I was in the Town Hall this morning assisting a couple to get their certificates of empadronimiento when I was involved in a conversation about the amount of work which the Town Hall clerical staff seem to have to do. It transpires that when Isa took over the official role of Secretary to the Town Hall she was only to take this post temporarily. It was understood by her that they we would be getting another full time secretary and that she could return to her normal duties thereafter. However, no one has yet been recruited (after 10 months) and she is still having to do both jobs which is why many administrative things are not dealt with efficiently. I will be pushing Candido to get on with the process of trying to recruit a new secretary as soon as we can. I do believe a gentle man with the appropriate qualifications has made contact but it is not yet know if he is interested in taking the post.
Andreas also showed me how he has another task to perform and that is the work of the Unemployment office. They have sited a machine in the Town Hall where those who claim unemployment benefits have to use this machine to confirm they are still unemployed each month. It is supposed to be simple but of course the elderly find it confusing and so he has to spend a lot of time assisting them completing the requirements. It does seem as if everyone is a bit overworked at the Town Hall at the moment.
The reason this subject came up was because I was asking about whether we had sorted out the situation for the residents of the Socribo houses to get their transformer sited. It was a task which should be done by Isa but she had not been directed to sort it out but she will try and do so in the near future.
I had hoped to have a discussion with Candido but he had to dash out with the Polizia Local to deal with something. So it will have to wait until next week.
I was able to book the Renfe for the NHW AGM on 30th November and hope to have Candido attend this as well.
I was informed that there was to be a Flamenca show of its history in Almeria at the Municipal Theatre at 2030 hours Friday 27th November. I believe it is to be free of charge and I have not been told of any need to have tickets. Should there be any change to that I will post.
Also found out that we were going to have the payment structure for the WiFi included in the last Pleno but that Isa had not had sufficient time to check out all the legalities so it should be included in the next Pleno.
Just to inform you that the budget for 2009 was agreed in Pleno tonight. I have full details of the figures for the income and outgoings if anyone is interested. No agreement was reached on any future expenditure yet due to the small surplus in the accounts. If savings are made or discovered later then consideration can be given to any of the suggested future actions.
We also agreed all the articles which would apply to establish and regularise the appropriate norms and conditions for the Town Halls work and those who work for it. This was a lengthy rehash of previously agreed processes and figures covering everything from marriage licences to workers holidays and monies for students and the nursery etc. Fortunately I was handed a paper list of all these issues as there was no way I could have followed the verbal outline of all these things covered as they were by Candido at a phonomenal speed. Again if anyone wishes to see these details just let me know.
To ensure I didn't miss anything I will try and clarify through Andreas and Candido by Friday.
Just returned from the 1st Remembrance Day service ever held in Zurgena church (San Ramon Nonato).
For a first occasion it was quite well attended although I suppose I was a little disappointed at the numbers.
The service was led by the local priest, Padre Manuel Harada, who came across as a very friendly and affable person who extended, to all, an invitation to use the church at any time.
I was grateful that Candido agreed to attend but I think he was a bit nervous about it as I got a call on my way to the service from him asking if I would meet him at the Town Hall prior to going to the service. He showed a lot of interest in what we were doing as in Spain they do not quite have the same remembrance service. They do have a day in the year for remembrance but it is primarily for the military and the chiefs.
I didn't bother him about other things this morning as we have a Pleno tonight at 5.0pm and I am hoping to meet with him again before the end of the week.
I have been speaking with the engineer in Madrid who installed the system and he has been answering questions through the earlier blog thread headed WiFi and he has suggested that anyone with problems or queries uses the forum at the below link.
zurgenawifi.foroactivo.net/
I will try and get an english translation on as soon as I get the time.
Will try and see Candido tomorrow morning.
Just for information the Royal British legion are holding a remembrance day service in Zurgena church at 110.am on Wednesday 11th. The service will be in both English and Spanish to remember the fallen of both countries.
Called in to the Town Hall this morning and managed to catch Candido briefly. He was sitting surrounded by about 30 boxes of papers which he informed me were the papers they had been to collect from the Courts last Friday. He now, instead of cracking on with the PGOU has to check all the boxes of papers to see what is missing or damaged. I did notice that a few boxes had obviously been subject to water damage. He told me that because of that and the missing papers they had gone with the solicitors to the Guardia Office in la Alfoquia to lodge a denuncia against the courts for the state of the returned paperwork.
I then asked what I had missed at the end of the party meeting last Thursday night when everyone got excited. Basically I had not missed much. Manolo was saying that again he felt Candido should be doing more to relinquish his responsibilities in the fields of security, culture etc so that he can concentrate on PGOU etc. After much heated argument they had agreed that this should happen. The budget id not allow us much scope to do things in the remainder of this year but if we could find some savings from the projected costs of things such as street lighting etc we could fund up to 220,000 euros worth of projects in the 2010 budget.
