Gardening misery

Attached is a copy of the letter I am delivering to the gardening contractors, advising that we no longer require their services. This is particularly disappointing as they were doing so well at the beginning. Unfortunately it has now become clear that they did not carry out the work to the standard they promised. In particular their spraying to kill the weeds has not been effective, it was agreed they would spray with a systemic chemical which would have killed the roots preventing further growth for at least three months. Clearly they did not do this as the weeds have grown back to levels approaching those at the start of the contract. This has allowed a virtual plague of Mosquitoes to thrive in the circles, the very thing the Gardening contract was designed to prevent.

Whilst this is very upsetting to me personally, having thought we had found a way to keep Mi Sol tidy and move forward to make it better as time went on, we will persevere until we do find the right solution. To this end I put forward another idea to the Committee at the last meeting, which after some discussion, was approved, details of which I will explain in a later post.

Things do not always go smoothly in life ,that seems especially true on Mi Sol at times, but with dedication and patience it will improve gradually as finances and time allow.

Congratulations European Champions

It is very pleasing to be able to congratulate the Spanish football team on their success at winning the European Football Championships at Euro 2008. They deserved to win the competition, being the best team there by far.

Pool News

HIWE ARE ARRIVING ON THE 7/7/08 FOR 7 NIGHTS WILL ... HI WE ARE ARRIVING ON THE 7/7/08 FOR 7 NIGHTS WILL THE POOL BE READY? IF NOT DO YOU HAVE A COMPLETEION DATE AS WE HAVE CLIENTS ARRIVING ON THE 20/07/08 FOR 10 NIGHTS WHO HAVE A DISABLED DAUGHTER AND WOULD LIKE FOR THE POOL TO BE IN USE, CAN YOU GIVE ANY MORE INFO? THANKS

(Anonymous)

26/06/08

I received the above message, sent as a comment to a Web Log post, which I declined to publish on the grounds it is simply an enquiry, not a comment and should really have been sent to me as an e.mail. However I publish it here because it is pertinent to this post and echoes the concerns of many Owners, as no actual work has been carried out on the pool for several days. As is often the case with these things rumours abound.

The truth of the matter is that I visited the offices of the Pool company today and spoke to the gentleman responsible for overseeing our pool re construction. I asked him several questions, foremost amongst them, "When will tiling of the pool begin?" The answer given was that the tiles had now arrived and workmen should begin laying them on Monday 30th June 2008.

"When will the pool be ready to use?" The answer was in about three weeks time, barring any unforeseen problems. This is in keeping with the original time-scale quoted of about the middle of July.

Discussions took place regarding possible designs in the tiling, testing of the pumping equipment, inspection of the filters, and training on how to use the pumping equipment properly once the pool is in operation. In response to the question at the start of this post, the answers would seem to be that the pool is unlikely to be in operation by the 7th of July, but hopefully it will be open by the 20th July however no absolute guarantee can be given at this time. Clearly it is in everyone's interest to open the pool as soon as possible, and all concerned are working hard to achieve this. A notice has been placed in the Office giving the latest information regarding the pool.

The next payment of Euro 5000 . 00, as per the contract was handed over and a receipt obtained, a copy of which is presented below.

I am in the process of trying to obtain quotations for insurance cover, both for the Swimming Pool and the Community areas of Mi Sol. When available, these will be presented to the Committee for their consideration.

HIWE ARE ARRIVING ON THE 7/7/08 FOR 7 NIGH

Very strange

Attached is the latest statement from Banco Popular. Apart from the normal electricity payment you will notice a payment of Euro 104 . 40, this is the annual charge for hosting the Official Mi Sol Web Page, which in truth has not been updated for a very long time, I will be speaking to the Administrators about this. You will also notice two transfers a Juzgado of Euro 300 . 00 and Euro 578 . 90, I assume these are payments ordered back to Owners who have appealed against their judgement for debt. This seems very strange in light of the latest Court ruling in our favour. On a brighter note we will be credited in the next couple of days with Euro 718 . 06, a payment received from the Courts against an Owner for debt.

I have no further information at the moment about the two returned amounts, however investigations will be made about why this has happened.

Having recently consulted our Lawyer about why it can take so long for payments to reach us from the Courts ( in one case we have been waiting about nine months for a payment to come through, and we have still not received it ), the answer given was as follows:- It depends entirely in which Court the case is heard, some are much more efficient than others, some in particular are notoriously bad. Many of the Courts are apparently understaffed, and there has also recently been a strike by certain Court administration workers. It may well be that the two judgements were given some time ago, before our recent Court ruling was issued, I will try to find out if this is the case.

I asked our Administrator Alberto this week, whether any further meetings had been arranged with the Administrator of the other faction to compare accounts for 2005, 2006, and 2007. Apparently their administrator has gone on holiday to Belgium, Alberto will try and arrange further meetings with him on his return.

Newsletter 6

Here is issue 6 of the newsletter produced by Owner Mrs Mo Taunton, a copy of which is available in the office.

Official Committee meeting

Attached are the Minutes from the Committee Meeting held at the Bar Terrace on Wednesday 25th June 2008.

Gardeners

The present Gardening company are letting us down badly, whilst they have been sending a couple of men now and then, they have not been doing the work we really need them to do.

