The swimming pool repairs are almost complete, all that remains is the last of the grouting, and cleaning. The pumps have been sent away for overhauling, how they ever managed to pump any water is a mystery, as their filters were jam packed with old tiles and debris. They are expected back tomorrow.
The main sand filters were examined, and found to be in a disgusting condition, clearly the result of several years of neglect. This work was always going to be extra to the main rebuilding of the pool, due to difficulties in quantifying how much work was going to be required when the original estimates were provided. A copy of the quotation is shown below. This is quite a lot more than I was anticipating, however it is quite clear they had to be replaced, they are supposed to filter the water, but in the condition they were in, would only be adding contaminants to the pool.
A sludge pumping lorry was required to empty them at a cost of Euro 450 each. It took several hours and was a difficult and highly unpleasant job, especially in the heat we are experiencing at the moment. Next requires power washing, and then refilling with over 6 tonnes of special filtering sand. Because of their large size, two different grades of sand are required. They are guaranteed to function correctly for 5 years, and with proper care and maintenance could last up to 15 years, before they need to be replenished.
The company responsible for maintaining the water quality have no excuse for not keeping the pool in tip top condition at all times.
Due to the size of this bill, we are left a little short of money, however the water and electricity bills have been produced, and it is hoped Owners will rally round and pay them as soon as possible.
It is hoped to begin filling the pool over the weekend.
Last Monday 21st July, I received a certificate from Mi Sol Lawyers to claim back some overpaid money from the Courts,this amounted to the princely sum of Euro 16 . 13. Being particularly busy last week I went to the Banesto bank on Friday morning, 25th July to arrange the transfer of this money to Banco Popular. This is an art form in itself, requiring copies of passport, copies of the Actas Book, N.I.E.number, etc, etc.
I could see all was not going to plan, nothing new there, when the Manager was called, and he informed me that the money could not be transferred as the form was out of date. The form is valid for three months and expired on the 21st July. A new form now has to be applied for.
This would beg the question, where was the form for the previous three months ?
It is doubtful the correct answer to this question will ever be discovered.
It was noticed one of the shower blocks had been broken into, and was being used by youths taking drugs. Various tools of the trade were discovered inside. An Owner very kindly bolted the door closed, but within a couple of hours it had been forced open again. The Police were called, and arrived on the scene, however the offenders had fled. Now they know the Police are aware of their presence, they may not come back. The situation is being monitored.
Tiling well advanced and new hand rails fitted.
Pipework being tested with camera
The new Gardeners are doing very well, especially given the heat of these Summer months.
For some years Mi Sol has owned a motorised spray pump system with integral tank, this was employed by former Gardeners for general weed killer and Mosquito spraying. It has a long extension pipe ideally suitable for spraying trees against caterpillars.
It has lain in the Garage in a state of disrepair for some time, I decided to have it repaired, the cost being Euro 63 . 65, very good value when you consider this included the fitting of a brand new Carburettor.
The new Gardeners now have this machine available to them on a loan basis, this will make their spraying activities far more effective than the hand held "squirt and blurt" system employed by the last Gardening Company.
During the last few days there have been problems uploading images to the Web Log, some have now been resolved, but a couple still remain. Hopefully all will be back to normal very soon.
It is pleasing to report work started on renovating the Bar area this week. The photos below show good progress is being made.
We have received two letters today from the Agencia Tributaria. It would appear they have changed our name to the Asociación de Vecinos Mi Sol Park and issued us with a new N.I.F. number. After consulting our Administrators AYME as to whether this is true, I will post the results and the letters here.
We have received a new bill from the previous gardeners, delivered to me by hand, this contains the required Fiscal number and I.V.A. content. The delivery was accompanied by verbal threats to make a Denuncia and take court proceedings to recover the amount claimed. I have also had texts sent to me demanding details that would allow them to make the Denuncia.
At the last Committee meeting, it was agreed that we would pay some of the money claimed, but not all, as the view was that the the amount claimed did not reflect the work allegedly done. It was requested that I speak with Mi Sol Lawyers to find out whether paying part of the bill would constitute an acknowledgement of the whole bill.
I have spoken to the Lawyer, and will put her recommendations to the Committee at the next meeting for their decision. The Lawyers were also very interested to know whether the gardening company had paid Social Security for the workers they employed on Mi Sol. Whilst there are no direct ramifications to the Community if these workers dues are not paid, it is a serious offence should it be proved the company were using unregistered labour, the company could be liable to a large fine.
Today we had a heavy storm in Torrevieja causing some disruption.
This prevented any work on the pool being carried out. The main pool will have to dry out thoroughly before tiling can continue. Six men turned up this morning to start tiling the main pool, but had to leave as the tiling cannot be done when the walls and floor of the pool are wet.
There is no firm date yet for the opening of the pool, but I am pressing the contractors on a regular basis to get the work completed. Barring any further delays due to bad weather my best "guestimate" would be the end of July.
