Street Border "cleaning"

Some machinery has been doing some kind of Street border “cleaning” at many streets inside Costambar.
This morning they came to the street where I am living (Calle Mella) and I really don’t see the point. As a matter of fact they are doing a pretty bad job!

I understand that we didn’t have nice and beautiful street borders before, because the grass was growing unto the streets, but at least the grass roots were maintaining the soil from moving and the grass roots also kept the little cement, that some of us has put on the street in place.

I posted two pictures I took this morning. I didn’t have time to go elsewhere in Costambar, but maybe one of the next days I will post a few more pictures.

As you can see the machine has simply piled up the soil along the street borders and it has even taken part if the cement away I put along a dip in front of my house in order to avoid more holes in the street. And the dip is now filled with soil (I just paid to get the border cleaned a few days ago!) The soil is piled up right in front of peoples properties!

How are we supposed to cut and clean the street borders now? With all that soil piled up everywhere.

We are in the middle of the hurricane season and as a matter of fact it has been raining heavily just a while ago. I can imagine how the street will look tomorrow with all the soil over floating the street. So now we have mud streets we cannot even walk along!

I was told by other residents that the machine has broken a wire in the area close to the power plant and nobody has taken care of getting it repaired. I was also told, that the machine has broken a constructed street border somewhere else in Costambar..
What is the purpose of this mess?

Apparently a deal was made between the Neighborhood Association (Conzalo Bustos) and the Mayor Walter Musa. The machine was sent by Musa (City Hall)..
Since when does the Neighborhood Association have the right to make deals for ALL of us? How is it even possible to have a Neighborhood Association (Junta de Vecinos) in a private project?

They are not going to asphalt our streets I was told. They only clean the borders!
If they are not even able to finish the entrance road to Costambar, what do they want INSIDE Costambar? It is completely ridiculous to sent machinery to make that kind of mess in our streets.

I was also told that Conzalo Bustos wants this project to be public and he has invited the Mayor to take over this community.. I don’t know what else is going on with this issue and if anybody else should have more information, please share your information with the rest of us.
Thank you

Thank you for the information you have provided us Anette. What action our absentee, none existent board of directors have taken about this issue?

Not only did they make a mess, but I saw that they had uprooted and broken various power connections along the street where Barba Negra is and left some houses without full power for several days. We have enough power problems without someone accidentally digging up the power lines! Need some action here to make sure it doesn't happen again.

eli wrote:

Thank you for the information you have provided us Anette. What action our absentee, none existent board of directors have taken about this issue?

Interesting post , Eli. As was posted elsewhere, it was the 'Junta de Vecinos' (the group trying to destroy the APC) that arranged for the equipment. And now you criticize the APC for failing to do something they had nothing to do with!
Please explain.

Bob if APC board members spent most of their time in Costambar J.deV. would not be able to bring in the city machinery to Costambar, in fact J.deV. would not have formed in the first place. During Liana's board Gonzalo used to provide chairs from his place for APC meetings . You need to question why a man would go from there to wanting to destroy APC . none of you want to face the fact that the last APC and the present board have and are slowly destroying Costambar.
Don says it was Yash's fault by insulting Gonzalo in public to drive him to form J de V but to be fair that kind of arrogant, self serving and feeling superior to the rest started with Jose Polanco's administration with Don as the vice president and Yash has continued in their foot steps.
Polanco and Yash's arrogant has been re in forced by rest of you allowing them to come and stay in power without paying their past maintenance fees
If the present board members were not such an absent members we would never have had a child controlling the green gate for days.
None of you want to question this.
J.deV could not have picked a more stronger person to help them with government matters than Lily, she is the attorney for Villa Mexico and we all know what Yash has done or better to say has not done in the matter of the lawsuit against Villa Mexico but created more ill feelings among the resident

Vallarino's project at the beach got no support from APC .APC should have gotten in touch with Costa de Ambar. measured how long the street at the beach is and divided by the width of a car would have shown the number of cars possible to park at the beach , print that many tickets hand it out at the gate once tickets run out no more cars would enter Costambar to visit the beach but the gate would continue to be open for walking visitors so APC would be in full compliance with the laws of turismo, would cut the traffic greatly on the streets of Costambar, now that would help the security. Instead now since there are not much room at the beach to park everyone parks in the side streets and in front of other peoples homes and blocking the driveways.. Are absent board members aware of these problems? The skyp and e mails does not help much does it?The APC board did not do any of these but made fun of Vallarino. I did not think I had to explain these points but I can see that I have to
Those security reports full of fantasy and untrue numbers, Raf receives and gives out on his e mails to the selected group are nothing but fantasy, come live here full time like rest of us and then you will see what is going on.
Why Yash gives his reports only to Raf E mail group whom half of them live outside Costambar and not post on this forum for the rest of Costambar to see?

