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Thinking about our aims and objetives, I personally believe that we should consider the action itself as an inititives forum, a course we could take advantage to present new projects, ideas, in short, a way of communication amoung all the members. Our Group not only has to exchange experiences and ideas but also protect and favour suggestions and future project even if, of course, is the sovereign Assembly who decides if we carry them out or not.
Our association has to seek the common benefit and perform a transparent management.
When a new project is presented is because the majority could be interested in it. Between friends and collegues ideas and projects are not on sale; we offer new ideas and projects to discuss, analyse and clarify them. In short, to improve and enrich them thanks to our contributions and suggestions.
If they are good we go ahead with them, otherwise we shelve them.
Which is the reason of our reflexion? First of all because we want to explain why our Association decided to reconsider the project of a Residential Complex for old people and how we worked on it.
It was a project, an interest, a wish of many of our collegues who put it previously but that they had to shelve because it turn out to be non-viable. We think we should reconsider the project and analyse its current viability.
And, how can we work on it? To start with we wanted to know our members’ needs and wishes and we thoght that the best tool to know them was a survey. With the aid of one of our members belonging to the CAM Association, José Ramón Yébenes, professor at the University of Alicante, we could carry it out.
This survey was presented in the Euromeeting 2002, in Peńíscola and, subsequently, with the replies received (almost 200), we analysed the figures, in collaboration with our collegue Yébenes, and we published them in our bulletin 2002.
We already knew what the vast majority thought about it; the next step consisted in seeking and contacting property developers and architects to ask for information, to take expert advice and to analyse the conditions of the available pieces of land where we could build our Residence.
Our collegue José Lidón contacted an important property developer and some architects friends of him. I did the same and afterwards Lidón, Barberá (President of the CAM association) and me we met the most important estate agent’s in Alicante. After these meetings we realised we first needed a piece of land before drawing the project up and, obviously, our Group did not have enough funds to pay in advance the purchase price.
A collegue belonging to the CAM Association (Roberto Colom), who knew our project, suggested that we see some pieces of land belonging to him. I went and visit them with the members who attended the meeting in Alicante and with Yébenes, our collegue who prepared and analysed the survey. We thought the piece of land was in a fit state to build and it was what suited our needs best.
He was offering us the piece of land at market price but, what’s more, we could pay it when the Complex was completely finished nd sold.
Next Yébenes and Colom, visited and inspected various Residences and old people’s homes in the Comunidad Valenciana to contemplate their management, defects and virtues and to bear them in mind for the draft plan they wanted to present in Majorca.
In a few words, we expected to present a draft plan which could leave room for improvement and, if there were enough members interested in it, we expected to analyse together its organization and its feasibility study to launch it. If a plan is not good we shelve it, we abandon it. No problem.
I end up reminding that our Group has to be an initiatives forum too, a course to exchange knowledge and experiences, to develop ideas and plans and an important way of communication and solidarirty among all of us. Above all, our Group must be an open model, a place where we can live and meet and generate an interesting cooperation for all of us. All the suggestions presented will be studied and analysed even if the final decision rests with the sovereign Assembly. It is how is must be, always.
José R. López
