Conversation with a Presidents Wife

Question: Why isn't the pool open during the Easter holidays? We really want to use it as do other owners (both English and Spanish) and we've come here on holiday only to find everything is closed.

Answer: Right now you can use either the river or the sea. It's a bit too cold anyway to use the pool. The problem is that there are now so many non-payers the cost is simply too much to open the pool during this time. The pool will open instead on the 1st of May.

Question: Well we're not very happy about this. We’re only here 2-3 times a year but pay for all facilities for a year and it’s only the school holidays from the last week in July until August that we have any chance of using any facilities. Perhaps next year we'll have to install UK Presidents in each block and change the dates that the pool opens, to ensure everyone is kept happy. This urbanisation is made up of owners from many different countries - not just Spanish - and as neighbours we all want our needs to be met but no-one seems to be listening or asking non-Spanish owners. (Here I'm referring to the 90 votes…mainly non-Spanish but also Spanish owners as well) to have the pool open in Easter collected by UK Owner Jan Gill - helping to provide a clear majority vote to have the pool open ready for Easter. The Presidents then ignored this and recently held a meeting of “Presidents-only” which resulted in them voting just between themselves leading to the pool closure during Easter).

Answer: If I lived in the UK I would abide by UK rules. In Spain you need to abide by Spanish rules. Here you also have to respect the Siesta and keep quiet …but people don't.

Question: Isn't siesta time a little old fashioned now, as other parts of Spain don't have siesta and usually people work through it? Also the main people who seem to make a noise during siesta when I've visited the pool last year, were all Spanish people. The thing is the people who purchased a home overlooking the pool did so for the great views - so they balanced this against the noise from living so close to the pool. I did speak to a Spanish family who live opposite the pool and they don't have any issues with noise and say they can't really hear it.

Answer: I find the noise bothers me because I can hear the noise. No – is still a tradition here in Andalucia to have a siesta. It isn't about sleep but about rest. You have to respect the Spanish culture if you want to live here, although most of the noise comes from people who are renting. You should also attend the general meetings if you can - do you do that? (I confirmed no I didn't - as they mostly seem to be at a time when we're working...and I'd probably not understand too much when it's spoken in fast Andaluz Spanish anyway - to which she shrugged as if that couldn't be helped. I did however mention that electronic voting would be a far better solution since there are so many overseas or absent owners who don't live here the whole year).

Question: So...how much does it cost to keep the pool open?

Answer: It costs 800 euros per month for cleaning chemicals alone - the cost is more in the summer as there are more people so more chemicals are needed to keep the pool clean. (Note to self: check the accounts and get other quotes as well - this cost seems very high).

Question: That seems a lot to spend each month just on chemicals. However, given that the Spanish schools have 1 week holiday and the UK has 2 weeks holiday, why couldn't you open the pool just for Easter and then re-open it again fully in say the middle of May rather than at the beginning of May? This represents the same number of weeks open, and keeps all owners like ourselves happy, as we can only take holidays during official school holidays and would appreciate the ability to use facilities like the pool. It will also help those who rent out their properties as well.

Answer: No we can't do that - part of the reason is that if we open it for Semana Santa (Easter) we would have to pay to maintain the pool until we are ready to re-open it fully, otherwise the water would go green etc... We can't just open it and close it for a few weeks and then re-open it again without maintaining it, because maintaining it costs money.

Question: Well, this is a real problem also for those people wanting to rent their apartments - it's difficult to rent if you can't offer facilities like a pool during key holidays such as Semana Santa when the weather this year is fairly hot. Some people purchased their property just as an investment so if you make it difficult for them to rent, then they may also find it difficult to pay their community fees - which means even less money for the whole community.

Answer: The people who rent apartments cause the most problems here. Renters don't treat the place the same as owners. There is also stealing where the renters leave the Block door propped open so anyone to get in. Once thieves gain access to the front door they can then access the stairs down to the garage. We've had a few bikes go missing lately from the garage (Note: I had a sink stolen from the garage too). We have now changed the doors in 2 blocks so that they don't stay open but naturally swing close. My husband got a carpenter to do the work.

Question: Looking at the pool now, I'd say it looks clean and up and running – is that not the case? (Note: We had reports that the pool was actually safe to use but is being fenced off regardless, so we just wanted to check as it’s been running for several days already. Certainly the 3 people swimming in the pool while I was talking to the Presidents wife reported “no ill effects” the following day)

Answer: No - the chemicals are very strong and very bad for you. If you get in the swimming pool now it could be very dangerous and you may have problems with your skin. It is not safe to use right now.

Question: If you aren't opening until the 1st May, isn't this rather early to be cleaning the pool?

Answer: No - it takes around a month to clean.

Question: Can you tell me what are you doing about the non-payers? We should be taking them to court if they aren’t paying because they are affecting everyone’s ability to fully enjoy the urbanisation.

Answer: We are denouncing them - we denounced someone over there (pointing to a ground floor apartment on the East side of the pool) recently.

Question: What does this mean financially to the urbanisation? Do you get money from them after you denounce them? Do they lose their home if they still don’t pay?

Answer: Here her answer gets a bit woolly...it doesn't seem that they receive money after issuing a 'Denouncia'

Question: So how do we get in touch with our President if we need to talk?

Answer: The details are in your block. There is also WhatsApp so you can discuss things although if you have problems you should also speak to the administrator.

Question: We can’t see any details in our Block…(we invite her in to look at the noticeboard in our block to show us where)

Answer: OK the names and numbers are there (she quickly removes a piece of paper hiding all the names and numbers from view and re-sites the offending paper to the other side of the door). BUT this isn’t the name of your current President or his contact number…that’s the name and number of the old President.

At this point, I scrabble around for pen and paper to take down the correct contact details but I haven’t anything to write on, so we call an end to the chat with shared smiles. She was a lovely lady and trying her best to answer lots of questions. While I may disagree with decisions made, we are first and foremost neighbours.

We just now need to all figure-out how to make the urbanisation work for everyone.

Personally I would prefer to engage an Independent Company to run this place instead of the elected Presidents (some of whom in both the past and present seem to have their own agenda). This is what many other urbanisations in Spain choose to do.

These companies provide a legal service and have a duty of care so everyone is clear about what’s happening, everyone’s viewpoint is taken into account and a general consensus is then taken. They have properly audited accounts and no hidden agendas. The money goes where it is needed and people who don’t pay will be taken to task legally by someone who is not their immediate neighbour. I think this will help to maintain better neighbourly relationships overall, and keep this place a delightful place for everyone to live without any of the ongoing drama!

#Easter #2017 #Swimmingpool #pool #presidentswife #conversation