Several Owners have expressed doubts regarding the quality of the tiling in the Children's pool, an example is attached in the photo below.
Committee member Mr Peter Whitehead and myself held a meeting at the pool last night with representatives of the Pool Company to sort the problem out.
We were given an in depth explanation of the reasons for this apparent problem and the remedy to correct it. Both Peter and I are satisfied that when finished, everything will be in order.
The full compliment of tiles has now been delivered, and work is starting this morning with 8 men being involved in the tiling process.
Interestingly, the tiles themselves are manufactured mostly from glass, with pigment and strengthening agents added.
Attached are the minutes of the Committee meeting held on the Bar Terrace yesterday morning.
Because some members of the Committee had expressed difficulty in hearing due to background noise at the last meeting it was held at 9.30 am. when the Bar was not in use.
It is pleasing that despite this early start, several Owners still took the trouble to attend.
Attached is a photo of the first of the new wall paintings
In reply :- You are quite right, although only part of the invoice was shown for legal reasons.
The Company name, address and contact details were not shown, however as you say there is no fiscal / N.I.E number, and no I.V.A added, and as such is not a legal invoice.
I refer you to the previous post, the matter will be discussed at the next Committee meeting, which will be held on the Bar terrace at 9.30 am Tuesday morning 8th July 2008.
Being very unhappy with the performance, or more accurately, lack of performance by the previous gardening company, it was clear an alternative had to be found.
With this in mind I approached some Owners / Residents with the suggestion they might like to form a small co-operative and put forward a proposal for carrying out the gardening work on behalf of the Community. This they duly did, a copy of their proposal is posted below.
This proposal was presented to the Committee at the last meeting and after a lengthy discussion it was agreed to have a trial period to see whether the idea was viable as a long term solution.
A copy of the letter sent to the Owners in question, outlining the plan, is attached below.
There are some points of note :-
The advantages of such a system to the Community are that these people live on Mi Sol, they have a vested interest in keeping the park neat and tidy, making money is not their prime objective. Of course we know where they live !! so problems, if any, can be ironed out quickly.
Some of you may be wondering why the Community are paying for the chemicals, the answer is quite simple. The strimming, clearing, and cleaning by the previous company was in all honesty very good. As time went on it became very evident that the problem was in the spraying not being done properly. This is not surprising in hindsight with a small Company working on a tight profit margin they cut corners.. Good quality chemicals are expensive, for example, a 1 litre bottle of Round-up weed killer costs Euro 24 . 00, and it has to be used properly.
Trying to learn from this, I reasoned that if the Community supplied the chemicals then the contractors are not under the financial pressure as explained above, and there is no reason for them not to spray properly. This should have the effect of reducing their workload for strimming and weed removal, and allow them time to carry out more productive work such as putting common areas to gravel and planting, making the Community areas more like gardens and less like wasteland as is the case at present. Time will tell !!
A large blue enclosed and locked container has been placed at the top of the Park for use by the gardeners. Owners can take their own garden waste and leave it next to the container, the gardeners will then place it in the container. Owners found leaving items other than garden waste will be charged for its removal as per the resolution passed at the AGM of September 2007.
The Committee and I are trying very hard to make a difference, these things take time to achieve, hopefully this is one step along the road to making Mi Sol not only a nicer place to live, but a place to be proud of.
Following the delivery of the letter to the former gardening company dispensing with their services, attached below is their response.. a bill for Euro 980 . 00.
I am sure you will have your own views regarding payment of this bill, it will clearly be a matter for discussion at the next Committee meeting.
I am pleased to report tiling of the Children's pool began today. There was an early panic by some Owners when they thought the tiles were a khaki colour. Calm soon returned when it was realised that this was just the colour of the protective paper covering the tiles to prevent them from being damaged. !!
I received a telephone call from Marco leader of the graffiti artists today advising that he and his friends will be returning to Mi Sol to continue their work. Having saved up enough money for the materials, they will be spending the Summer months working on our wall. They will be starting from scratch and painting the complete wall this time. Artists from far and wide will be displaying their work.
They began work this afternoon.
Some Owners have expressed dismay that the present work will be erased, this is understandable, however I am sure the new paintings will be equally impressive. It was always understood that the paintings will be replaced from time to time.
As usual, there is no cost to the Community whatsoever, they are only too pleased to have the opportunity to display their art on such a large scale, this helps to bring them to the attention of private companies bringing commissions for private paid work.
From the point of view of the Community, it would cost a large sum of money to paint such a long wall, and without doubt the vandals would leave their mark within a very short space of time.
We are going to have graffiti on the wall whatever happens, a fact of life, so we might as well have it done by the experts, especially when it is free !!
Photos of the new work will be posted here in due course.
Have to query the invoice submitted by the previous gardeners, no company name, no address, no IVA, no fiscal number and no work. This invoice could have been submitted by anyone, I think I will submit one myself.