Minutes of AGM 2022
Los Amigos de Gata
Annual General Meeting 2022
Held at the
Centro Social, Gata de Gorgos on 13th April 2022
The following Committee members were present
| Committee member | Position | Representative |
| Louise Kirkley | President | M18/M19 |
| Angie Dickinson | Vice-president | M1A |
| Peter Bayliss | Membership Secretary | M2 |
| Paul Elvey | Treasurer | M9 |
| Gill Parker | Secretary |
Prior to the start of the AGM, the Vice Mayor Toni Signes addressed the meeting to discuss the main concerns raised by residents on Gata Residencial.
Correos.
Toni was aware that there have been many cases of post post either not being delivered or going to the wrong post boxes recently, especially since the decision to deliver post for Gata from Teulada. Correos is run as a private business and the council has no influence over a private company. The local management of Correos are not cooperating in solving these problems. Due to the legal problems with the estate the council cannot at present build anything new including additional post boxes. They want to rectify this once the legal problems are resolved. Gata Residential is not the only area having problems with the postal system.
Gata Residencial reception
The town hall lost the case to Bertolin who were asking for 200,000 euros in compensation however the court awarded 40,000 euros. The court case did not clarify whether Bertolin still has contractual obligation to carry out the work, and the situation with the management company is also unclear. However that the town hall continues to have overall responsibility for completing the outstanding works on Gata Residential.
There is still about 1 million euros available from the Bank Guarantee. To avoid the problems caused by large public contracts, the Town Hall will split the contracts into 5 different areas of work
- A company to check the visible work has been done pavements/electricity etc
- A company to check the works you can’t see such as drainage.
- Based on these 2 reports there will be a third contract to define the work that has to be done
- An architect
- A company to do the building work
This is all estimated to take three and a half years to complete.
The main tasks are:
- Replace the wooden steps with concrete ones.
- All pipes to be checked and repaired as needed.
- A new service area needs to be created in an area of Gata Park near to the gas storage so that the public drains can be rerouted from private properties.
Building Regulations
Toni then addressed the concerns raised by residents over the rules for building projects by owners. There are two main types of building work that cannot be legalised.
- Enclosed (permanent) buildings or those with a solid roof, within 5 meters of a neighbouring boundary. This prevents the conversion of the carport pergolas of the Alfar houses into garages for example.
- In the case of the Arrabal houses, the original plans utilised 100% of the available “habitable area” for the plot size. This means that no further areas, including the lavadero, can be enclosed with a permanent roof. It is generally known that some residents have installed a removable roof, and if this is not present when the architect inspects the property, it will not cause a problem at that time.
Refuse collection
There was an extensive discussion regarding the bin situation on the estate.
Solgata changed the location of the collection points following changes introduced by Pedreguer.
Pedreguer put measures in place to prevent others outside the town using their bins, notably opposite The Black Flame for example. However the effect of this was that some Pedreguer residents found it more convenient to use the Gata bins. Additionally Gata wanted to solve the problem of mis-use of the collection areas e.g. dumping batteries etc.
The solution Solgata came to was to move the collection points away from Pedreguer, and to reduce the number of collection points so that eventually these can be monitored with cameras.
Toni explained the details of an extra recycling facility that Solgata has plans to introduce for compostable waste.
The overwhelming feedback from those at the meeting however, was about the dramatic deterioration in the refuse collection service and in particular the effect on some houses as a result of concentrating most of the bins in one area.
Several residents were asking for just one bin collection area at the bottom area near the gas tanks.
However Solgata have stated that it is not feasible to have just one collection point for Gata Residencial.
Toni stated that Solgata are working on a new plan for waste collection. Everyone is advised to take part in the survey so that their views can be considered.
Street Maintenace
Solgata will continue to maintain the trees etc in the future.
Questions from the floor.
