Some weeks ago I was asked if I would agree to being interviewed by a television producer in relation to my standing for the council. The producer was making a pilot film which he was going to try and sell to Sky television for showing on the 'Living in Spain' television channel.
He interviewed a lady called Jo Tissington from Albox, who had stood on the list for the PSOE party (although she was to low down the list to get a seat on the council) and myself.
He sent the completed film off with a few shots of the local area. He has now heard back from the television company and they liked it, however they wanted it made longer by including interviews with the Mayors concerned and some shots of me at work in the Town Hall. I will be seeing Candido in the morning, hoepfully and will see if he is agreeable.
Got a call from the Town Hall today asking me to call in in the morning with my bank details so that they can start to credit my account for attendance at meetings. I will confirm what that amounts to when I know although I suspect it will be the €100 per Pleno meeting agreed some weeks ago.
Due to some queries regarding the use of this blog I have decided to place in this post all my contact details as a member of the press suggested.
My personal email is jimsuesimpson@fastmail.fm
My Council email is zurgenacouncil@hotmail.co.uk
My mobile phone no is 661147554.
Just so that everyone is aware; I am not on a salary from the Town Hall, I am not even on expenses. I have received nada since started working for the party in April. I believe that all councillors will at some stage receive something for attending the Pleno meetings of which I have attended 3.
Anyone can add comments to this blog by clicking on the link but if any problems just email me.
Due to not having had any meetings or contact with the Town Hall for more than a few weeks and, after seeing an article in the Costa Almeria News, which stated that the council of Zurgena were considering resigning en masse due to the Junta's intransigence over the development plans(the PGOU) , I asked to see Candido; a. to discuss this and b. to discuss why we are not dealing with people's issues.
As usual and despite obviously being very busy I was able to have half an hour with him.
Firstly I raised the issue of this article being published when I knew nothing about its content and, as many of the points in the article impacted on the ex pat community, I wanted to know why that had happened. The reason I agreed to stand for the council was so that communication between the expat community and the Town Hall could be improved. After reading the article Candido told me that he himself was not aware of it, but thouught he could explain the reason for it. He explained that prior to the 22nd October one of the main men for agreeing the Plan General at the Junta had asked for a meeting and intimated that they would reach a compromise but that all the Town Hall staff were to stay silent and make no mention to the press. This the council agreed to, however, on the day of the meeting Candido and Manual Tijeras (Deputy Mayor and President of the commission for urbanisation) attended at Almeria with all the plans the Junta dismissed the plans and reiterated their position that everything in Zurgena is illegal with the exception of the old village. Both Manuel and Candido were disgusted at this stance feeling as they did that the meeting was going to be a sdtep forward not backwards. He felt that Manuel had released this statement to the press to try and put some more pressure on the Junta.
Secondly I asked whether I could start trying to get issues resolved at the council as I had a long list but was waiting until things had quietened down. Candido stated that although the vast majority of his and the main councillors work was taken up with trying to get things sorted regarding the P.G. that I should make more of a nuisance of myself in the Town Hall and raise issues that I needed to progress.
I therefore raised two issues as examples of the 20 odd I had had referred to me since the election.
1. The issue of the supply of water to two houses which were not covered by the plan and to which Galasa were refusing to connect to the mains. Candido informed me that Manuel had very good contacts with Galasa and that if I provided him with the necessary documents he would take the case up.
2. I then raised the issue of about 11 houses in the Carasoles area who are paying their basura tax but have not veven been assigned a basura. After discussing this it was agreed that the councillor responsible for dealing with Consorcio de Levante would take this case up, if I provided him with certain information which I agreed to.
We concluded the meeting with the agreement that I would call in to the Town Hall at least once a week with one or two issues from my list and we would try and progress these.
I had not realised I could be such a nuisance but it seems that is the best way. So from now on will use my position a bit more forcibly.
Apologies but I have nothing to report. We were supposed to be having a party meeting last week but that was cancelled at the last minute. I had hoped to be able to pose questions to the relevant councillors regarding adoption of developments by the Town Hall and infrastructure etc
I appreciate that the Town Hall are busy but I hope we can get some things moving soon.
I had heard a rumour that our mayor may have a meeting with someone from the Junta soon. I hope this is true and we can make some progress on the plan and help people, who are in a quandary regarding the legality of their properties, see an end to the problems.
At this moment I feel a very ineffective. The girls at the Town Hall are very friendly and keep telling me to use it as my office, but at the moment I have no work to do! I am awaiting guidance from Candido before I can get involved with the Police and there has been no arrangements for the Environment Committee to meet.
