News

Council extends partnerships with senior centres, unlocks €24K for 2017

Monday, 31 July 2017 23:03

Signatura conveni majors 2017 Formentera Council president Jaume Ferrer has signed partnerships with four seniors and retirees associations on the island. Under the 12-month deals, the Council will give €24,000 towards maintaining the centres and ongoing services, creating and running projects for the elderly, developing intergenerational workshops and other programmes of interest to the aged in 2017.

Ferrer sat down with Margarita Sanchís, chair of the Sant Francesc retirees and pensioners club, to sign a deal for €9K. He also formalised a €6.5K agreement with the head of Sant Ferran's social centre/seniors club, Rita Costa, and signed €4.5K and €4K deals with the pensioners' and elderly groups of la Savina and el Pilar de la Mola. Those clubs' respective chairpersons, Maria Costa and Jaume Escandell, were also present for the signing.

In plenary, attendees adopt plan on dependent care centre

Friday, 28 July 2017 19:27

Foto ple juliol 2017 1 Today saw the celebration of the Formentera Council's July plenary session. The meeting brought approval for a proposed measure to partner with the Balearic Islands' department of social services and cooperation in building a care centre for dependent persons on the island.

The deal, explained social welfare secretary Vanessa Parellada, defines the centre's total cost (€1.2 million) and the share to be paid by each side (in the Govern's case, 70%; in the CiF's, 30%). Given Formentera's eligibility under the Palma administration's financing scheme for dependent individuals, day-to-day operation costs at the new centre—between €63 and €68 a day—will also be split.

The Formentera Council owns the land where construction is planned, a plot adjacent to the current care centre for the elderly. The new building will support 18 occupants and, by virtue of a hallway physically linking it to the senior residence, will also share resources like kitchens, laundry rooms and services like physiotherapy.

Dismissal of CFd
Members of the plenary also voted unanimously to dissolve Formentera's development consortium, Consorci Formentera Desenvolupament (CFd). As president's office secretary Bartomeu Escandell pointed out, the CFd's executive board met for the last time on Friday, leaving the Council to take on the consortium's rights and obligations. The body's outstanding debts will now be divided between the two administrations. One €5.1m bill will be picked up by the Govern alone; another, for €1.9m, will be split 70-30 between Palma and Formentera. The money must fund renewal of heritage sites, new environment and sports infrastructure and urban improvements.

Councillor Escandell, citing among the CFd's past achievements their purchase of land for the Formentera hospital and Guardia Civil barracks and payment of road upgrades, called the CFd's dissolution “part of an effort to streamline local government”.

Representatives of all parties were united in support for a proposal from the Popular Party (PP) to clearly separate Eivissa and Formentera when collecting statistics at the administration level.

Wildfire prevention
The day's session also saw a green light for wildfire prevention measures proposed by the socialist party. Councillor Escandell highlighted yearly educational pushes by the Govern balear and Ibanat, the regional institute of nature, that enjoy the Council's cooperation, as well as some campaigns the Council heads up itself. The Council has been behind campaigns to encourage residents in forested areas to create safe zones. In the past, the administration teamed up with Ibanat to establish such a buffer in la Mola's es Ram neighbourhood.

Council renews partnership with Formenterers Solidaris to 'help developing countries and raise awareness locally'

Thursday, 27 July 2017 12:07

Signatura conveni for solidaris Formentera Council chief Jaume Ferrer and Maria Costa, president of the NGO Formenterers Solidaris, signed a deal to use Council money to subsidise development cooperation for developing countries and push outreach on the island in 2017.

Under the deal, the group can receive financial help in the following areas:

-Coordinating and managing cooperation and development projects in developing countries.
-Organising seminars, round tables, panels, exhibitions and conferences.
-Costs associated with equipment, material and internal provisions required for day-to-day operations.
-Organising product and fundraising drives for places in need.
-Managing food overstock donations provided by Formentera Island Council.

