Albatros Newsletter November 2020
January 2021 EGM
As there is no pressing business to discuss coupled with the current State of Alarm Covid 19 restrictions there will not be an EGM held this coming January .
Review of summer 2020
Summer at Albatros has been a “write off “ for most of us this year, for obvious reasons and consequently the Complex as a whole has been very quiet as you would expect compared to normal years. Visits to properties were mainly from owners and there were very few people renting for holiday purposes. I was lucky enough to be able to spend 10 very enjoyable weeks at Albatros from mid August and did not find the restrictions to be too much of a problem with the exception of having to wear a mask in the heat of late August and early September
As you know we were able to keep the main swimming pool open through to November but have now closed the pool during the Winter months for the first time in the lifetime of the Complex.
The costs involved in complying with regulations to keep the pool open ie fencing off the pool, hiring a pool control, and twice daily disinfection of the pool area were largely offset by not hiring a pool guard or night security guard during July and August.
I believe that fencing the pool area under these circumstances although not aesthetically pleasing worked well for us because we had full control of who was in our pool at any one time and we did not have the problem that other nearby Communities experienced of outsiders coming in and using our facilities. The pool control Company was definitely a success in so much as their controllers were all experienced individuals that managed to keep control in a pleasant and helpful manner albeit in much quieter conditions than is normal at the time of year. It maybe a good idea to consider using this Company again rather than the usual student type pool guards when volumes of visitors return to normal.
So for those of you that were unable to get out to Albatros this year, your property is still there, the site is still well maintained and finances are in good shape thanks to everyone continuing to pay their Community fees despite a difficult year in which many of you have not been able to enjoy your properties at our Complex.
Car park wall
The perimeter wall between El Divino and our car park has needed attention for some time now and has never received any significant maintenance from day one. There are chunks of render missing on both sides of the wall, many cracks appearing and there is a fair amount of loose render. There is also some unsightly staining in numerous places, and due to finances the wall was not painted at the time when the properties were all painted. It is a good time to undertake this work now over the winter because there are less people about and fewer cars parked.
The Committee has obtained quotes for this work and have agreed for the work involved to go ahead in the coming weeks . A start date will be made known beforehand and it will be necessary for owners who park in the area to make arrangements for their vehicles to be moved back away from the wall.
Other matters
Orange telecommunications have recently installed their equipment and fibre optic cables at the Complex meaning that there will shortly be an alternative to using Avatel Telecom for fibre optic internet access at the Complex. Unfortunately the telecom cabinets and cable ducts are now full so no further competition can be permitted in the future without significant expenditure.
Finally the last 15 months have been a very challenging time at Albatros with the floods and now this dreadful pandemic. Many thanks again to Jim & Lesley, Lex, Daran, Janette & Chris, Myra & Stewart not Committee members but have all helped out during these difficult times. Apologies if I have missed anybody. We are very lucky to have such good community sprit. Lets hope we can get back to some normality before too long and be able to enjoy our properties at Albatros
David Newman