Minutes of the EGM 26 June 2025

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Minutes of the Extraordinary General meeting 26 June 2025 at Salones Carrasco
The first call was made at 11am and meeting commenced at 11.30 am when sufficient owners were present.

Present
President: Margaret March
Treasurer: Pat Bramah
Secretary: Jane Klaassen
Vocal 1: Jane Frazer
Abogado/Administrator/ Spanish Translator: Óscar Antón

Owners Present (by street and house number): 32 owners (26 properties represented)
C/Andrea di Bartolo1, T/Cansalades 50, C/Correggio 3, C/Edgar Degas 2, 7, 11 & 28, C/Maurice Utrillo 4, C/Paul Cezanne 1, 6, 9, 15, 18, 22, 23, 24, 32, 37 & 39, C/Paul Gauguin 19 & 31, C/Rembrandt 2 & 8, C/Sandro Botticelli 3, 16 & 18
Owners voting by Proxy (by street and house number): 34 properties
C/Andrea di Bartolo 5 &13, C/Edgar Degas 3, 6, 7, 9, 17, 19 & 31, C/Paul Cezanne 3, 4, 11, 12, 19, 25, 26 & 28 C/Paul Gauguin 12, 14, 17, 23, 25, 26 & 30, C/Sandro Botticelli 4, 5, 6, 15, 16, 17, 20 & 22, C/Rembrandt 1, C/Peter Paul Rubens 3

Apologies received: from Owners (by street and house number) 34 properties listed above who voted by proxy and Paul Bird Vocal 2.

President’s Opening Remarks
Welcome and thank you for coming.

Translations into Spanish will be by Oscar Anton from Arenal Administration and into German by Alfred Hunziker
Today is a formal meeting and owners should behave accordingly – addressing any questions through me.

Any owner wishing to speak should hold up their hand and wait to be acknowledged by me.
Because we have limited time, I ask that comments and questions are kept as brief as possible to allow for translation and so that as many as possible owners can speak if they wish.

Jane Frazer will indicate who will speak next and Malcolm March will bring the microphone to the owner, which needs using so everyone can hear what is being said.
This is an important topic, and we want to allow as much debate as possible so we can make the best decision.

Once invited to speak please say your name and street address. You will be handed the microphone.
Please respect your neighbours when translations are being made, by not chatting between yourselves so allowing others to hear what is being said.

Those allowed to vote have been given – Yes (green) and No (red) cards at Registration. Together with a voting slip which will be completed once we have debated the issues and a call to vote is made. We have a box and some pens on the table. (Note: We did not use this method).

If we need to take a vote by a show of hands, please hold up the relevant card.

All votes at the meeting are added to those received by proxy which have been listed and checked by Oscar Anton our lawyer. The final outcome of votes will be marked on the chart.

Why we are here
Our streetlight system is over 35 years old and has served us well until the last couple of years when failures have occurred more frequently some of which we have been unable to repair. We currently have 14 posts without electricity which cannot be rectified without expensive excavation to replace the cable.

Looking ahead and assessing our options the Committee have concluded that we must do something to maintain the fabric of our area by keeping our streets well-lit for comfort and safety and to preserve the appearance and attractiveness of our neighbourhood. We know many owners bought properties in Pinosol because we have street lighting when many other Urbanisations in Jávea don’t have it.

The streetlight system is a major asset that we own and needs investment to keep it functioning. We concluded that the best option at this point was to consider replacing it totally with a modern and environmentally friendly solution – Solar Lights.

Over the last decade solar lights have become much more reliable and suitable for streetlighting. Hence our choice of this option.

The proposals we are looking at today will determine what action we take to address this issue, bearing in mind that to do nothing now means we still have to address this issue at some point again in the future.

Now to discuss the proposals – initial information was given HERE and HERE from the Committee with a request for questions from owners prior to this meeting. These questions were answered in a document issued on 21 June to all owners. See HERE.

The options identified are expressed as the following for proposals upon which we will vote after our discussion.

Proposals to Consider

1. Keep the Present System and Take No Action with the Town Hall

This proposal means that we continue to maintain and repair the current system as best we can.

We change the bulbs when needed, repair the posts where they are damaged or in need of repair due to age.

Repairs to the electrical cables are generally not possible but we can install a temporary solar unit as we have done in Calles Rembrandt and Peiter Paul Rubens where the cable has failed on one side.

2. Take Legal Action to Require the Town Hall to Install New Lighting at Their Cost

This proposal would authorise the President to appoint legal representatives to pursue a legal case, aiming to force the Town Hall to adopt and fund a new lighting system.