He then told me that he had questioned the new Spanish teacher who runs the classes at La Alfoquia and Zurgena regarding my question about people from other areas filling up the classes. He firstly said that he had met the new teacher who was bilingual which he felt was much more satisfactory than the previous ones who could only speak Spanish. He said he had confidence in the new teacher and found him to be very helpful. He said that he had 3 grades of classes 1 beginner 2 little Spanish and 3 basic competency in Spanish. He said he had space in both the classes at La Alfoquia and Zurgena for classes 2 and 3 but that at the moment he only had room for about 4 new pupils in Class one and they were at Zurgena. He did say that if there was real demand for more places at La Alfoquia we would have to try and find bigger premises to cater for a larger number. I said I would feed back any requests.
Regarding the WiFi and the problems some people were having Candido stated that some people were under the impression that they could just connect an aerial to their PC but that that was not enough they would need to either use one of the Airmax aerials which incorporate a receiver or connect a USB drive for the aerial to go through or use either a 'Buffalo" or router. I asked if any more aerials are available yet and he said they had 5 which they were going to test today and although they are not quite as good as the dearer ones (they are priced about 45 euros) they should do the job. They would however, be better where someone fits an uninterruptible power supply, as they would need to be reset each time the power went off otherwise.Once they have tested them they would let me know. I did say we need to know who is available to install these and I forgot to get an answer. I will check once I know they are working. I also highlighted that Palaces was still had problems and he told me that Enrique should sort it out today. I asked how we should feed any problems or queries back and he suggested that we should use the forum on the Zurgena site. that way Juan in Madrid culd pick it up and sort it. It was unfair to put more work onto Andreas.
I also asked how many people I could have on my padron as I keep helping people get on the padron using my address and I was beginning to worry that it may cause me a problem. He said it would not be a problem but that when I did add anyone I should ensure that Juan records it as a separate family unit otherwise I might be liable for a lot of tax!
Will try and see him again before the end of the week re other outstanding matters.
I went to the evening meeting last night at 5.30pm. I was told that it would either be in the Town Hall or the bar. When I reached the Town Hall it was locked and appeared deserted so went to the bar but no one was there. So for the first time used my key to unlock the Town Hall door and found them upstairs in a back room. The meeting started quite promptly for one of these and we went through the papers showing the budgeted amounts for everything for the Town Hall. I did not have an interpreter so it was very hard work keeping up but I think I got most of it. The meeting went quite well for the first hour but then we got bogged down in a heated discussion about whether we could save money outsourcing tasks such as street cleaning etc. This discussion completely lost me as it got more heated they started speaking too fast for me and I told Candido that at the end and he said he would fill me in when we next meet either Thursday morning or next Tuesday. The meeting finished at 8.0pm without reaching any conclusions on what projects we could or could not afford.
I met with the Teniente (Chief of Police) at Garrucha at 9.30am today with the coordinator for NHW from Sierra Cabrera and he enthusiastically supported the concept and ways of Neighbourhood Watch. He also agreed to help in anyway he could with his colleagues in other Guardia stations. It is a shame that in Garrucha we only have the one scheme up at Turre. If anyone knows of anyone interested in NHW in the Garrucha area now would be a great time for them to contact me.
I then went to the Town Hall to assist a couple who desperately needed to get onto the Padron but did not have a Cert of 1st Habitation. This was no problem and we used a process, which anyone who needs to do similar, to get a certificate of empadronimiento. If you or anyone you know is in such a situation eg needing a cert of padron then if you have a friend (preferably in the same municipality) who is on the Padron and paying his basura tax then you can go onto the register at that address. All that is needed is the sponsoring person needs to attend with you at the Town Hall and be in possession of latest basura receipt. The applicants will need to have their NIE and passport documents with them.
After sorting that out I had hoped to see Candido however I had noticed two of the councils solicitors arrive so I suspected that I would not manage that and I was correct. He was involved in a meeting with them which was to take some time and then tomorrow he and they were going down to the Courts in Almeria to retake possession of some more of the documenst which the Guardia had seized from the Town Hall in their investigation in 2008. I will see him early next week and find out a) what I missed at the end of the meeting on Wednesday night, b) how he got on with the courts, c) how we can manage complaints about the WiFi as at the moment we don't have a way of doing that satisfactorily and d) some of more my/your ongoing list.
I have had quite a busy week so far this week primarily with Neighbourhood Watch stuff. The coordinator at Turre was having problems with the Guardia Civil not getting onside but following a meeting we had this morning they are much happier to support us and then we have to meet with their bosses at Garrucha tomorrow at 9.30am so we should be able to et them to support us as well, although we do not have a scheme in the Garrucha area.
Been waiting for an opportunity to see Candido this week but each day he has been busy checking possible budget options for this year and as a result I got a call at 4.0pm today asking if I can make a meeting at 5.30pm this afternoon to agree our suggested actions for the budget. Andreas is unable to make it but I will attend and hopefully understand some of it. That which I do not understand I can sort out in the morning, as I have another meeting in the Town Hall at 11.0am to assist a local resident get on the padron without a Licence of 1st Occupation.
I also want to try and sort out a way in which we can address any problems with the new WiFi system because at the moment all I have is a Skype number for the system engineer.