Hope to have something more to report soon.
One thing I forgot to mention in my last post is that the Town Hall are having WiFi installed. I am not sure yet how far it will cover the area but a help for communication in the area.
Surprised only 4 people have submitted complaints re Post Office. I thought the vast majority of people were fed up with the situation. Please take the time to complete the complaint form at the below link.
http://www.correos.es/ENG/08-AtencionCliente/0801_b-quejas.asp
Immediately after our Pleno meeting this morning we, Candido (mayor), Manolo (deputy mayor), Council Secretary, Andreas and I adjourned to the local bar where I had the opportunity of putting some questions to him regarding issues which were particulary causing concern amongst the expat community;
1. The latest list of 63 properties in the Cuesta De Los Pinos area where the occupants have been served with notices that their properties are illegal; I asked what the situation was regarding this. Candido explained that again this was another case where the Junta were referring all cases to the courts. He stated that the individuals should not be concerned firstly, because the letter is merely informing them, of the fact that the council is being taken to court for these licences having been granted, not the individuals. He added that there was even better news and that was that the Junta have withdrawn their intention to take these cases to court. I have a copy of the letter (in Spanish) but if you want a copy (for example for a solicitor) then please email me and I will forward you a copy. The advice of the Town Hall was that individuals could engage a solicitor but that it was not necessary as the Council would be defending any such actions.
He further explained that a similar situation seems to be arising in other areas e.g. Carasoles was subject to a stop order and some listed properties by the Junta buit they have also withdrwan all of these. it appears that the Junta now realises they are going to lose all the cases and might have had to pay compensation and so ceased that action. It is becoming apparent that the politically motivated actions of the Junta are beginning to run out of steam and we are totally confident of reaching the end of this fiasco soon.
2. Health; Many people had reported to me that they had difficulty getting to see the doctor at La Alfoquia or Zurgena. Candido expressed some surprise at this as only 3 years ago there was only one doctor for 2,000 people and there is now 2 doctors for 2,600. He explained that whilst the Town Hall are responsioble for paying for the electric, upkeep, water and cleaning but not the salaries or recruitment of the doctors. that responsibility is the Junta's. he explained that the long term aim is to have a proper health centre staffed throughout the day 7 days a week but that that will take time. He advises that everyone should register with one of the doctors. This will increase the amount of money the doctor earns but will also give a truer picture of the services needed. The doctors cannot, by law, refuse to treat anyone registered with them.
3. The situation regarding the P.G.O.U. As explained in the article of the Pleno 28.9 below.
4. Spanish Classes. I was informed that the old school house in Llanos del Peral is soon to be opened as a Spanish language school. This is by the provision of another teacher who will commence her duties within the next month or so.
5. We have permission to erect our NWS street signs in any areas where there is an active coordinator.
6. Correos. He agreed regarding the mass complaint action as suggested in my post of 26th September. Please use the link to complain and advise me on my council email at zurgenacouncil@hotmail.co.uk
Please use this email for any council related matters
Our first full and proper Pleno meeting took place in the new Ayuntamiento this morning.
I was introduced to our new council secretary who is able to speak a little English and comes across as very efficient. Again our Mayor had to invoke a little used rule which allowed us to recruit the new secretary. The correct procedure is to go to the Regional government and ask them to supply a secretary, however that was obviously not a good idea given their treatment of our and other non PSOE councils. So to ensure that we employed someone who would work efficently for the benefit of our community, the council discovered a rule which allowed us to engage a 'commission servicios' basically a temporary secretary but we hope to make her permamnent in the future
The agenda covered the resignation of one of our party Maria Isabel Segura Egea due to a conflict of interests. This is a shame as she was one of the most friendly and supportive members of the council.
We then discussed and approved a whole raft of new local taxes, which we should have been collecting but hadn't been. These included taxes for documents provided, opening of new businesses, fines for damage to public places, licences for the parcelation of land and others. I hope to get a full list of the price of these taxes in the future. We also decided to take the matter of collecting the IBI (council tax) ourselves as the regional government are dragging their feet, presumably to try and starve us of funds with which to operate.
Then Candido really surprised us all, and particularly the opposition councillors, by informing us that for the first time in Spanish history the Ayuntamiento has referred the PGOU (Plan General) to the Junta for them to decide what we can and cannot do. The council had become totally fed up with every time they submitted any plan the Junta were saying "no". In light of the fact that regional and national elections are to be held in March this is a good time to put them under pressure. Any decision they make they will obviously impact on their vote come the elections. We anticipate a great deal of interest from the Spanish media by taking this course of action and of course hope to get some semblance of normality in our ability to perform our role.