Urbanisation Tosalet took this route and, after a 10-year legal battle, succeeded and now have a new electrical streetlight system.

However, we do not yet know whether our situation is comparable or whether our case would be successful.

We do not know the cost of this until a lawyer has been commissioned to look at the case.

3. File a Claim with the Town Hall, But Accept the Outcome Without Legal Action

We would formally request the Town Hall to adopt and upgrade our lighting system.

If the Town Hall refuses, we would choose not to pursue legal action, avoiding costly and time-consuming litigation.

Instead, we would move forward with installing a new system ourselves, funded by the community.

4. Install a New Solar-Powered Lighting System Funded by the Comunidad

This forward-thinking solution would replace our outdated system with solar-powered streetlights that meet all required lighting standards.

Benefits include:

• Improved security throughout the urbanisation
• Enhanced attractiveness of our urbanisation
• Energy efficiency and reduced environmental impact
• Long-term savings with minimal maintenance compared to traditional systems.

We can ask the Town Hall to adopt this new system as it will conform to current standards.

Committee Recommendation
The solar-powered option (Proposal 4) presents a modern, practical, and environmentally friendly solution.

It ensures all streets are properly lit without the uncertainty or delay of legal action. It also supports the community’s reputation and attractiveness of the urbanisation in a future-conscious way.

We invite owners to consider all the options and help shape a safe, attractive, and sustainable future for our Urbanisation.

Further Information

I will now read out and answer additional questions submitted after the deadline for questions had passed.

Why are we talking here of “temporary solar units”? Would that not be the solution of choice? In any case and for every option, I recommend to ask the vendor of choice for a guarantee of availability of the very same product for at least 10 years from our first order, or to replace all already delivered systems (product and labour) at its own cost if the same product is not available within the guaranteed period.

Response: The temporary system installed in Calles Rembrandt & Peter Paul Rubens does not meet the required standards as they are domestic units and only just about adequate. The Town Hall would not accept this in the future.

Why do we believe that another inquiry and request to the Town Hall now might have chance for success? What would be the risk to them?
As the Town Hall refused to participate in our project with traditional electric installation (before we adapt it to current electrical standards), have you ever got a statement from them whether, when and how they would participate in a solar project?
Thus, what would be the legal arguments foundation for a claim against the Town Hall referred to solar system solution?

Response: There have been several meetings with the Town Hall, who have indicated that they are willing to help with installation. They can be approached again as they would need to approve any new system. If the system meets the required standards, there should be no barrier for them to accept.

Regarding the costs: As of our experience, there is a VAT option for only 10% if it is a renovation and includes material and labour. Perhaps somebody could check whether this could also apply for our case. The saving – if applicable – could potentially be a fairly great amount of money.
For all cases where the community would be financially engaged, I strongly recommend, that we keep a reserve of € 10k of our reserve fund and not assign the full amount into this case.

Response: The plan is to keep a 33.000 Euro reserve

Could you send me a copy of the full quote for the solar street light option that you are using as an example: €278,035? Furthermore, the lights will only be installed on one side of the street, given that there are telephone and internet cables on the other side. Could we imagine carrying out the work in stages in agreement with the town hall?

Response: The full quote will not be issued to owners until we decide that this is the option we wish to pursue. The project for the solar lighting is for posts to be installed on both sides of the streets.

Questions/comments raised during the meeting

Perry Dyball C/Paul Cezanne 6. Is there an option to keep the current system and just repair this?
Response: The current system is very old and the cables cannot be repaired without expensive digging into the ground. The quote for a replacement electrical system obtained several years ago was for 250,000€ and it is estimated that this would now be in the region of 500,000€

David Cruañes, C/Paul Cezanne 35. If there is a new installation, won’t there still need to be a requirement to maintain in the future?
Response: The company that would supply the new system provides a 8 year guarantee for any repairs. We will look to make sure that the Town Hall accepts the system so that we don’t have to pay for maintenance once the guarantee expires.

Peter Parry, C/Rembrandt 2. Any guarantee is only as good as the company that provides it.
Response: We would ensure the guarantee process was correct. The preferred company is French and they guarantee it not the supplier and their only business is solar streetlights.

