The spring 2009 EGM

Hi david is there any chance we can have the next egm on site?bye irene

That is a great idea irene we can even bring our own chairs , and lets have it in the evening in case things might get over heated ,  .lets hope nobody objects which i suspect that they will when they get their second wind .We can use the money saved for a little small party afterwards which might make for some neighbourhood gelling

Hello

The silence is deafening only for ken 333 we would all be in the dark

thanks ken

I do not currently have connection a to the internet from Don Juan. That is 1 reason for not posting much. The other is I do want to write a triumphalist report. However I realise the scant details provided have left a lot of people wondering what happened. 

On the post boxes we do have a legal obligation to provide these. If someone missed an important letter (like a court summons) they could claim against the community so the only votes cast against this were those that I had specific instructions to vote against and I think 1 other. The committee had a price of 12000€. Toni had a quote for 11000€ but the boxes were of poor quality (there was no cover over the opening). It was left to committee to get the best quality/value combination.

Most (actually make that all) the shouting was in Spanish so I can´t be to specific about what was said. The 1st set to involved a neighbour who had signed the call but who had wanted to withdraw his support. His signature was not removed. He was angry with Enrique (shedman) who he felt had mislead him.

Toni got quite excited a couple of times but her son´s behaviour was worse. Her daughter on the other hand made her points with dignity. Pepe shouted as well (I think at Toni´s son).

With regard to the voting the Worried Neighbours group had a number of proxies but a significant number of permanent residents did not support them. I do not know exactly who voted for what. Hervas proposed that they be allowed to complete their contract after the current contract with the new cleaners ends. Some thought this a better option than risking court action but most, based on the evidence presented to the meeting, voted to continue with the current cleaners. Evidence was presented of short hours worked, workers being paid cash with no National Insurance or Employers Liability insurance being paid (this would leave the community liable to a claim should the employee be injured) and the unauthorised employment of the gardener to clean the garages.

The minutes of the meeting will be prepared as fast as possible. I will also investigate how to make the Powerpoint presentation available to those who are interested.

I hope this is helpful.   

Hi all

In fact I voted against the postboxes. Not that I don´t care, but I would like to have some to fit in the buildings and I had hoped that we could agree with phase 2 to fix postboxes together. But I fully understand my neighbours need to have personally mail delivered.

Personally I do feel a bit sorry for our cleaner, but with the experience we have had hiring neighbours, I think we should avoid this in the future.

Hopefully this meeting has shown the committtee that their work are much appreciated and that they shall continue their efforts in making DJ a beautifull place to live/visit. Personally I would like to achieve the possible reductions in our costs and spend the money on plants/trees and other improvements suggested by neighbours. Maybe we can spend money on security, if that is the wish when the economy allows this expence.

Thank you to the committee - for all your efforts.

Solgre

Hello

The community should now move on the egm is over the people gave their answer and we should let the elected committee get on with the work for the rest of the term.Does anybody know the proposed site for the mail box

Comments to Saskias post May 5, 2009 regarding Hervás.

Democratic majority rules. We all the neighbours will share the costs if the probably unlikely happen that Hervás will go to court for community ending the cleaning contract.

No one can pick what is good for me in the cake and a lie will not become the true because it is repeated. 

Wilander, you would be normally correct that the majority rules, but the horizontal law and especially the jurisprudence gives some exceptions where the minority voters can indeed choose not to pick a certain slice of the cake. Such an example is the courtcase from the community against Arrohabitatge, all the neigbours who voted against the courtcase in the january 2008 AGM don't have to share in the costs.

The EGM is done but I see that the antagonism is being started again. It is almost as if 'getting my retaliation in first puts me in the right' - no, it doesn't work and could never work like that.

The community has spoken so it is time to let things lie and for the healing to begin.

There was an appeal at the EGM for this forum not to be used to start another campaign to divide the community. The matters which the 'worried neighbours' raised have been discussed voted on and settled at the EGM so can all of us please get on with what needs to be done.

Unfortunately not everyone is happy such is life. Those that feel disgruntled should do what they feel they have to do but please keep it off this forum and just get on with it. 

And on that note, in answer to Dema's question it has been proposed to place the mailboxes outside block 2 on Calle Sierra De Cazorla.

Hello

Thanks for that infomation RG, my understanding for the refusal of the post to deliver was because of the condition of the access road to dj1,correct me if i am wrong

Hi Dema

From the information I have the Correos will deliver regardless of the road but they will not deliver to boxes inside the blocks and nor will they walk up to each block their requirements are to have one central location where they can deliver the mail.

Is 188 post boxes outside 1 block going to look unsightly, can somebody please let me know the size of the post boxes and their exact location as I do not like the idea of block 2 becoming the community post office,

Regards Andy

The problem with the mail is that Correos doesn't deliver on private roads. Only the entrance of block 2 and block 9 are on public roads, the other blocks are not. Also, in some blocks the mailboxes are behind the entrance gates so the postmen can't reach them. We need a central point with all the mailboxes together, that is the requirement. You see it in a lot of developments here in Spain. Sometimes it's very ugly and sometimes it doesn't look bad when chosen and build with consideration. The commitee has been given the mandate on the meeting to find the best price/quality solution that also fits in best with the looks of Don Juan.  

There is already stupid looking lottery cabin/tardis outside block 2 and I draw the line at having 200 postboxes situated next to it. I will wait to see what the committee proposes but I hope that they situate the post boxes where they will not be an eyesore to any individual block.

If you ask me, iit looks like Correos are suffering from Lazy bast**d syndrome. Imagine if the Royal mail in London decided they were only going to deliver to a housing estate if there was one box to deliver to. There would be riots. I was a postman for 12 years, many the time I climbed 12 storeys with a sack of mail on my back because a lift was not working. We delivered door to door by foot with up to 50lbs on your back. This lot have vans to drive everywhere. That's the idea of a proper postal system. What is the point of paying for the stamp. They are plain lazy. Afraid of a bit of hard work in case they break into a sweat.

Westport

You can keep saying      'this would never happen in England'    the fact is it does happen here,  so we have to find a solution the Correos want the boxes all on the main road,  that is it .    'Do it'    or   'lose it'    thats how it works here.  Now this is not that important to Owners not living here,  but the rest of us are tired of going to Los Boliches for letters.  Hopefully the committee can find a location that suits everybody.

Dear All,

Saskia is right, the boxes need to be placed in a public road.

The best solution is the place next to the cabin for the mailboxes.

As we are dealing with internal regulations from the post we have to deal with the current situation.

Spain is a different country with different rules and yes we can only accept that.

Lets find the best quality/price solution and and the extra payment is less then one night going out in Fuengirola.

Best regards,

Rene

Rene, As I said in my previous posts, I am not happy have 200 post boxes situated next to my apartment. If I wanted to live next to a post office I would not have purchased in Don Juan. I am sure that there are other areas that the post boxes can be placed in please consider these nuetral locations first. 

This is not just a case of providing post boxes for the permanent residents. There were 2 compelling reasons why I supported having mail boxes:

1) We have an offer from Correos which was brokered by the town hall. It is to provide boxes in 1 location by a public road. They will use a van as they do not consider their motorbikes suitable for the unfinished road. As we have this offer we have an obligation to provide them. If we don't we can be held liable by residents who do not receive important mail.

2) We will each own our own mailbox (they will not be community property). It is an asset which will make our apartments more saleable should we want to sell at some time in the future.

We will add the cost of the mailboxes to our claim against the developer although that is not the same as actually getting our money back! We will do our best to make the enclosure fit in with the building. Andy, having looked around I do not see another suitable location but if you know of one please let me know.