Committe meeting May 5th 2009

MAY 5th 2009 COMMITTEE MEETING

Time 15.00
Held at 33 phase 2
Present
Denise Brown (President)
Angie Mundeane (Committee)
Anne Dudley (Committee)
Neville Jackson (Committee)
Marion Jackson (Owner)
Liam MacDonald (Owner)
Apologies
Vic Callaghan-Smith (Vice President)
Janet Turnbull (Committee)

AGENDA

Denise opened the meeting by thanking those present for giving up their time and explaining that although it was a meeting for the Committee any owner is welcome at these meetings. She added that she had sent the agenda to Vic, Janet and Ron and that Vic and Janet had expressed their views on the items on the agenda. She thinks that Ron may be away because he usually responds to emails regarding the Community straight away but had not done so on this occasion

1. Debtors…. Agreement for Denise to go to the Notary to commence court action a.s.a.p.
It was agreed by those present and those who had sent authority that Denise should represent the Community and start the first process which would result in court proceedings against those in debt to the Community. The total outstanding stands at €7,551.61 though this did not include this years charges. It was however realised that Banesta have paid their charges up to date and also the debt to 15 phase 1 was reduced as this was also a property returned to the bank. Helene, the Administrator for the Community, said in answer to the question would there be a charge to the Community for this process, that the only charge would be the 40 to 50 euro charge for the solicitor to have power of attorney for the President. As long as the President was Denise this power would endure so to save the Community money it was suggested that it would be prudent not to change President which caused some laughter amongst those present. On a more serious side it was agreed that some owners are facing severe financial pressures and Denise agreed and explained that if any owner needed a payment plan this was not a problem but the owner must communicate with the Officials or court proceedings were the only option available. It was also agreed that for a Community of our size the debts were small and Helene and Denise were thanked for their work towards this aim.

2. Gardens Agreement to give Pro Pools the go ahead for those quoted. Banesta…. lodge a complaint over the slowness of the bank to respond (from December 2008)
Those present and those by email agreed that the gardens left to weed needed once again to be tidied by the Community gardeners. The estimate was read out for these gardens and it was agreed that the works should commence as soon as possible. Some of the Committee asked if it was possible to tile the gardens causing problems as the weeds just grew back again and it was a constant battle to keep up with them in unoccupied properties. Denise explained, with the agreement of Helene that we have to find the cheapest way to upkeep the gardens just incase the owner does not pay the bill and we end up in court to claim the amounts the Community has paid out. If we present a bill for thousand for tiling or landscaping a garden the Judge could say that this is unacceptable and therefore, the Community would be footing the bill. Once this was explained it was agreed that once again the Community would have the gardens weeded and tidied and also that Helene would contact Banesta again regarding the five gardens they own that need clearing at the moment.


3. Agreement for the Community to pay for the emptying of the pool at 52 phase 2 and to claim the monies from BankInter.
Denise was adamant that this problem should be sorted out as soon as possible as it was ridiculous to expect the neighbours to put up with this problem any longer as it is a serious health hazard. Initially, it was agreed that with the help of Liam and the Committee we would see to the emptying of the pool ourselves. However, Helene pointed out that there may be an objection from the bank who own the property and also a possible health and safety matter and it was agreed that we should get a quote from Pro Pools and have a factura for the work to cover the Community in case of legal action.

4. Planning consent. Discuss and show forms for neighbour agreement.
Although Denise could not present the forms they were described, and the process that needed to be gone through before building works commence discussed in some detail. It is Community law (and local planning law) that permission for any alteration to the outside of an apartment should have
1. Written permission from neighbours. Denise asked if no reply for requests meant a yes and Helene said that this was a very grey area so to be within the letter of the law it would be wise to send a burofax to those affected and if this was ignored at least there was proof of sending the notice.
2. For major projects there has to be approval from the Community at the A.G.M. (This is in the first instance, once there has been approval the same works, using the same plans and materials may be done in other properties)
3. Once stages one and two are met then the owner must get the necessary permission from the Town Hall. If they have it in writing that no permission is needed they may proceed. The Community however, will not be held responsible for giving permission for works that the Town Hall do not approve of the onus is on the owner to check this matter thoroughly. Liam did think that to wait for an A.G.M. in the event of an emergency was too long and Denise stated that in such cases they would be looked into and ways found to suit the Community, and the owner.


5. Items to be purchased for the pool
Denise stated that this was going to be a tough one as no two people could agree what was the best thing to buy for the pool. She, as President, had no preferences, she did however state that what had been passed at the A.G.M. could not be changed either by the President or the Committee. It was therefore, decided to purchase;

1 bin and to ask Pro Pools to empty it.

10 new sun beds but the one piece ones as they are less likely to
break.

2 permanent straw umbrellas to be placed as far away from the pool water as possible.

Several small plastic tables

2, 3 or 4 covered pergolas dependent on price.