Grass and weeds are growing back to levels they were at before the big clear-up, and no gardening skip has been sent as promised weeks ago.

Alternative arrangements will have to be discussed at the next Committee meeting on Wednesday 25th June 2008.

Pool Update

Here attached a photo showing the Swimming Pool ready for tiling. We must wait now for everything to dry out and harden before tiling begins. Work is on schedule and the pool is expected to open as planned in the middle of July.

Bank Statement

Here is the latest statement from Banco Popular, you will notice a payment to Liberty Seguros of Euro 365 . 73. Investigations revealed that this was for the renewal of insurance for the gardeners car.

The Committee had previously agreed that it would be uneconomical to repair the car to a roadworthy standard, therefore at this moment in time there seems little point in paying out such a large sum to insure it.

The premium has increased by Euro 13 . 44 without warning, neither did we receive notification
the payment was due. I was advised by our Administrators APYME, that in these circumstances we had 10 days to inform the Bank that we wished the payment to be rescinded.

Attached is the letter I have sent to the Manager of Banco Popular requesting the cancellation of the payment and the return of the funds to our account

Bar Terrace Complaint

Things have settled down since the Bar terrace re-opened, with the usual activities taking place such as quiz and bingo nights, and karaoke on Wednesday nights. Unfortunately on the last Karaoke night the local Police arrived at around half past midnight, having apparently been called by nearby residents complaining of the noise.

It can be a difficult balance to maintain catering for the needs of the local residents, and those who use Mi Sol Bar. Hopefully this balance can be found quickly in order to avoid these conflicts of interest and prevent the possibility of music being banned on the Terrace, which has happened in the past.

Social Security

Here are two more Social Security bills which have just arrived, totalling Euro 396 . 20. To the best of my knowledge, these are the final two.

Bank Statement

Here is the latest statement from Banco Popular.

And Another

In the early hours of this morning a Spanish woman was found sleeping in an Owners property, both the Guardia Civil, and the Policia Local attended and the woman was arrested. She is now in Police custody and a Denuncia has been made against her.

The woman does not know how lucky she is, as the Owners dog, not noted for its mild temperament was chained up outside, rather than in its usual position in the house.

Indications are that this woman is well known to the Police.

Security

A Committee member alerted me yesterday evening to the fact some teenagers had been seen entering the plot of a German Owner. I went to investigate, catching them red handed. Giving chase I managed to apprehend one of the youths. After remonstrating with him in a serious manner, he was escorted from the Park with dire warnings of the consequences, should he and his friends appear on Mi Sol again. It is the second time I have caught them in three days. They have been scrawling graffiti on the walls of several properties, and causing some minor damage.

In a separate incident on Sunday, a youth appeared to be trying to teach a teenage girl to ride a motor scooter on the Mi Sol road. She was clearly highly incompetent in this activity, narrowly missing more than one Owners car in the process. I managed to stop them, receiving a tirade of abuse from the youth, but at least the driving lesson was over for the day!!

In yet another incident two nights ago, someone undid the boundary chain link fence, in what appears to have been a failed attempt to climb through. The fence has now been repaired.

Whilst the vast majority of Owners wish to see the entrance gates back in operation, something with which I wholeheartedly agree, it is doubtful whether the gates alone would prevent this kind of incident occurring. I believe the time has come to have a serious professional appraisal on how we can best protect the Community from the ever increasing number of criminal and anti social attacks we are suffering. I welcome comments and suggestions on this subject from all Owners, as I feel it has now become the number one priority for the Committee and myself to deal with. It is going to cost money to implement an effective scheme, but if done properly it will be money well spent.

All Owners could help by keeping a more vigilant eye on their surroundings, and each others properties, taking photographs of people acting suspiciously would be useful, particularly where a crime is known to have been committed.

Break - in

During the course of yesterday morning 2 youths were seen climbing out of the window of a Spanish Owners property. Investigation revealed they had been using drugs, they managed to make good their escape. The local Police arrived and the Owners were informed.

More Pool Photos

The new concrete floor being laid





The new Sump Pipe installed into the Pump Room

Committee Meeting

Attached are the minutes from the Unofficial Committee meeting held on the Bar terrace at 4p.m Tuesday 3rd June 2008. As has become usual, there were quite a number of interested Owners in attendance.

Pool Progress

These photos show the reinforcing steelwork being laid ready for the concrete. Notice that the steel mesh is being laid on triangular sections, thus ensuring the steel will be embedded in the middle of the concrete, not just sat on the bottom of it.

The next job will be to fit the sump pipe from the bottom of the pool into the pump house, through the new hole already made.

A video camera is being brought in to examine the large hole that was discovered in the wall when the tiles were removed. We need to know where it is connected to, and what damage may have been done to the walls, if any, by the leakage of water before it is blocked off with concrete.

Bar

I understand the Bar Terrace finally opened today, we will have to wait for any announcements of evening entertainment, apart from the usual Lynnes Quiz, Sheilas Bingo and the Darts night.
A big screen t.v is also expected to be installed.

It is anticipated that it will be some time before the Bar "proper" is repaired and available for use, but at least the Community do have somewhere to meet now and enjoy a drink together.