Jacqui54's latest posts

06 Mar 2009 10:43 AM:

Dear Sandra and Paul,

The street lighting is not part of the energy saving measures. It is an ongoing problem not of our making. The street has been adopted by the local authorities who now prune the trees and periodically clean and sweep the gutters. They are also responsible for the street lighting. The Administrators have made several applications on our behalf to have the street lighting repaired and we are waiting for that to be done.

Due to complaints made directly to the Administrator, the decision has been taken to re activate all of the lifts. This will be done in due course and will obviously compound the problem of mounting debt with the lift company. This is something that will have to be discussed at the AGM to find a workable plan and a way forward.

There is scope to save money on the maintenance costs of the swimming pool. One solution could be to reduce the level of maintenance carried out during the winter months when the pool is hardly used. My own personal feeling is that, if managed correctly, the community will never reach a stage where we cannot afford to pay the communal electricity bill or maintain the pool. That said, never say never. Again something that should be discussed at the AGM.

One of the main functions of the AGM is to determine the current financial situation and to discuss and set the budget for the next period. This provides the community and Administrators with clear direction on how best to manage the community in a way that serves the interests of all owners and residents. In my opinion past AGMs have failed to focus on this key function and have instead concentrated on internal rule making.

I hope that the recent energy saving measures have highlighted the very real need for the community to work together in order to discuss and sort out our community finances at the next AGM.

Kind regards,

Jacqui

Community thread: Energy Saving Measures

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27 Feb 2009 12:00 AM:

Dear Neighbours,

Since the lifts within the Mirador de Las Palmeras complex were first activated for use, we have, as a community, become steadily more in debt to the lift company. This is due to the fact that too many apartment owners, for a variety of reasons, do not pay community charges. In order to address this issue the Administrators are of course pursuing non-payers. They have also negotiated a new contract to help prevent the situation worsening. In addition some lifts in unoccupied stairwells have been temporarily deactivated to save money on routine maintenance and electricity. The lifts are reactivated as and when the stairwells are reoccupied.

Recently changes were made to the way electricity billing is carried out in Spain. This, along with price increases, resulted in the community receiving a high bill in the first billing period of 2009. The lack of available funds forced the Administrators to take an early payment of community charges to cover this bill. This was required to avoid having the electricity supply cut off to communal services such as the pumps supplying fresh water to apartments, the television and telephone systems.

To avoid a repeat of this, a review was carried out to establish what sensible measures could be taken to reduce the overall amount of electricity consumed within communal areas. Working in conjunction with the Administrators small but significant changes have been made; for example, the booster lighting in the garage has been deactivated whilst ensuring sufficient lighting levels in all areas. Also decorative underwater pool lighting is switched off along with lights that served only to illuminate the garden areas at night. The three main entrances are no longer permanently lit internally. The lights in these areas are now only operated on timer switches that will illuminate the area for 1 minute. Each main entrance has an external light to aid initial entry from the street at night. Stairwell lighting has also been reduced to 1 minute. These small changes have very little impact on the general appearance of the complex and will, in time, help to generate more available funds required to carryout routine maintenance and repairs.

There has been a great deal of questions raised about what can be done to remove any unpleasant tenants from the complex. After advice it would appear that, unless those people who actually witness or are involved in incidents with these tenants are prepared to put their names to official reports, very little can be done. Not much comfort for those living in close proximity to them, but it is possible problems like this will resolve themselves when tenancy agreements are due for renewal.

Should the latest rumoured petition to obtain a “Vote of no confidence in the President” be successful I will look forward to seeing how my successor will better deal with this and other similar issues. It does however seem a little unnecessary to waste already stretched funds on an additional meeting to remove me from a position I will stand down from in June at the AGM.

Kind regards,

Jacqui

President

Community thread: Energy Saving Measures

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