Power Of Attorney

At the present moment, Louis Marquez is enquiring about a "swipe-card" system for the indoor spa area door. For those unaware of what this entails let me enlighten you.......

A card (resembling in size and material a credit card) with a magnetic strip on giving details of your apartment number, name etc., will be distributed to all owners. This will enable you to enter the Spa area after "swiping" the card through a card reader..........sounds simple doesn't it?

If you happen to be one of the "debtors" of Thalassa (ie., you haven't paid your community charge) access will be denied due to the information gathered by Seasun House, which in turn will "void" your card until such time as you have paid your fees! Fascinating to say the least, I hope you agree?

If, after entering the Spa area, you feel the need to abuse the area such as removing any of the gym equipment etc., there will be a record of who was present within the area whilst such a heinous crime was committed, all down to the little magnetic strip on your swipe card (ain't technology great?) And as such, the abuser/abusers could possibly be apprehended, (well that's allright then...no harm done eh?)

3-2-1.................Back to reality..............

The cost of installing such a system and maintaining it is astronomical.............if you are wondering how I am aware of this fact, (Mum lives in a retirement village in the UK which has the exact same system and after speaking to the General Manager, the whole system is fraught with problems!)

Each magnetic card issued to every owner regularly "loses" the information enclosed on the magnetic strip (how many times has your credit card been refused because the magnetic strip has been inadvertantly damaged?) thus rendering it inoperable. When this happens, the card has to be reconfigured or replaced thereby a further cost is involved not to mention the inconvenience.

The card-swipe machine installed on the Spa door needs regular maintenance and frequently is unable to "read" the cards being swiped, so again, access will be denied (what happens should the machine go faulty if you are INSIDE the Spa area and want to get out?) A maintenance contract will have to be drawn up and as such it will be an ongoing charge to the community. Should an engineer be needed, how quickly will the response time be?

The information contained within the magnetic strip will endeavour whether or not access will be allowed to the facilities, I agree that those people who have not paid their community fees should lose the privilege of using the facilities until such time as they have paid their debt to the community, but how can we rely on this information, (which is of a sensitive nature) being handled correctly? Afterall, Seasun House can hardly be accused of running a "tight ship" when it comes to financial affairs! I still haven't had my community fees taken from my bank account whilst others who have paid have had the money taken twice or not credited to their account.............in short, a bloody fiasco!

Imagine having provided your relatives or your client with the card so that they can enjoy the "benefits" which the Spa can offer whilst they take a well-earned break at your apartment and they are denied access................doesn't look to good does it? Hardly professional is it? Doesn't fill  you with confidence either!

What other systems could be employed in order to protect the Spa area from unauthorised usage? Regarding denying access to "debtors" of the community, until such time as we have a firm grip of the facts and the accounting system is to be believed we cannot prevent them from having access no more than we can "name and shame" or seize goods to the value of their debt without going to great expense taking them to court. Unfortunately, this is a fact of life in Spain and something which cannot be factored into the expense of running a community.

So, do we spend lots of lovely money in installing a system which is fraught with problems (not to mention an ongoing expense) or do we just simply exchange the lock on the Spa door for the same lock that is currently installed on the pedestrian gates (which ALL owners possess a key for) thereby enabling owners to choose who they give access to.

No information needed other than "do you have a key?" No......then you can't unlock the door then can you? Access Denied!!

No Seasun House information fiasco, No ongoing expenses to be met, No cards needing new magnetic strips........................Do I need to go on? I think you get the picture!

In short, a cheap, manageable choice rather than an expensive red-herring!

Please let me know your opinions as I really do want to save the community some money!

Regards to you all,

Lorraine (I'm on a mission) Braid.

This message was last edited by arranleesmith on 4/25/2008.

There is another alternative, without 'going over the top'.

A key pad locking system could be used with the code being changed on a regular basis. The gate keeper/security guard could be responsible for giving the code to verified residents (this could be done by merely showing him the apartment key).

Or, as users of the spa will presumably have their keys with them, perhaps a notice stating that if proof of residence (i.e. showing the key) cannot be offered when challenged, then  they will be asked to leave. If they refuse to go then they can be threatened with a session of myself or Ken boring them into submission.

A thought Grumpy!

What if the gatekeeper is on his lunch break or on his weekend off? How will people get to know the code?

Perhaps the same "proposed" key could be used on the paddle and tennis courts? That would stop the "free-loaders" from abusing the facilities!

Regards from an extremely hot Spain (sorry),

Lorraine.

It shouldn't be too difficult to administer. Maybe the code should be changed on a regular basis, monthly perhaps first or last day or whatever. If owners know when the code is going to be changed, they  can be prared for it and if they are renting out, the guests can be given the information or be told how to obtain it.

AND - YOU LITTLE MINX - DON'T SHOW  OFF ABOUT THE WEATHER, 'COS ONE DAY RECENTLY, IT WAS HOTTER HERE THAN  THERE!

