The main purpose of this newsletter is to give a brief summary of the most important developments in the last year in Gran Comunidad.
We hope they will be of interest and useful to know some of the things that happen in Miraflores and how they are being done. Thank you very much for reading them.
What has happened with street cleaning and the state of the gardens?
In 2020, during the pandemic, Sagesa, the company in charge of cleaning and disinfection, acted with normality and professionalism. However, some members of the community noticed that a number of areas needed more attention, and in most cases, it has been possible to repair the problem with a small investment.
Since the beginning of the state of alarm, Meridional has also been concerned about the disinfection of streets being carried out by the Mijas Town Hall and has been in constant contact to receive details of the disinfection measures being carried out in our area. Thanks to this management it was achieved that most of our streets were disinfected 2 or 3 times a week.
Meridional also recommended to the cleaning companies to try to increase the doses of disinfectant (bleach) in those areas where there was more danger of contagion and this was done.
The cleaning service provided by Sagesa, with the exception of a few critical weeks, operated normally. In this regard, it should be noted that the company disinfected the rubbish bins in order to prevent them from becoming a source of contagion.
It is amazing living in Miraflores!
Street cleaning: changes and improvements
Street cleaning has been the subject of a great deal of criticism and complaints from many residents for several months.
In response to this problem, Sagesa proposed to increase the cost of the service by around 10% in order to resolve the complaints. It also suggested that the community needed to buy a truck to improve cleaning at a cost of around €18,000. To this cost we had to add maintenance, taxes, fuel, insurance, etc. for the truck.
In order to compare and evaluate this proposal, several quotes were requested and studied by the president together with Meridional, before making the final choice.
Finally it was decided to contract the proposal presented by Jaydo Tecnic, because it maintains the current budget paid by the community for this service. It also provides a multi-purpose sweeping machine for cleaning.
With this management it is expected that the street cleaning service of the community will be improved and modernised. This will have a positive impact on the image of the Greater Community without having increased the budget by a single euro.
Gardens, latest news
Sagesa’s performance as regards the gardens has had some errors throughout this time. The community members and some of the presidents continued to detect incidents that they communicated to Meridional, which informed Sagesa so that it could act as quickly as possible. Undoubtedly, there was a need to improve some areas quickly.
It must be acknowledged that Sagesa responded immediately to this, although the complaints continued to be repeated. This led Sagesa to the conclusion that the gardening service was insufficient and that it needed to update its proposal to improve the gardening service.
Therefore, Sagesa made a proposal to increase the budget by 34% in order to reach the goal of making the complex’s gardens better.
The increase only contemplated the increment in manpower and machinery, to which other expenses involved in the gardening service would have to be added. It also suggested automating the entire irrigation system, which is still manual in some areas.
Finally, after studying all the proposals on the table with the president, the decision was taken to contract Jaydo Tecnic. The reason is that their proposal is more comprehensive, including labour, products, removal of pruning waste, replacement of 600 plants per year and irrigation repairs by their own staff and without a real increase on the previous budget.
Hortensia Street will be repared shortly
Undoubtedly, this past year one of the main concerns has been the deterioration of Calle Hortensia. Meridional, together with an engineer from the Town Hall, went to visit this street to seek help from this department. The Town Hall prepared a dossier for a grant to repair Calle Hortensia and other streets in Miraflores that Meridional indicated to the Town Hall were also in a bad state.
It is true that, during this waiting time, we have made repairs to dangerous potholes, but we have continually insisted to the council about the problems in Hortensia Street.
Finally, the tarmacking has been approved by the Mijas Town Hall. Now we only have to wait for them to award the job to a company and start the repair work.
When the Mijas Town Hall asked Meridional for some documentation last April, this information was provided immediately so that the process would not be delayed in the slightest.
This is good news, we just have to wait a little longer and hope that the town hall will be prompt.
The foot bridge now has insurance
The pedestrian bridge is a problem that the community president and Meridional have been trying to solve since the beginning of their appointment. Reports and assessments of the condition of the bridge have been carried out to try to get the municipality or the ministry to take action.
The current administration was able to get a major insurance company to agree to provide liability insurance for the bridge and the community’s governing board. This initiative has given all the community members of Miraflores a lot of peace of mind because we are the ones who use the bridge the most.
The first step we took to try to find a solution to the bridge problem was to request all available information from the previous administrator. However, he replied that he had no documentation on the matter.
To fix this problem, the president together with Meridional commissioned a technical report assessing the bridge, condition and necessary improvements in its maintenance.
The report has revealed that the bridge has a number of faults that require attention and repairs. This report also includes an estimate of the cost of these corrections for the community.
In order to solve the problem as soon as possible, the administration has contacted the Town Hall to obtain some form of assistance for its repair.
An independent professional was also commissioned to take the necessary steps to get the Ministry to accept the transfer of the bridge, and after all the steps taken, it has not been possible for the Ministry of Public Works to take over the pedestrian bridge.
For this reason, Meridional is in contact with various departments of the City Council. The aim is to work to ensure, on the basis of public interest, that the Town Hall takes over the bridge.
Apart from this issue, the bridge is in need of some repairs. For this reason, several estimates have been requested in order to be able to analyse them shortly and decide which is the most appropriate.
Franjus has done a good job
Franjus’ security service has functioned with total normality throughout the pandemic. In fact, Meridional congratulated their dedication, patience and professionalism. They have ensured at all times that the lockdown and health security measures were complied with in all the communities. Likewise, the willingness and proactivity of the guards and their bosses can be highlighted.
Franjus has been in contact with the administration at all times and we have been able to coordinate with them for the planning to maintain owner´s security, as well as the indications made by the vocal of security Mr. Paul Mc Crumlish.
The incident of the occupation of a property was solved in a record time of 11 days and did not cause any further problems. Franjus was collaborating at all times with the administration and the president.
Several meetings have also been held with the mayor and the Mijas Local Police. In these meetings a direct line of communication was established between Meridional and the Local Police in order to be able to inform directly about incidents due to occupation.
Subsequently, there have been 35 relevant incidents from October to March that have been dealt with by Franjus without major problems.
Undoubtedly, the work done by the security company has not only been as expected, but has been even better.
This line of communication has been useful in recent weeks to alert the police about the increasing number of break-in attempts. In addition, a reinforcement of security guards has been hired this Christmas to intensify surveillance and prevent this and other types of incidents.
Savings in the Grand Community are consolidated
In 2020 there was a saving of 56.000€ in the accounts and the positive evolution continues in 2021 with 67.500€.
The periodic reports on the economic situation of the community show very positive conclusions, the most important of which is that savings have been increasing each year. Having this money available has allowed us to invest in some urgent works needed by the community and to reserve another part for future works.
The year 2020 closed with savings of more than €56,000 over the approved budget, rising to €67,500 this year.
Another conclusion from the accounts reports is that the evolution and timing of the budget and expenditure are normal and balanced.
The budget has remained the same over the last two financial years because, as no new budget could be submitted for approval, and the law states that the existing one must be extended.
The conclusion of these reports is that expenditure is under control and there are no major discrepancies. The financial situation has been improving over the years, and the community has a very good financial situation.
Meridional is working day after day to maintain this positive evolution of the accounts and in this way to be able to save more and more. These savings will basically allow us to continue making the improvements that Gran Comunidad needs.
Avenida del Sol
A few weeks ago, the presidents of Riviera and Miraflores met to look for solutions to improve the appearance of Avenida del Sol and to collaborate jointly in its maintenance.
At the moment, they are analysing various options to see which is the best and most sustainable.
Entrevista a Urszula Karlsson