In an effort to get something done about the Post Office and mail in this area I am still awaiting a hard copy complaint form however, I have discovered that there is an electronic version on the Correos web site.at this link.
http://www.correos.es/ENG/08-AtencionCliente/0801_b-quejas.asp
Would everyone who has a complaint about the correos please complete and send it to the them. Please highlight your particular complaint and also that a) you do not get any deliveries and b) that the Post Office at La Alfoquia is not open for long enough.
When you have done please email me with your name and complaint and we will take the whole issue up with the manager responsible. It would help if everyone would lodge their complaint and let me know that they have done.
My new email for all council matters is zurgenacouncil@hotmail.co.uk
In relation to the rumours and the letters that people have been receiving rcently from the Junta denouncing them for illegal houses I am advised that this is a second list of named properties subject of this course of action. I am told that it is a continuation of the Political infighting between PSOE and councils not controlled by them The agenda for Friday's Pleno meeting has a number of points regarding PGOU (Plan General) so I may find out more then but I have heard, an unsubstantiated rumour, that the Junta have made a miscalculation regarding the houses at Cuest de Los Pinos and that those 63 named will be discontinued. Will keep you posted.
Whilst I have not been able to start pursuing any of the individual issues, which people have asked me to do, I thought I would try and progress the issue of the Correos.
I made a request of Juan Mi at the last Pleno meeting way back in July to obtain for me a complaints form from the Post Office and I volunteered to ensure that as many people complete this form. I agreed to coordinate the collection of these forms and try and arrange a meeting with whoever was the appropriate manager at the Correos to discuss our complaints. Yesterday, I was informed by Andreas that he has been asked (by JuanMi) to collect a form from Huercal Overa and that he will get copies of it and let me have them. I will also scan it and circulate it electronically to NWS members and will arrange publicity for this issue through the press and radio. So at least we can try and start progressing that issue.
A lady called Jo Tissigton and myself were recently interviewed on camera for the pilot of some programmes to be aired on 'Living in Spain' T.V. channel. It was basically a programme examining expats who have become involved in local politics and trying to encourage others to do so. Jo is a very atractive young lady who is fluently bilingual and who lives just outside Albox. She was listed in the elections for the PSOE party. Her party won their election but not by sufficient neumbers for Jo to get a seat. However, she has been appointed as the officer for the attention to immigrants. So possibly an even better result than winning a seat.
Regarding building developements in this area; it appeared that someone had purchased the remote villa to the west of the Cucador/Llanos Del Peral Road and had started preparing the ground some 23,000 sq metres for possible building works. The Conservation people at the Junta attended and I believe the work has stopped.
Looking forward to a week on Friday when hopefully that Pleno meeting will herald the start of getting some work done.
Returned from holiday and arranged to meet with Candido our Mayor to try and start to progress some 9 individual issues raised by expats in the area. These mainly concerned legality of builds, water supply and electric supply.
When I got into his office I could see that he, and the chief administrative assistant, were hard at work with a mountain of paperwork around them. I explained that I felt I should be able to start trying to progress people's issues now that the holidays were over. Candido asked if I would be patient as they could not deal with individual cases until they clear the backlog which would take about 3 weeks.I felt rather frustrated but also could see the problem. He stated in mitigation thatlittle work had been able to be done snce prior to the elections due, firstly to forming the new Council given the mistake of the old secretary, secondly the holidays and lastly the lack of a council secretary for more than a month.I agreed to wait until the end of the month before trying again. He did inform me that when we get to that stage it would be his intention for all councillors to sit down around the table and each could pose the issues to the responsible councillors for resolutions or answers. I said that would help as I felt currently Andreas was becoming a bit of a fotball getting a kicking from each side when I should take more responsibility and he agreed.
I also asked about the Correos as this is one of the most pressing issues and Andreas is to again (I asked him for them some 5 weeks ago) contact Juan Mi who should get the forms for me to circulate. As it is an issue, that impacts on the Spanish commumnity as well, we will need to coordinate the action.
I also asked about how I could have input into the Police with that being my main area of responsibility and Candido asked again if I would wait until the end of the month as he anticipated a small battle when he tries to adjust their shifts to provide more cover. Once he had overcome this hurdle he would sort out my role with them and was happy to hear of new ideas.