Eli, you are right !
We have very serious problems here in Costambar and since the terrible election meeting, when Mr. Polanco was elected the President ( 2008) I see things going down the hill.
I have written many many times about this and nobody wants to hear about it.. We have to be positive we are told??? We have to forget the past???
The problem is just, that it was sooooo difficult to convince the people to join APC in the past and now it is even more difficult ( and maybe impossible), because many people have lost their faith in APC completely. If it possible to play around with rules and decisions - put an election meeting upside down - what can we expect then?
Mr. Vallarino is fighting his own course, APC is fighting their course and JdeV is gaining more and more power..
As well as you Eli I find it wrong ONLY to discuss Costambar Matters in a closed mailing group; some of the people are not even living here! There might be interested people here in Costambar, who don’t get any information at all, because they are not included in the mailing list.
This is a problem I always pointed at : APC is in reality only a small closed group of people, who know each other for years.. This behavior is pushing other people away and THAT is one of the main reasons, why the community is more divided now than ever before.
If we want to have an Association like APC to take care of our community, it MUST be for everybody! Small groups are getting together making decisions for the rest of us and nobody thinks it is necessary to inform EVERYBODY. This is a mistake and APC will not survive in this way!

I haven't lived here long - only 3 years - but in that time I have seen security improve, the roads being repaired AND my APC fees have fallen.

Initially I was sucked into the anti-APC camp, but after considering all the options I concluded that there was no viable replacement for them, imperfect as they are.

This is a nice town - potentially a great one if we all stop bickering & start working TOGETHER!

Mark
My post is not bickering . I have pointed out the problems and have suggested solutions .Regarding Yash and Polanco not paying their past maintenance fees are all public record. As far as maintenance fees dropping I guess you have forgotten the mess we had when Yash and Polanco raised the fees and then had to backpedal and reduced it, in the process how many fee paying resident we lost and have not been able to get them back. The services have been reduced the green areas and empty lots do not get cut unless you are part of the selected group now that the summer is almost over and the winter residents will be back. Sorry but a 10 years old looking after the green gate and the exit side of the main gate being in the up position without anyone checking the cars going out I do not call good security, maybe that is the reason why so many lights missing in the streets.You own a business and I understand you need costumers, therefor should be more nice to APC because that is where your bread and butter is.Working together absolutely, When J.deV had their meetings Yash attended and Gonzalo gave him permission to stay. Last APC meeting two weeks ago which was not even posted in this web site no one knew of the date of the meeting nor what was talked about. Only few elite were present Gonzalo and Ricardo were asked to leave. Vallarino was in Costambar and was not invited .Working together???

A couple of points:

I was not singling out any individuals with my bickering comment - it was aimed at the whole community.

You are correct that I own a business, but only one active APC board member frequents the Gym Bar.

If the bar was my bread & butter believe me I'd be starving by now! We offer a service to the community at the Gym Bar, like all the other businesses in town. In fact those businesses are the heart & soul of Costambar because without them the town would just be a sterile, lifeless dormitory like all the other "tourist projects" on the north coast.

I know I'm going off at a bit of a tangent here, but this is important. We often get tourists in the bar - & once they've been once they keep coming back for the duration of their stay ( I have to get the plug for the bar in as often as possible! ) - & I always ask them what they think of Costambar. Now considering that some of these poor souls have been dumped in Villas Jasmine or Barlovento by Lifestyle in Cofresi because it is over-booked/sold, they are universally positive about Costambar. They single out the sense of community here, the choice of bars, restaurants & shops, what a complete town Costambar is. We have it all in Costambar.

Residents, property owners & businesses will ALWAYS complain about property taxes/maintenance fees. Many will use the fact that this or that isn't perfect as an excuse not to pay.

Mark you really got away from the subject visitors do not run Costambar property owners do and I always have paid my dues

You totally missed my point Eli - & I thought I was being so obvious ....

Costambar is a unique community because it has all the services within its' boundaries.

Without them it is NOTHING.

It also has several problems which are universal, i.e. freeloaders who refuse to pay ( & I never implied you were one of them Eli ) & attracting criminal elements.

Personally I have no problem with security at the green gate - for pitys' sake they won't even let my staff walk through even though they have carnets. The vast majority of the crime in town is commited by RESIDENTS - Dominican & gringo - & no amount of security at gates or walls will stop that. Ask the Police National if you don't believe me.

The freeloaders suck us all dry & the Junta de Vecinos isn't helping by dividing the community yet again.