Buzon management. A question was asked as to whether someone on the residencia could hold a master key to the mailboxes so that any mistakes could be rectified. Toni thought Correos would not do this because there would be concerns about privacy for individuals’ mail. He reiterated that the town hall has no influence over Correos as they are a private company. It was suggested that some individuals should familiarise themselves with how to write their own addresses as some post is being mis addressed. The problems date back to when the residencia was built as the numbering system used was very confusing. Correos had the same mail person on the estate for 15 years and they became very familiar with the estate however they have now left, and therefore the recent difficulties have started. (Note that there is a FAQ on our website that tries to explain the numbering system)
Eco park. It was asked why more signage could not be put up as the eco park was difficult to find. Toni stated that every town should have an ecopark to encourage recycling and reduce the landfill sent to Campello. However due to financial issues the ecopark has not been legalised so the town hall cannot provide any services or signage to it. It also means that the ecoparc has no water, electricity or drainage.
Road Markings. A request was made for a stop sign at the top of Carrer dels Pins because of the potential confusion over right of way. Also, the road markings at the top of Carrer dels Arborcers need looking at with regard to mis use of the roundabout. Toni has made a note of this.
AGM
There were 28 attendees.
12 Proxy votes had been given to attendees.
Committee
The election of the president Louise Kirkley was proposed by John Harding and seconded by Marion Holden.
Election of Angie Dickinson as vice president, Paul Elvey as treasurer, Gill Parker as secretary and Peter Bayliss as membership secretary were all proposed by John Harding and seconded by Jim Wilford.
Minutes AGM 2021
The minutes for the AGM 2021 were accepted.
President’s report.
Thanks were given to Sue Hartley for the library and Sally Merrett for the walks she has organised. Also thanks to all who donated to the collection for Ukraine and Teresa Pinfield for the quarterly newsletter.
Louise confirmed that she is having regular meetings with Toni and that issues are getting resolved and this will continue.
There have been improvements to the street lighting, the new entrance site plan is good, and the gardening is being done.
Treasurers report
Amount spent this period 342.76 euros
Income this period 1700 euros
Cash in hand at the end of Oct 2020 10.03 euros
Balance at bank at 01.09.2020 11.521.18 euros
Balance at the bank at the commencement of this period (1/1/2021) 10.163.94 euros
An explanation of any transaction or cash movement is always available, as well as the auditor’s report.
New bank details are La Caixa IBAN ES88 2100 7970 2602 0009 2593
NOTE – Members subs this period 1700 euros
Paul Elvey was thanked for doing the accounts and the treasurers report was accepted.
Membership Representatives
The following representatives have confirmed their willingness to continue to represent members in their Manzanas in 2022
| Angie Dickinson | M1A |
| Jim Wilford | M1B |
| Peter Bayliss | M2 |
| Pete Whitbread | M3 |
| Anne Williams | M4 |
| Paul Trunchion | M6 |
| Steve O ‘ Donovan | M8 |
| Paul Elvey | M9 |
| Marian Holden | M12A |
| John Byford | M12B |
| Richard Tytheridge | M13 |
| Ian Rogers | M14/M15 |
| Sigmund Bang | M16 |
| Louise Kirkley | M18/M19 |
In addition, Mavis Evans has volunteered to represent M5
No representative is available for M1C, M7, M10, M11, M20, M21, M24
Thanks to retiring reps Andy Robson, David Cox, David Endeacot, Steve Hartney
Membership Report
Of the 578 houses on Gata Residencial (and Gata Park) 206 are members of the association. 22 new members have joined since January 2021. These include British (9), French (5), Dutch, Belgian and German ( 2 each) Italian (1) and Moroccan (1) households.
New members are always welcome. There are information leaflets available in English, Spanish, French and Dutch.
Membership Fees
It was agreed there will be no membership renewal fees this year although new members will be required to pay 20 euros.
Additional questions from the floor
Theo from the Netherlands wanted to introduce himself and ask about the possibility of tennis and petanque courts. He was told there are petanque courts already, but they would need some organising which Theo stated he would be happy to help with.
Manhole covers – some are wobbly and there are others that require fixing. It was suggested that individuals take this up with the town hall. Louise will also raise this issue with them.
Maintenance of the park – it is on a yearly schedule, but Louise will chase this up.
It was acknowledged that the dog fouling situation has deteriorated but that it is down to individuals. Signage has been put in place, but Louise will ask for more as well as a new bin for the park
Approval of the above AGM minutes 2022
Date
President Secretary