The €3,000 deal is valid for two years and can be extended at the end of that time. Also in attendance at the gathering were head of social welfare Vanessa Parellada and the secretary of Formenterers Solidaris, Teresa Costa.

Occupants of Sant Ferran's 14 low-cost housing units get keys

Thursday, 27 July 2017 15:38

Entrega claus hpo Formentera Council chairman Jaume Ferrer was joined today by the Balearic Islands' president and land, energy and mobility secretary, Francina Armengol and Marc Pons, plus the head of land and tourism on Formentera, Alejandra Ferrer, in turning over the keys to 14 officially-protected housing units in Sant Ferran.

Ferrer, who was “thrilled to be taking part in the event,” proclaimed: “This is a proud moment for all of us, particularly because it will offset part of the burden of Formentera's housing crunch”. Over and above planned improvements in the centre of Sant Ferran, officials say they will continue efforts to position the town as a social hub. According to Ferrer, the new homes' status as “social housing”—a longstanding request of the administration—means turnover can remain high, making it easier to adapt to changing needs within the community.

A satisfied President Armengol noted that left-wing administrations (first Antich's then her own) were behind both the inception and completion of the project. “It goes to show,” she said, “that we on the left we are aware that public housing is crucial”.

A total of 12 keys were turned over today. One of the homes, which is reserved for applicants with special needs, has yet to be assigned. Another is in the midst of processing.

All selected occupants are given rent-controlled leases which never exceed 30% of their income. Monthly payments start at €197 and are capped at €291 (service charges are extra). The three-year leases are renewable providing tenants can demonstrate they continue to meet criteria.

Specifications
Built on a plot donated by the Formentera Council, the homes incorporate the Balearic Islands' pioneering environmental standards, which means they were eligible for EU funding as part of Life+2012. The €1,373,361 project is called Life Reusing Posidonia, and it received €754,012 in additional assistance from the Life programme.

The project, first drafted between 2010 and 2011, didn't go into construction until May 2014. The building was completed in March 2017 and is the first A-class multi-family building in the Balearics.

Based on building practices and consumption patterns, the Govern estimates that, in their useful life, the new units will equate to energy savings of 75% and a 60% drop in water consumption.

Also on hand for the ceremony were the Council's vice-chairman, Bartomeu Escandell, plus Daisee Aguilera and Vanessa Parellada, the administration's secretaries of environment and social welfare.

Formentera Council pushes back after PP calls to cut 9 officers from local force

Thursday, 27 July 2017 01:12

Foto policia local The Formentera Council has submitted comments in hopes of stalling the execution of an order—sentència número 87—issued by the Balearic high court of justice on February 28, 2017. In its ruling, the judicial authority decided to annul the appointment of nine members of Formentera's local police force even though they had passed the competitive exams called by the Council in 2014 to find permanent staff. According to president's office secretary Bartomeu Escandell, “the Spanish government has made this request despite the fact it gravely imperils our island's police force, which today stands at 13”.

The Popular Party (PP) has argued that the string of new hires in 2014 fell foul of the so-called “law on rationalisation” asking administrations to save in times of hardship. Escandell says that, today, three years after announcing the selection process and given Formentera's need for police manpower, to request execution of the high court's ruling would “be at odds with our islanders' best interests and jeopardise our security”. Escandell also pointed out: “At the same time they have asked us to cut job positions on Formentera, the national government has announced plans to fill 5,197 new positions across police and civil guard forces.”

Background
Madrid's delegation on the island appealed a CiF government commission's green-lighting, August 22, 2014, of plans to fill nine positions on Formentera's local police force. Administrative court number one of Palma dismissed that appeal on September 1, 2016, but the PP-led administration responded by filing another appeal. On February 28, the administrative chamber of the Balearic Islands superior court of justice issued sentència número 87, invalidating the Council's initial call for applicants. It is the Formentera Council's hope that the ruling not be carried out.