Denise then went on to say that once the purchases this year were completed then it was hoped that the spending would stop for a few years unless there was an emergency. This was unanimously agreed by all those present. To this aim it was decided to purchase the stronger, more expensive pergolas with a better canvas so as to make them last a few more years.

6. Street signs to be purchased and fitted.
Denise explained that the file containing all the quotes for the street signs was lost and that she and the Administrator were looking for new quotes. After some discussion it was realised that if we purchased and fixed these ourselves we could get enough for both ends of the walkways and for a sign above the letter boxes for less than employing a Company to purchase and fix them. Liam knows of a tile making Company and is looking into it on behalf of the Community.


7. Painting of cupboards any volunteers?
Liam also expressed interest in this and has already got up a working party. Denise will pay for the materials and claim the money back once we have the facturas.

8. Items for the agenda A.G.M. 2009
It was firstly discussed where to hold the 6th A.G.M. as we needed to keep the cost for this down. We need somewhere disabled friendly which will be cool in September at little cost to the Community and Denise asked if anyone could suggest a venue?
She went on to say that to date, there was very little on the agenda and she hoped to keep it that way if it included spending. The Community however, is a very good financial position but she wanted the Committee and the rest of the Community to be aware that any problems in the future would have to be funded by the owners. The internal walkways are showing signs of breaking down and will one day need replacing. To this end (and of course for other unforeseen problems) she is hoping that the Community can build a large enough emergency fund to finance this and other matters. She would not wish to be in the position whereby she would have to ask owners to pay an extra 500 euro each to pay for such works. In addition, Denise also pointed out that although the banks usually paid the fees in the cases of repossessions there is it seems around a year before this money filters through. It is good for the Community as the 20% is added to the fee and the Community is running without this money but this may not always be the case so we have to bear this in mind.

Items already on the agenda

1.Election/re-election of Officials

2.Presentation of accounts 2009

3. Presentation of budget 2010

4. Keeping the Community payment at 330 euro with a 10% reduction for early payment and a 20% penalty for late payment.

5. New debtors list for court action.

6. Change of Community bank from B.B.V.A. to Banco Popular who has offered the Community a better deal.

7. Installation of Community T.V. for those who wish to contribute. This will not be a cost to the Community but a system with costs shared by those who wish to receive it. We need a mimumun of 17 owners for a one off price of around 450 euro with no monthly fees. More details to follow on the website. Please note, anyone not wanting Community T.V. will not pay towards it either direct or through their Community charge payments.



9. Any other questions/discussion?
Liam asked if the possibility of changing the pool entrance to the side of the pool to allow room for a disabled ramp had been looked into. Denise said yes it had but admitted that quotations for the work had not been asked for and it was not expected to be an item on the agenda for the A.G.M. unless it was requested by an owner. The main problem she concurred was the finance and the fact that by no means perfect, the existing ramp did meet Spanish disability guidelines. The was also a verbal objection by one owner of a property where it was proposed the new entrance would be sited, and some of the Committee agreed they would not wish to live opposite the entrance to the pool especially in the summer months.

The Committee discussed the news that the tenants at 3 phase 2 Mr & Mrs Edwards were leaving and that they had to all appearances abandoned their pet cat which they were not taking with them. This problem was discussed to some depth but no solutions were forthcoming. Denise had hoped that there was some law preventing this kind of thing but realised that there was not, and that the Community would have to either feed the cat or re home it. It was discussed whether the Community should denounce the Edwards but it was decided there would be little point in this.

The bushes in the central reservation between the two phases were discussed and the fact that there was an accident waiting to happen as traffic could not see oncoming traffic because they needed cutting back. Denise said that she had been meaning to ask Helene to contact the Town Hall about this matter and that Committee member Janet had reminded her yesterday. Helene had replied by email that the matter is in hand.

There is also still no sign of the speed bump outside the Community pool and Denise is once again looking into this problem. Helene is also purchasing boxes to go beside the mail boxes for the large amount of fliers that seem to be arriving every day.


Helene before leaving asked Denise to sign some papers to transfer the monies from the saving account at the B.B.V.A. to a higher interest account at the Banco Popular which she did. Although the interest is not fantastic at the moment the Community will be a little better off with this account and we are transferring ten thousand euros tomorrow. We will then look at the expenditure expected before December 2009 and decide if we can transfer more.

The new bins were also discussed and Denise said that we now would have no bins at all on phases one and two once the green bins were removed. She has looked into this and the reply is that the new grey bins are three times as big as the old green ones and therefore the Communities do not need as many. We are informed there is little (as in no) chance of any more grey bins than those already sited at the moment.

Denise said to remind everyone that the next Community party/fundraiser would be on Wednesday 10th June 2009 and she hoped that all could attend.

The meeting thus ended, with many thanks to those who attended those who sent input by email and to Anne for the refreshments ( yes I did really well but gave in at the end with the Danish pastry) and the use of her apartment.