The spring 2009 EGM

Hi Max,

I stand by the comments in my last post. I know that the AGM is planned for next Feb, but I do not feel that we need an emergency meeting to sort out what I feel are minor issues. This should be achieved by members of the community politely lobbying the board to get things changed. If the board disagrees then the members are able to vote against them at the next AGM. I look forward to debating this subject over a beer or two with you when I'm over in July.

Regards, Andy

What will it take for Max to reallise that he is NOT on the committee - one which is composed of people voted in by the community.  Is this a case of the devil makes work for idle hands ? He obviously has lots of time on his hands to devote to this mischief-making.

It is simplistic at best to compare one period's spending with another. Where money has to be spent on necessary improvements/ safety, then it has to be done. To get even, this commitee will need to go and buy more rubbish bins, junk mailboxes etc - now do you see the idiocy of the comparison. There can be no valid comparison with a previous period where the same issues did not arise - so stop using money as a scare tactic.

It is stupefying to read in some posts that the neighbours 'control' everything. If this is so, why bother to elect a committee in the first place? The commitee is our representative and the members were elected because they have convinced the community that they will act in their best interests.  I am sure no one on the committee believes that he/she has been given carte blanche and I am sastified that they do and will act with our best interests at heart. Of course, they can, do and will get some things wrong (and I do not mean the cleaning contract) - they are human after all.  

When they do get it wrong, it is our duty to support them and help find a solution - this is no more that they deserve . It is definitely not a time to kick when they are down. This committee requires our support to allow them to continue to act on our behalf - what they do not need is the constant undermining, belittling and rumour mongering which has proved such a destructive and divisive diversion for the past six weeks or more.

Even now when the much sought after EGM is being organised, the same people continue to spew venomous remarks on this forum. There appears to be a genuine lack of sincerity in uniting a community - it is more a case of 'divide and rule'. Those who have been manupilated will know for themselves.

In a previous post Max asked RG to take a look at the accounts for the expenses. Well I thought I had better do it. I can only say that I have found nothing that I would state as suspicious.

 I have a comment to the movement detectors. I work at an electrician office selling detectors myself. A lot of people are not prepared to buy the expensive brand that we are selling, they buy the cheap one in the stores. When the cheap one fails(often  in very short time), they call for an electrician. They often end up paying more for a correctworking detector, thatn if they bought the good brand from the beginning.

I also took a look at the electricity costs for our garages. I have compared the monthly expense per garage and it seems very clear to me that savings for about 10-20% are achieved. I suppose the detectors were installed in January - so I compared jan, feb and mars figures for 2008 and 2009.

The figures for 1200E to plants. This was as far as I remember recommended to avoid further damage to walls (the problem we are going to court about) and they have been unplanted for several months where things maybe got worse.

Grethe, bl 4

 Hi Grethe,

Don't let Jenx know that you studied these figures as well :) Seriously I appreciate it of course!

The motion detectors we have are sold for less than 20 Euros over here. I checked the brand and model. So paying 185 Euro a peace is ridiculous.

Like you I noticed that on average the electricity for the garages went down by a about 3 to 4 Euros a month, but that will not be related to the motion sensors. They only switch on the light in the hallway and are on much longer than before when he had to push the button ourselves.

Max

Its funny how Max is now suddenly so concerned about costs as this clearly wasn't the case when he sat on the committee and spent €6000 on totally useless items such as bins and ashtrays! As for the plants which now have to replanted on the walls this wouldn't have been necessary if the last committee hadn't removed them in the first place!

 RG,

You can keep on lamenting about the bins, but you overlooked this:

"The old committee spend less than 1500 Euros per month on these 'extras'. The new committee spends on average 3400 Euro per month. From the difference we could have paid our on site security. 

Max

Hi Max,

As you probably know the committee only got these figures ourselves recently. Unfortunately the builder left the place in a mess and we had to replace the doors as the original ones didn't fit. We have been trying to fix things and it costs money to do so. Having said that I am interested in what you have highlighted about the cost of the sensors and the plants. If it turns out we are being ripped off by our maintenance contractor as well as our former cleaner believe me we will deal with it.

 Max,

How did you work out the per month figure. It doesn't make any sense to me. The committee are not buying locks doors sensors every month! or are you looking at overall spend and dividing up over the number of months the committee have been doing the job?

In this case 4 to 5 months compared to the 12 months of the last committee in which case do not forget that apart from the €6000 on bins, if I remember correctly you and the last committee also spent around €5000 on useless rockery and a further €11000 which was an extra charge on top off the community fees on legal action against the developer for many items which may or may never actually happen to the buildings and what was the cost for the technical architects?