Had a meeting with Candido this morning for about an hour and was able to get some answers to some of the issues.
Firstly they had resolved the problem with the sewerage at Llanos del Peral.
Next I asked about reports in the press where the Mayor of Arboleas was trumpeting how advanced they were with their PGOU. We had a long discussion about this as it is not as simple as it sounds. They, Arboleas Town Hall, had a local Subsidiary Norm which applied to certain areas of their municipality. They are using this as the basis for their LOUA which is a staging post between their norms and the PGOU. So in fact that is a two stage process. Candido said that we are subject to provincial subsidiary norms and because of that we have to go straight from our ideas to the PGOU. He did however say that he still felt optimistic that our processes would be the most timely and more importantly comprehensive.
I then asked about the letter for the people who needed a letter to allow Endesa to install the necessary electrical equipment for the Socribo houses. He told me that they had been unable to find the original letter which would have been the best option as now they will have to establish the correct legal procedure as the Town hall cannot be seen to be giving away or selling public land. Isa is trying to ascertain what course of action to take to ensure that the letter is legally correct.
I raised the issue which I had been contacted about last week regarding the Spanish lessons in the village. I had been told that people from Arboleas were filling the classes up so that local people could not get into the class. I was told that the Town Hall only supply the premises but he would look into how much say we can have in who attends these classes as they are organised by Dept of Education.
I asked whether we were in a position yet to issue small licences. He told me that only on properties where the court cases had completely concluded eg Prodelor etc. could we issue any licences for pools etc.
I again asked about the Gun Clubs application for a licence. He said he was surprised that they had not heard back from Almeria yet as usually such applications are turned round quickly so he wondered if there was already a problem with the application. He said that in the normal course of events once Almeria has processed the initial application it should go to the Town Hall with a date by which all persons whose properties bound the site should be informed and he promised to inform me when and if that happened.
I the asked on behalf of the residents of the area near the pool bar if the fence which runs between the pool bar terrace and the swimming pool could be hinged to allow a larger area for people to enjoy. He said that was a matter we would need to discuss as there were issues around the automatic irrigation and the grass. He was not saying no but that we needed to discuss the options.
I asked if there was any news he could give me regarding his current work on the budgets. He said he would as soon as he had finished.
He did tell me that they were still working very hard on the PGOU and that things were going quite well. He was obviously reluctant to go into detail as it is still all subject to negotiation and he does not want to say or do anything which might impact these discussions. He promised that as soon as he had anything which I could communicate he would let me know.
Called in on spec today primarily to find out how I could pay the traffic denuncia which I received last week from Granada. The denuncia did not have any telephone numbers or email addresses or any suggestion of where to pay the 40 euros!
After 6 phone calls I eventually managed to get someone to email me the banks and the account into which I could pay the fine.
Whilst there I discovered that if anyone wishes to burn any rubbish then it is necessary to apply for a permit from the Town Hall. I discovered this as a result of overhearing a conversation between two Spanish ladies and Andreas. It transpired that last year they had been told not to bother with a permit and had received a 3,000 euro fine. There is also an issue about how far your bonfire is going to be from a hill. If it is less than 400 metres than an even more in depth application has to be made.
So if you know of anyone who is intending to burn rubbish please inform them that they will a) need to know how far from the nearest hill (even if a small one) and b) will have to apply for a permit in advance.
Also whilst there I spoke with Peter Parkin from Los Menchones. he had learnt from this bog that they were hopeful of getting their lights switched on. I told him that Candido was trying to get this done but was awaiting the report from the architect to ensure that it was all okay before he did so. Mr Parkin then told me about a mains cable which crosses over his swimming pool which he wanted moved. In our discussion we then realised that the Town Hall's architect would not give the necessary permission if this was the case as that would not be a complete and safe bit of infrastructure. He was advised that they need to ensure that Endesa carry out this work asap in order for the Town Hall to be able to sign off the infrastructure.
Candido's wife called into the Town Hall while I was there and after enquiring what the British Legion poppy appeal was about donated generously to the collection tin.
I had hoped to see Candido but he was just going into a meeting so I have agreed to see him tomorrow morning.
To update you regarding the WiFi as many people have been asking.
The current situation is that we have the original aerials up and running covering most of the municipality but there are areas where the signal is not very strong and we are awaiting an upgrade to the system.
If anyone is considering this system the suggestion is that you see if you have direct line of sight to the top of the Clock tower in Zurgena then try and get a connection directly. If that fails to establish a good enough connection there are two options. You can buy a small aerial to plug into you USB port but sometimes that will still not give a good enough signal. In this case then you may need an external aerial and cabling from the aerial to the PC. You can either buy and install this yourself or if you wish Mike Gayne (mobile telephone no is 687601567) who is a ex BT engineer can visit and check your signal and install any necessary stuff. His prices seem reasonable.
The alternative to that is to await the new delivery of Airmax aerials, which the Town Hall has ordered, and are due before the end of the month. I had the last one (of the first delivery) of these installed last week and am getting about 2 meg.