Saludos cordiales

G

 

Lorraine,

I fully agree with your suggestion to use the gate key on not only the Spa but the tennis courts as well. Whilst Grumps suggestion is quite good it would cause me some aggravation as we often arrive around 23.00 on a Saturday night therefore I would need to find out what the code in use was.

Surely the less cost effective way would be to use the gate key?

Many thanks for efforts on our behalf Lorraine

Best wishes

Denis

only one thought about using the existing gate key - it appears from other threads that some folk who aren't residents or our guests, have a key and are accessing the development to use the leisure facilities. 

I would be willing to put towards new locks on the facilities and to pay for an additional 1 or 2 keys for users of the apartment (prefer 2 as sometimes one of us wants to go to the indoor pool whilst the other 2 go to play tennis etc)

nuflow7 your infiltration technique has uncovered misuse of our facilities paid for by us the community and the locks need changing now,therefore if the Presidenta or her VPs read this thread ,can we please have new locks.

Maybe the builders' families are using the facilities, in which case changing the locks may not make a difference.

If different locks are fitted to the facilities this may help the situation. If access is required for maintenance/repair, the contractor should contact the security guard to open up but not be allowed to take any keys off the site..

I would hope that any contractor or builder would NOT be given keys.  If keys are being handed out, then WHO is authorising this?  What is to stop these people from getting the keys copied and handing them out to others?  Maybe this is why the facilties are being abused by freeloaders or maybe they just walk through the gate on foot unchallenged?

We have a gatehouse, CCTV, locking side gates and  remote controlled main access gates.  In addition to all of this, we have a manned gatehouse within the hours that these contractors would (normally) visit the site, so there is no reason I can see why they should be given keys. 

It is a little worrying that gates have been left open in the past and cars/vans do not seem to be scrutinised as well as they could be, but hopefully now that we are administrating our own community, we will be able to put these issues right.

 

Unfortunately, as can be seen from many other posts on this forum, builders and maybe others DO have keys, not only to the complex , but to many properties which have snagging issues.
 
This is of considerable concern, particularly as there are reports of theft of personal items from property whilst the owners are not in residence and snagging is being dealt with; also use of electricity for purposes not allied to the property from which it is taken.

In my opinion the question of keys and security of the site and individuals property is extremely serious and needs to be addressed as soon as possible.

If anybody read this posting before I removed it, may I apologise. It was not my intention to cast aspersions on individuals characters, just to prevent a situation arising.

Regards,

Lorraine.

This message was last edited by arranleesmith on 4/27/2008.

The selfishness of some is unbelievable.

 

It seems wrong to use our complex ,when they have not contributed.

This message was last edited by Ruby Tuesday on 4/27/2008.

It seems that although no individual was named, Lorraine must have hit a raw spot.

It is sad that she felt she had to withdraw her post as it seems to me she was carrying out her duties in making the remark.

If the individual(s) concerned feel the comments were incorrect or unfair, please remedy the situation on this forum.

To make my position clear, I have never met Lorraine and do not know the identity of the guilty party, but I do know that a great deal of unpaid work goes on behind the scenes to attempt to make the community a great place for all. For that, I am grateful and will support wherever possible.

 

Grumpy ,the stuation appears to be that ,the facilities on another urbanisation are out of use and an access fob has been given to individuals to use our  facilities. If the above is incorrect ,would those concerned please inform.

This just confirms the need for passes,as described in the Presidenta's report.

 

This message was last edited by kenshaz on 4/28/2008.

If that is the case Ken, perhaps the individual who has taken it upon his/her self to offer the use of our facilities should explain who gave permission, or if no permission was obtained, why he/she  felt they had the authority  to give out keys.

I have no objection in principle to near neighbours using our facilities when the need arises, but there has to be conditions agreed with our elected representatives.

I think the passes will go a long way towards addressing these issues.   We could have a tax disc style durable owner's pass and, for those renting, a visitor's pass to be handed out by the keyholder.  If the freeloader situation still arose after that, then either the security is at fault or someone's keyholder is handing out passes when they should not be! 

I have some family friends going to our apartment later this week. I have bought some self adhesive, business card size laminate wallets. I also have had some free business cards printed from vista print with our name and apartment number on. I also print out in business card size the name of the hirer, the dates they are due to be there and keyholder details. I print one and stick them together so that they can either a) keep it in the car when on site and b) if anyone should ask while they are on site why they are there, they have something to show.

I realise this is done on a personal leve, but it may be a consideration for others?

Mark

I feel that it would be an excellent idea to have some form of identification on cars and Mr Fish's idea is simple and easy to start,but we need a system that is recognised by  the gateman and when it is running ,it could be tested by the President,like mystery shopping to check if he is doing his job and checking vehicles.

As I mentioned in the update of my meeting with Monica on the 17th April, a scheme for owner & visitor passes is being considered.

When visitor passes are issued, they will also be given a copy of the development rules which will also mean that they have no excuses if they do not behave in accordance with the rules.

Noreen