And why are you so worried about security. The thousands the community were spending on an unarmed man or woman in uniform who are not properly trained security staff, hence I would not call them guards are highly unlikely to stop someone determined to come knocking on your door with Russian manufactured guns! Or are you so worried because you are scared that someone is after you?

Hi Max

Did you personally count the plants. The figures I have do not say anything about the price per plant. It only states the full amount.

I have asked David about the costs for movementsdetectors. Every time I have approached the committee politely about issues I have had a very polite and fullfilled answar - so I am quite confident that he will answar me when he is able to obtain the correct answar.

Grethe

 RG, 

I answered you several times so it get's annoying. But yes: I know how to calculate and no: nobody spend 6000 on bins, nor did we spend any money on rockery.

The 11.000 Euro for the court case was not decided by the committee, but unanimously agreed on a proper AGM. You voted for it (at least your proxy holder did so I assume you agree).

Max 

 Hi Solgre,

I didn't count the plants but made a rough estimate. 

In the last four weeks I have mailed, phoned and spoken at length with the committee. Always polite, always searching for solutions. I have no doubt that the committee tries hard. The problem is that the financial control seems to fail. It is normal that the president (or in his absence the vice-president) signs every bill.  In my view a very good control mechanism, but it seems that it doesn't function anymore. 

Locks don't cost 70 Euros a piece, motion detectors don't cost 185 Euro, a few small plants can't be worth 1200 Euro and unspecified costs of almost 2000 Euros should have been scrutinized. The short list I published already adds up to almost 9000 Euros. Alarm bells should have gone off especially now as we are not a rich community. It would have been much better if the committee before deciding on these projects would have asked for proper proposals and monitored the budgets.

Max

How the committe approve commúnitybills, I will leave for them to decide. I am confident they know what they are doing.But if you often approach the committee telling them what to do I do have a sympathectic view in their lack of responce.

Regarding the plants. You said the size was as a thumbnail.  Replanting walls like the ones in DJ will need several more plants than your estimated 100 plants.(if the price is 12e per plant)

I am quite sure David asked for the accounts to check the costs. They might even work on more costreductions, because as I know David he is very responsible regarding the economy of our community. And I do not see any other reasons to get the information about the figures, if you do not want to look at them.

Hello

W hen i here the mention of bins it reminds me of when i first laid eyes them overflowing with household rubbish i thought to myself what lunatic has been let loose here,the bins are necessary in the pool area yes ,but not alone do we not have to walk

past at times a insect infected unsightly stinking rubbish tip that we did not want in the first place but we are also paying to have them emptied now i think it is time to cut our losses and have them removed.

There speaks the man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.

Locks can cost 70 euros - though I am not necessarily referring to the locks in question. Again for expediency, he applies a broad brush approach to specifics.

I did not suggest that the figures are not studied - rather that it was deliberately misleading to use a very simplistic comparison between one year and the next. Unlike Max I truly embrace democracy - freedom of speech and freedom of thought. Anyone who wishes to study the figures is entitled and welcomed to do as Solgre has shown. I make no attempt to dictate as to how an agenda is compiled, how to give a proxy and even how to vote.

The major issues which the current committee is grappling with were inherited from the previous regime. To place all the blame on them is injudicious especially coming from a former VP. I am sure he will remember that there was little or no interference of the kind he is subjecting the current committee to.

He wants the job and then he doesn't want the job but thinks he does the job anyway despite not being elected to do so. Perhaps he feels a (mistaken) need to repay many of the kind (non-resident) people who are subsidising him living full time at DJ1, hence all this palaver. 

This message was last edited by Jenx on 4/11/2009.

Hi solgre,

"But if you often approach the committee telling them what to do I do have a sympathectic view in their lack of responce.'

I didn't tell what to do as that is their job. Also there was certainly no lack of response. They always responded positively on my suggestions to improve things.

Max

I am sorry - I misunderstood your post. I will try to read more carefully next time

Grethe

 For the record: Jenx tries hard to divide this community and that is certainly not the intention of the 60 people supporting this EGM. To keep ths forum the place it was: a friendly informational way of exchanging information for people who are not living here full time I will refrain from answering  her posts.We don't need this kind of input.

Max 

No problem Solgre,

The both of us try to make sense of these figures in a language which is not native to us. It's the effort which counts; I'm sure I'm making errors as well.

Max