Dear Desperado,
We have met with Javier from Ammex and we also believe that he will be a positive aide to the new president. Who ever that maybe
Concerning my ability to fulfil the role of president, well I am an owner and I am willing, my intention is to be part of/lead a PM2 team that will work closely with the other PM communities. I am Danish, but have lived in the UK for more than 18 years. I have a degree in finance and business law and have spent most of my working life in Sales. I am currently one of four company directors for a German Telecoms company. As the Worldwide President of Sales, I am responsible for the management of the Global Sales teams and over the years I have gained vast experience of high value contract negotiations and people skills/performance assessment. As this will undoubtedly be a challenging first 12 month I am pleased to say that I will be fully support by my wife who has just completed 14 years in corporate banking. She has experience in supplier and project management. Further more, I have already spoken to other owners who have agreed to make their skills/professions available to the committee and I will encourage everyone to do so in order to get the correct skill sets into our committee. Finally, and maybe most importantly we believe we have the energy, drive and determination needed to make the CDS complex a desirable and pleasant place to stay and live.
As an owner on CDS I am sure, that I have the same ongoing concerns of all those who have completed. These concerns have been discussed in some detailed on this forum, e.g. gardens, construction defects, security, swimming pools (opening times, rules, sun loungers), excessive cleaning, lack of advertised facilities etc……..
There will be various ways to tackle the majority of our concerns, and everyone I am sure will have their own ideas concerning priorities and preferred approach.
I believe that addressing the fundamentals i.e. supplier contract and Role & Responsibilities of onsite community employed workers (i.e. porters/handyman/cleaners), communication, review of processes & procedures etc should be a priority as this will then pave the way to solve the specifics that people have raised concerns about.
A review of supplier contracts, fully understanding their R&R will enable the community to achieve a flexible and hopefully satisfactory/positive way forward. As a community we need to understand where our money is being spent and whether the current contractors are able/willing to provide a good level of service while still providing value for money. We also need to ensure that all contracts include a detailed scope, KPI + performance, Service Level Agreements, penalty clauses, exit and termination clauses etc… so if we find ourselves with a non performing supplier/contractor the community will have some redress.
We also need to resolve the current lack of communication taking place, enabling all owners to either take part or be made aware of events, community updates, proposed activities, decisions etc…… currently most communication is being badly handled by Ammex. This maybe due to the volume of owners on CDS and/or the fact that we are not their only client…….
Communication channels need to be set-up, one proposed solution which has already been discussed on this forum is installing a representative from each block, and I believe johnf Block 8 and gusdonnelly block 18 have already volunteered their services (not just limited to communication improvement). To enable/assist with the communication issue, an Owner Information form has been designed which I believe was utilised at the AGM for PM1, a copy of which will be available for those owners who attend this Friday’s AGM to complete.
I believe that another important task will be the introduction of processes and procedures, so all community members and suppliers/contractors are fully aware of how to report/handle/monitor situations, anything from the replacement of a community light bulb to a water pump failure…….. etc…..some processes may already be in place and it maybe that the lack of communication means that not everyone has been made aware –but this needs to be reviewed.
I have already provisionally requested meetings with Ammex, Interlaken and the Town Hall representatives for the week commencing 18th June. This will allow the ‘president’ to understand how the complex is currently being run, commence the points detailed above with Ammex and to fully understand future local town hall and developer plans which will impact/affect our community. Obviously if I am not elected then these meetings should still take place… if the elected president and committee members are available.
We will not be permanent residents but our intention is to visit approx every 2 months, this will allow us to attend the two outstanding AGM’s and meet with their elected presidents i.e. Sept and Nov. We will also be onsite late Dec early Jan 2008. With the correct procedures in place and with the backing of the other owners/committee members, I believe this is more than enough visits, however should a serious issue arise which can not be handled by our porters/ caretakers or Ammex on our behalf, but needs a high level meeting with Ammex and contractors then I would of course look to attend.
Regards, Peter Lund