Antonia Segarra, C/Sandro Botticelli 5 The Town Hall has a duty to provide and maintain lighting and should pay for this. In my opinion solar power is awful and expensive. By proposing this we are just doing what the Town Hall wants, not what the owners want. We should take legal action against the Town Hall so they pay for this

Response: Over the last year we have been studying the legal process and talking to the legal adviser for Tosalet. They commenced this process in 1999 and spent 8 years fighting the Town Hall, including hearing appeals. In 2017 the Town Hall finally lost the case, but it still took until 2024 for the Town Hall to be forced to fix the issue. Tosalet spent 100.000€ in legal fees.

Peter Parry, Rembrandt 2. Taking legal action sounds like an open chequebook. What is the potential impact on owners and Association fees of installing solar power?

Response: This was set out in the information provided prior to the meeting. The share per owner is 1000€. There is an option of taking out a loan over 5 years which would equal 238€ per annum for each owner. We would need 50% of owners to agree the loan. Some owners may prefer to take out the loan, others to pay 1000€ as a one-off fee.

Vadim Tsybulskiy C/Paul Cezanne 39. I believe batteries only last around 15 years, then in 15 years’ time we will be in the same situation of having to replace 110 lamp posts. It doesn’t matter if the Town Hall or we install, the situation will be the same. Is there the option of just replacing the lamp posts that are not working, of which there are only 14, or 10% of the total.

Response: We could not replace broken lights with new solar lights as the posts for solar are 5 mts and our current ones are 3 mts. The new posts would have to be fitted at the road edge of the pavements whereas our current posts are at the garden edge. This would make for a very odd and disparate lighting profile. There is the option of staying as we are and installing temporary solar lights to existing lampposts.

Arila Peacock, C/Edgar Degas 7 – I appreciate that the committee are looking at this issue on a voluntary basis in their own time. However, on a daily basis we still have no lights and feel vulnerable with the increase in crime. We should have a temporary solution while we decide and at least do something. We have waited years and are still deciding on options.

Response: It has taken time to reach this point but that was unavoidable. The are streetlights still working in C/Edgar Degas and brighter bulbs were installed in the working post to compensate for the lack of lights on the other side of the street.

Kate Saw, Maurice Utrillo 4 – What data do we have on solar power if there are consecutive cloudy days?

Response: This information was given in the documents issued to owners. To reiterate if we had 15 days of no sunshine at all the batteries would not have enough charge to produce light. However, that is most unlikely and the company have said they can guarantee ‘no blackout’.

Kate Saw – Will the lights be triggered when someone walks past?

Response: Yes, they will. We can set the profile of lighting for however we would like. So, for example, it could be the same as now with 100% light from dusk until 1a.m. then reduce to 20% after 1 a.m. to light up when someone walks past.

Kate Saw: If the units fail, how will the guarantee work?

Response: They will be replaced or repaired under the guarantee. Over time we will gather information and gain experience on how much this will cost on an on-going basis after the guarantee period ends. If the Town Hall have not adopted the system, we would be able to budget for future repairs and maintenance but hopefully they will accept it and it will be their responsibility.

Kate Saw: I believe that the Town Hall should take responsibility for the lights in Javea, so we should ask them again.

Response: Yes, we can ask the Town Hall again, however they have stated that they will not accept the present electrical system as it is not up to current electrical standards and would have to be replaced as they have done in Tosalet.

Kate Saw: Agree we should do something now, start the process with the Town Hall and also work out how much it would cost just to replace the 14 faulty lights, either with solar or electric

Response: The existing lights are not up to standard. Temporary solar lights on our existing posts would be the option as has been applied in Calles Rembrandt and Peter Paul Rubens.

Kate Saw: Is the Tosalet case similar/equal to ours?

Response: Oscar Anton replied that he was confident that the Comunidad would win the case eventually. Although the urbanisation was not formally adopted, it is on the list of public streets.
However, the question is when and how long it would take. Tosalet commenced the process in 1999 and the Town Hall were only forced to take responsibility in 2017. The court also didn’t force the Town Hall to repay the legal fees incurred by Tosalet.

Voting on proposals

Proposal 1 – Keep the present system and take no action with the Town Hall

Not agreed – 8 Votes in favour, Majority against

Proposal 2 – Take legal action to require the Town Hall to install new lighting at their cost

Not agreed – 5 votes in favour, Majority against

Proposal 3 – File a claim with the Town Hall but accept outcome without legal action

Not agreed – 10 votes in favour, Majority against

Proposal 4- Install a new solar powered lighting system funded by the Comunidad

Not agreed – 16 votes in favour, Majority against

Proposal 5 from the meeting – Repair the current system with temporary solar lights, investigate the cost of electrical repair and take the Town Hall to court

3 votes against, Majority in favour

There was no further business and the meeting closed at 3.15pm