Asociación de Colonos
de las Conchas Chinas
PRESIDENT’S LETTER - December
28,2008,sent via email, English and Spanish
Dear Fellow
Property Owners in Conchas Chinas:
A few weeks
ago I communicated to you the severe limitations under which we're operating
the Conchas Chinas Homeowners Association, due to continued low percentage
participation in Maintenance Fees payment by our neighbors, and an inability to
collect construction fees from developers of new properties in our colonia.
Our
financial condition continued to deteriorate during November and the 1st half
of December. Our cash balance is now projected at approximately 125,000 ps. by
December 31, 2008, down almost 200,000 ps. from year-end 2007. Obviously if
nothing changed on the fees collection front in 2009, we'd be bankrupt in less
than a year. As a result, to be conservative we've cut our maintenance staff
from 3 to 2 workers effective immediately and restricted the remaining 2
workers to part time. We've also put on hold any repair activities that are not
absolutely necessary – i.e., road repairs, street light repairs, or
debris removal. We'll be spending at a reduced rate of about 30,000 ps/month
(360,000 ps./year), in line with what we've collected in average annual cuotas
over the past 3 years. For reference, over the 3 year period ending in 2007 we
collected an average of 240,000 ps. in construction fees, vs. only 3,000 ps.
this year.
If
participation in the Association among our neighbors fails to rise above 40%,
and we continue to fail in collecting construction fees due to non-cooperation
from developers and City authorities, we could continue the Association but
with these significantly reduced services versus what we've all grown to
expect. The colonia would not be as clean, the roads would be bumpier, and we'd
be unable to add any improvements such as remodeling the two entrances.
Quite
frankly, the current Board is growing weary of battling developers and City
authorities who have only their financial interests in mind, and certainly not
the future of Conchas Chinas. Do we want to continue tilting at windmills? Do
we consider limping along at a bare bones level, or do we shutdown the
Association?
We look
forward to a full discussion of our future at the General Assembly in February.
Wayne
Hansen, President.
ASOCIACION
DE COLONOS DE LAS CONCHAS CHINAS, A.C.
Paseo de la
Madre Perla #125, Fracc. Conchas Chinas, C.P. 48399Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco
22 de Diciembre de 2008.
Estimados
Colonos de Conchas Chinas,
Hace apenas
unas semanas les comuniqué acerca de los problemas económicos por los que
atraviesa la Asoc. de Colonos de Conchas Chinas A.C., esto debido al bajo
porcentaje de participación en el pago de cuotas de mantenimiento y la
incapacidad que hemos demostrado en
recolectar las cuotas de construcción de nuevos proyectos en la colonia.
Nuestras
finanzas continuaron deteriorandose durante el mes de Noviembre y la primera
parte de Diciembre. Se proyecta que para Diciembre 31 de 2008 el saldo en la
cuenta bancaria de la Asociación sera de
$125,000 Pesos , es decir $200,000 Pesos
menos que el saldo al 31 de Diciembre de 2007. Obviamente si el proximo año
sigue igual respecto a la recolección de
cuotas, en menos de 1 año estariamos en banca rota. Como resultado de lo
anteriormente dicho, hemos tomado la decisión de recortar personal quedandonos
unicamente con dos elementos de mantenimiento y limpieza, ésto efectivo a
partir del Lunes 22 de Diciembre, así como la reducción de su calendario de
trabajo de 6 a 5 días. Además hemos tomado la determinación de cancelar
reparaciónes que se consideren no tan necesarias, tales como reparación de calles , reparación
de alumbrado público, remoción de escombro, etc. Estaremos gastando en promedio
un total de $30,000 Pesos mensuales (360,000 anuales), esto partiendo de lo
recolectado anualmente en promedio en los últimos tres años. Como referencia,
en un periodo de 3 años que termino en Diciembre de 2007, se recolecto en
promedio la cantidad de $240,000 Pesos correspondiente a cuotas de construcción
, y en lo que va de éste año solo hemos podido recolectar la cantidad de $3,000
Pesos por el mismo concepto.
Si la
participación en el pago de cuotas por parte de lo Colonos no supera el 40% del
total y seguimos siendo incapaces de recolectar las cuotas de mantenimiento,
probablemente la Asociación pueda seguir operando, pero limitandonos a dar
un servicio mantenimiento muy restringido, no siendo así lo que todos
esperamos de nuestra Asociación. De ser así la colonia no estaría limpia , las
calles tendrían muchos hoyos y baches y no podríamos hacer ninguna mejoría a la
colonia.
Para ser
francos, la actual mesa directiva esta muy cansada de pelear tanto con los
desarrolladores de proyectos como con la
administración municipal actual, ya que solo se
preocupan por sus bolsillos y no así del futuro de la colonia Conchas
Chinas. Nos hacemos una pregunta, en realidad queremos seguir luchando contra
molinos de viento? Debemos de considerar si queremos seguir cojeando o si
pensamos de plano en que desaparezca la Asociación?
Los
esperamos en la Asamblea General el próximo mes de Febrero para discutir sobre
este delicado tema.
Atentamente,
Wayne
Hansen / Presidente
PRESIDENT’S LETTER -
FEBRUARY 2008 …read at
General Meeting
Welcome to the 2008 General Assembly of
the Asoc. De Colonos de Conchas Chinas. I must thank our Board of Directors:
Wayne Hansen(Vice President);Thom Rogers
(Secretary);Jerry Lafferty (Treasurer);Harvey
Prawer (Maintenance);Ann Lafferty (Webmaster);Vocales, Susan Kasperson &
Lynda Petty;Alfonso Baños,Architectural consultant; Sam Martinez,maintenance
liason and all purpose assistant; Hector
Rosas and Gloria Ramos who help us with translations depositing your payments
and insuring they go where they are supposed to go.
As you all
know,the main function of the Association is the maintenance of our colonia
– that is, public streets,lighting,garden areas,and beaches. That means
we repair the cobblestones,clean the streets and sidewalks,repair the public
light posts and lamps and wiring, and clean the beaches. We are funded by
voluntary paid annual dues and fees applied to construction projects, which
cause the most serious damage to our roads. We are mandated by the city
government to do this by means of a Convenio,an agreement between the colonia
and the municipal government . The
Convenio is signed anew by each administration, so we have had the honor to
deal with one administration that signed the paperwork but broke all the rules
and the new administration which is trying to respect the rules but won’t
sign the paper!
We have
witnessed in the last few years an appaling overdevelopment of Puerto Vallarta
without respect to comparable improvements in the public infrastructure. We
deal on a daily basis with unrelenting traffic congestion, waterproblems,sewer
issues,and pollution in our bay, to name a few. As homeowners, we care about
maintaining the value of our property;but we also
care about our city. So many of the topics that concern us as a Board have to
do with ways to accomplish both of these concerns. It has been difficult at
times to achieve our goals when we work with the City government more
interested in selling our land to the highest bidders, and when some of our
homeowners have followed similar paths where profits become
more important than perservation of the quality of life that we thought we had
found when we bought our homes. In spite of, or
perhaps sometimes because of those obstacles, we have been challenged to pursue
the battle of improving Conchas Chinas,and, of course, Puerto Vallarta. Harvey
Prawer, our perserving Director of Maintenance, has provided an impressive list
of this years projects and a wish list for the future. We hope the next Board
will continue with the same enthusiasm.
I have been
part of the Association since its inception in 1990. I have witnessed too many
administrations in City Hall that either refused to acknowledge Conchas Chinas
or denied us importance because we don’t vote. But the realization that
we do pay substantial property taxes upped our interest to the powers that be,
and helped us accomplish some of our projects along the way. The one thing I
have learned during my 25 years in Mexico is that you never give up. You keep
pushing on doors and people, look for new avenues of communication, networks of
people who care like you do, or different approaches to resolving the same old
problems, and little by little, progress happens. As you know we will select a
new board tonight. I hope they never give up because we have too much worth
preserving—both in our colony and our city.
PRESIDENT’S LETTER -
FEBRUARY 2007 …read at
General Meeting
Many of you are new to CC and don’t know the
background while some of you have lived here for years and might need to be
reminded so I’m going to give you a short history of our assoc. A group of property owners formed the asoc in
1991 to construct a sewer system that the original developer, Fideicomiso, did
not include in in the development. Our
boundaries and internal rules were set and confirmed in our agreement or
“convenio” with the city.
This convenio has its legal basis in the
the Ley de Desarrollo Urbano
which led to the Ley de Gobierno y de Administración Municipal –
the Government and Municipal administration law in which a neighborhood has the
right to form an association and which the city is obligated to respect. The convenio supports our rights to certain
services and our obligations to the city in return. In our case for example, we must clean and
maintain our streets, public lighting, gardens and green areas. The City, in return, pays for the public
lighting electricity, provides garbage service and police service. The convenio must be renewed with each
Over the years, we have had varying success with our
city relations and application of the convenio, especially with construction
projects. Our most recent experience of
the last two years has been the most difficult. A number of permits were issued by the city
to various projects without our prior review, resulting in structures that do
not meet Colonia, City or State requirements. This leads to substantial loss of
income, nearly that $35,000 US for the last two years alone for the Colonia,
which seriously impacts our ability to pursue such projects as the overhaul of
all of our street lighting. In the Spring of 2006, we voiced our complaints to
the Planning Department. In October, we
sent out a letter to all pertinent City departments reiterating the fact that
permits were being issued without respecting our Convenio that the same City
officers had signed. December 30th,
we filed an official complaint against Arq. Manzano of the Planning
department. Our next step will be to
file a demanda or lawsuit “Juisio de Nulidad” to nullify the
construction permits until the owners submit their projects for review and pay
the fees. Our right to pursue a demanda
against city officers is supported by the Ley de Responsabilidad para
Adminsistradoros Publicos. We have been assisted in our endeavors by Lic.
Miguel Angel Valenzuela who also works with the
That gives you the basis of how the group was formed,
what we are supposed to do and how we finance it. So I’ll turn you over to Jerry Lafferty
to expand on the finance part…..
PRESIDENT’S LETTER - FEBRUARY 2004
(English, followed by Spanish version)
Dear Residents,
For the benefit of
those of you who did not come to the Annual General Assembly on February 6th.
2004, I would like to share some of the highlights of the meeting with you.
The Financial and Maintenance reports – excellently supported by
a comprehensive display of photos showing the wide range of work done in the
past year - fully answered questions and complaints individual residents have
expressed – particularly from Lower Conchas Chinas where only 20% pay
their quotas.
Mr. Nick Coates
presented his plans for a major new housing development involving 45 houses and
a number of condos to be built on the south side of upper Conchas Chinas. In
total, 128 housing units.This is not in our Colonia. The major concern of
Conchas Chinas residents is that access to this development, as currently
proposed, involves using our Southern entrance and Calle Madre Perla. The CCHA
Board will be energetically pursuing this issue in search of an acceptable
solution.
Thom Rogers was
unanimously elected to fill the position of Secretary for the year ahead. Peter
Gray, who accepted to be interim President from July 2003 until this meeting
declined nomination for a further year. Since there were no nominations from
the floor, he agreed to continue until March 31st 2004. If no one
steps forward to fill the President position by that date, the Board will
continue to function until the next three year election period which starts in
February 2005. .
Two key issues on the
Convenio that needs to be agreed with the
As you know, the Association keeps the streets
paved and clean, the lamp-posts maintained and working, the public areas
maintained, the beach swept, water leaks repaired, debris removed, trees
trimmed and illegal parking of buses controlled. Also, all building plans are
reviewed to ensure city regulations are being respected.
As costs continually
escalate, the Association cannot meet these needs unless a greater number of
residents volunteer to pay their annual quota. Frankly, if funds do not
increase, Conchas Chinas will begin to revert to the sorry state it was in
before the Association was formed and turned things around. Streets will
steadily deteriorate and public lighting will fail. Debris in the rainy season
will block residents from their homes. Uncontrolled development will threaten
existing properties. AND YOUR PROPERTY VALUES WILL PLUMMET. We have all enjoyed
the increase in the value of our properties over the past few years. It needs
to be recognized that those values are directly linked to the attractive and
cared for appearance of the Colonia. For this good reason, I need to appeal to
all who have not yet paid their modest US $200 contribution, to do so as soon
as possible. To help out, I suggest that all residents who have loyally
supported the Association through their annual payments take on the challenge
of personally encouraging at least one neighbor to join the Association now.
Every quota makes a difference! Please
contact Ann Lafferty at 221 -6156 or Judith Lomas at 221-5700 for any
information you need.Or check our website; www.conchaschinas.net
Sincerely,
Peter Gray –
President CCHA
President’s Letter --- February 2004
Estimados Residentes,
Para información a los
Residentes que no asistieron a la Junta Anual de Colonos, el pasado Viernes, 6
de febrero del 2004, deseo compartir los
puntos más sobresalientes
que se discutieron en la Junta.
Los informes Financieros y
de Mantenimiento (apoyados por fotografías del trabajo hecho) contestaron
muchas preguntas y aclararon dudas,
sobretodo de Residentes en
la parte de abajo de la Colonia, en donde solo un 20% pagan sus cuotas.
El Sr. Nick Coates presento
su plan para construir un nuevo desarrollo con 45 casas y varias torres de
condominios resultando en un total de
128 nuevas unidades. Este proyecto estará en el lado sur de la
Colonia, en la parte de arriba y harían uso de la entrada de los Arcos y la
calle
Madre Perla. Es importante que sepan que este terreno no
es parte de Conchas Chinas y que no tiene entrada directa de la Carretera
Federal.
La Mesa Directiva esta estudiando otras posibilidades para que
este desarrollo tenga su propia entrada.
El Sr. Thom Rogers fue
elegido unánimemente como Secretario para el resto del 2004. El Sr. Peter Gray, quien había aceptado ser
Presidente
Interino hasta esta Junta,
pidió que se eligiera un nuevo Presidente.
Al no haber ninguna persona que quisera asumir esta responsabilidad,
el Sr. Gray ofreció
continuar hasta el 31 de marzo del 2004.
En ese momento, si aun no hay
alguien que quiera ser Presidente, la Mesa Directiva
continuara trabajando hasta
el próximo febrero del 2005, cuando se termina el periodo de trabajo y hay
nuevas elecciones.
Se presentaron dos puntos a
tratar cuando se firme el Nuevo Convenio con la Ciudad y la nueva
Administración. Ahora que ya contamos con todos
los servicios (incluyendo el
drenaje) estamos listos para que nos adopte la Ciudad como una Colonia
más. (De momento hay 180 Colonias)
También, debemos establecer
los verdaderos límites de la Colonia Conchas Chinas, sobretodo en la parte de
abajo en donde se junta con Amapas.
Mientras tanto continuamos
como hasta ahora. Como saben, la Asoc de Colonos mantiene las calles pavimentadas
y limpias; le da mantenimiento
a los postes de alumbrado
publico: se encarga de ver que se reparen fugas de agua en lugares públicos;
cuida que no se estacionen ilegalmente
autobuses en las entradas;
barren las playas; cuidan las jardineras publicas, etc. También, revisan los planos para construcción
para asegurarnos
de que se respeten los
reglamentos para construcción. Los costos siguen subiendo, y la Asociación no
puede continuar encargándose de lo anterior
si no logramos que un mayor
número de Residentes pague sus cuotas.
Si no conseguimos que esto mejore, la Colonia perderá lo que ha logrado
en su mejoramiento yvolverá
a ser un lugar en donde las calles estén en pésima condición, el alumbrado
publico no funcione, que en época de lluvias
la tierra y escombro les
dificulte a los Residentes entrar a sus casas.
Hasta se podría perder el control de futuros desarrollos. Todo esto
OCASIONARÍA QUE EL VALOR DE
LA PROPIEDAD BAJASE DRÁSTICAMENTE. Todos
hemos disfrutado de una alta plusvalía en los
últimos años. Debemos reconocer que esto esta relacionado
con la cuidada y atractiva apariencia de nuestra área. