fees to Banco Popular will be entitled to vote, as laid down under the Law of horizontal Dwellings. If they are serious about a settlement of the dispute and wish to rejoin the Community, this is what they must do. They had their chance to vote for a new President last year, but their representative declined to excercise that option on the advice of their Lawyer. From the reaction of some of the Spanish Owners it seemed that they were under the impression that the opposite was true. It begs the question whether or not the Spanish owners are being given all the facts. Several times I have spoken to Spanish Owners who have shown surprise when certain facts have been explained to them.
Their Administrator said they did not want "another Pepe" as President, I agree entirely, but it is interesting that the Committee and I carry out our responsibilities to the Community under their Spanish law.
They instigated a long discussion regarding the entrance gates being put back into operation immediately, their Administrator quoting from the judgement of last July, which said the gates had to be removed. I pointed out that to take the course of action he proposed it would have to be put to an AGM, and would require the agreement of 100 % of the Owners. He replied all the Spanish Owners did agree, however I pointed out that it was unlikely every one of the 200 British Owners would agree. Just one vote against would be enough to defeat the motion. I explained that judicial proceedings were already under way to have the gates reinstated legally on the grounds the original people who obtained the judgement to remove the gates are no longer Owners , the judgement was anticipated in the next six months. Once obtained this would have the advantage of not requiring a vote at an AGM because this action was merely an extension of the proceedings when the original decision was taken by the Community to install the gates, this was done in the days before the 100 % rule became law.
The only positive thing from the meeting was their acceptance that the meetings between the Administrators to examine the accounts of both sides, will take place without the presence of Lawyers. Tomorrow morning I will be asking APYME to start this process.
I would like to thank all the Owners who took the trouble and interest to attend the meeting, it is disappointing that at the moment we seem no nearer an amicable settlement, although it is clear that the majority of Spanish Owners do wish to put an end to this dispute. We will have to see how things unfold in the coming days and weeks.
Great Sadness
It is with great sadness I report the sudden death this morning of our Committee member and Secretary Mrs Jackie Hanrahan. The emergency services arrived very quickly, but unfortunately it was too late.
I am sure you will all join me in expressing our deepest sympathy for her partner Ray, to her family, and her close friends at their very sad loss.
I am sure you will all join me in expressing our deepest sympathy for her partner Ray, to her family, and her close friends at their very sad loss.
Tuesday 13 May 2008
Result of Court Case
Yesterday afternoon I received a telephone call from Mi Sol Lawyer Rosario advising me that the judgement of the Court Case held in Elche on 16th April 2008 had been given in our favour.
This morning Committee member Mrs C. McCarthy and I visited the offices of Mi Sol Lawyers to receive the documents which are attached here, and to discuss the implications in more detail.
Because of the importance of this decision to the Community, I have commissioned an official translation of the documents into English, the cost will be in the region of Euro 300. When these documents are available I will post them here, and explain their significance in more detail then.
After double checking with the Lawyers, they advised me that this judgement is final and there is no right of appeal.
Since this judgement was given, two Owners have had their appeal against sentence for debt to the Community heard, they both lost as a direct result of this judgement.
I have arranged further meetings this week with both Mi Sol Lawyers and the Administrators APYME to discuss how best I can help to reunite the Community, whilst protecting the interests of the vast majority of Owners in the light of this judgement.
This morning Committee member Mrs C. McCarthy and I visited the offices of Mi Sol Lawyers to receive the documents which are attached here, and to discuss the implications in more detail.
Because of the importance of this decision to the Community, I have commissioned an official translation of the documents into English, the cost will be in the region of Euro 300. When these documents are available I will post them here, and explain their significance in more detail then.
After double checking with the Lawyers, they advised me that this judgement is final and there is no right of appeal.
Since this judgement was given, two Owners have had their appeal against sentence for debt to the Community heard, they both lost as a direct result of this judgement.
I have arranged further meetings this week with both Mi Sol Lawyers and the Administrators APYME to discuss how best I can help to reunite the Community, whilst protecting the interests of the vast majority of Owners in the light of this judgement.
Electricity Bills
In January 2008 the Electricity Company Iberdrola increased its charges to the Community by 3.3 %.
This increase has been applied to Owners bills from 1st May 2008.
The old charge was 0.20 centimos per unit.
The new charge is now 0.2066 Centimos per unit.
This increase has been applied to Owners bills from 1st May 2008.
The old charge was 0.20 centimos per unit.
The new charge is now 0.2066 Centimos per unit.
Sunday 11 May 2008
Meeting
At the request of the other faction, I am calling an informal meeting of ALL Owners to be held on the Bar Terrace next Sunday morning 18th May 2008 at 10.00am for a 10.30 am start. They wish to discuss a settlement of the long running dispute. I would appreciate all Owners who are available, attending this meeting.
Friday 9 May 2008
Break in
At about 5.am this morning an elderly Spanish lady heard noises coming from her neighbours, she very bravely went to investigate, and discovered a robbery in progress. Not having the phone number of the Police to hand she telephoned Paco, who in turn telephoned the Policia Local.
They very quickly arrived on the scene and caught the intruders red handed.
Two men and a woman, all believed to be Spanish, are now in custody.
Because of the bravery and quick thinking of this Spanish lady at least three people now know Mi Sol is not such an easy target as they thought.
They very quickly arrived on the scene and caught the intruders red handed.
Two men and a woman, all believed to be Spanish, are now in custody.
Because of the bravery and quick thinking of this Spanish lady at least three people now know Mi Sol is not such an easy target as they thought.
Thursday 8 May 2008
Social Security Payments
Wednesday 7 May 2008
Committee Meeting
As mentioned in a previous post the Committee meeting was held on the Bar Terrace yesterday afternoon. Noise from work being carried out in the pool caused some small inconvenience.
The Minutes are attached.
The Minutes are attached.
Television Woes
As many of will know I install equipment which enables people living in Spain to receive English television programmes. This is my 10th year installing these systems, being fortunate in never having to advertise my services. Whilst this post is not exclusively concerned with Mi Sol it will affect all Owners who receive their programmes from local transmission companies.
As an Authorised installer for Telmicro, I was called to a meeting at their offices this morning and given some very bad news. Basically the Company have been forced to stop transmitting a number of programmes, which for legal reasons I cannot name here, this has happened due to new Spanish Government regulations which came into force in December 2007. covering the re-transmission of television programmes in Spain.
We were given no warning that the removal of these programmes was imminent.
I must stress here that this is not just a Telmicro problem, it applies to ALL companies transmitting these programmes. Do NOT be tempted to change to another Company, you will be at serious risk of losing your money.
Telmicro are legally licensed to transmit television programmes in Spain, and the largest Company of their kind on the Costa Blanca. They are working extremely hard to replace the lost programmes with suitable alternatives over the next few days. Customers will receive their viewing free of charge this month whilst things are being sorted out.
I have attached a copy of the messages being transmitted on the Telmicro information channel programme 26.
As an Authorised installer for Telmicro, I was called to a meeting at their offices this morning and given some very bad news. Basically the Company have been forced to stop transmitting a number of programmes, which for legal reasons I cannot name here, this has happened due to new Spanish Government regulations which came into force in December 2007. covering the re-transmission of television programmes in Spain.
We were given no warning that the removal of these programmes was imminent.
I must stress here that this is not just a Telmicro problem, it applies to ALL companies transmitting these programmes. Do NOT be tempted to change to another Company, you will be at serious risk of losing your money.
Telmicro are legally licensed to transmit television programmes in Spain, and the largest Company of their kind on the Costa Blanca. They are working extremely hard to replace the lost programmes with suitable alternatives over the next few days. Customers will receive their viewing free of charge this month whilst things are being sorted out.
I have attached a copy of the messages being transmitted on the Telmicro information channel programme 26.
Work starts on the Pool
Yesterday saw a noisy Committee meeting on the Bar Terrace due to the machinery being used to strip the tiles from the Swimming pool walls. Work should have begun on Monday morning, but the start was delayed by a day
Here comes the big surprise hidden just behind the tiles !!
Notice the line of tiles at the bottom, this shows the new floor level when work is completed. The deep end will be about 2 metres
Notice the different colours of the walls. In the shallow end it is white and shows the substrate the tiles were fixed to is sound. On the wall with the hole it is brown, this is because the substrate the tiles were fixed to is damaged and flaking, revealing the Gunnite and concrete of the wall. The hole itself would appear to be an old drainage pipe that had never been filled in and sealed off. This is quite probably the reason a lot of water was leaked, and would explain the mystery of why the water level dropped very quickly to around that height, after which it used to leak much more slowly. We had no idea that hole was there, and justifies the decision to have the tiles taken off to examine all the walls before the rebuilding begins. We may yet discover more problems of holes and cracks when all the tiles have been removed.
Here comes the big surprise hidden just behind the tiles !!
Notice the line of tiles at the bottom, this shows the new floor level when work is completed. The deep end will be about 2 metres
Notice the different colours of the walls. In the shallow end it is white and shows the substrate the tiles were fixed to is sound. On the wall with the hole it is brown, this is because the substrate the tiles were fixed to is damaged and flaking, revealing the Gunnite and concrete of the wall. The hole itself would appear to be an old drainage pipe that had never been filled in and sealed off. This is quite probably the reason a lot of water was leaked, and would explain the mystery of why the water level dropped very quickly to around that height, after which it used to leak much more slowly. We had no idea that hole was there, and justifies the decision to have the tiles taken off to examine all the walls before the rebuilding begins. We may yet discover more problems of holes and cracks when all the tiles have been removed.
Monday 5 May 2008
Fruit and Veg
The Fruit and Vegetable seller who used to visit Mi Sol on Wednesdays has now changed his visiting day to Tuesdays.
The quality of his produce is excellent, and available in small quantities also. Highly recommended.
The quality of his produce is excellent, and available in small quantities also. Highly recommended.
Clarification
Further to the Post "Court Case Update", Committee member Mrs Carol McCarthy and myself visited the offices of Mi Sol Lawyer Rosario this morning. Whilst there Rosario telephoned the Court, and I can confirm that no judgement has yet been published regarding the Court case in Elche held on the 16th April 2008.
Saturday 3 May 2008
Newsletter 4
Here is Newsletter number 4, produced independently by Owner Mrs Mo Taunton. A copy of which is in the Office.
Any Owner wishing to receive a copy in England can do so for the cost of postage, or by printing it from this Web Log.
Any Owner wishing to receive a copy in England can do so for the cost of postage, or by printing it from this Web Log.
In Hospital
I am very sorry to report that Committee member Mr Peter Whitehead has been admitted to hospital. Let us all wish him well, land hope that he is soon back on Mi Sol in good health.
Court case update
It would appear from information received that another website has indicated that Pepe collected a certificated letter from the Post Office last Monday. This letter apparently contained the verdict of the recent Court case in Elche. The ruling being that Pepe won the case, and the other side are appealing against it. It was also said that I had been given the documents to pass on to Mi Sol Lawyers. The documents I received, from a third party are attached. As far as I can tell these documents only indicate the date of the hearing which was the 16th April 2008 at 11.00 am, they are not actually the verdict. It is quite possible that I have not been given the correct documents, I will be clarifying the situation on Monday morning with Mi Sol Lawyer Rosario, or with Pepe prior to that if I am able to contact him.
Thursday 1 May 2008
Bank Statement
The latest statement from Banco Popular is attached, the main point of interest is the first payment for the rebuilding of the swimming pool at Euro 10,000. Work is expected to start on the 5th of may.
Still to be deducted are payments to Social security of Euro 372 . 23, Euro 3606 . 08 and Administrators of Euro 1254 . 04 a total of Euro 5232 . 35. In addition there are still the monthly payments for water and electricity, and the monthly Administrators fee.
Still to be deducted are payments to Social security of Euro 372 . 23, Euro 3606 . 08 and Administrators of Euro 1254 . 04 a total of Euro 5232 . 35. In addition there are still the monthly payments for water and electricity, and the monthly Administrators fee.
New Bills
The Water and Electricity meters have been read and the new bills are available in the Office.
Any Owner wishing to receive a copy of their bill can send an e-mail to :-
Prompt payment of these bills will greatly help the Community, it should be remembered we have already paid out this money to the utility companies and need to recoup it quickly.
Any Owner wishing to receive a copy of their bill can send an e-mail to :-
misolpark@gmail.com
Prompt payment of these bills will greatly help the Community, it should be remembered we have already paid out this money to the utility companies and need to recoup it quickly.
Bank Changes
Following information received from Banco Popular, I have posted the attached notice in the Office. It seems that Owners wishing to pay their bills from England will have to send their payment by Bank transfer, rather than sending cheques to someone here to pay in for them.
This is the bank Transfer code to use :-
Banco Popular Iban ES92/0075-1412-67-0600006937
This is the bank Transfer code to use :-
Banco Popular Iban ES92/0075-1412-67-0600006937
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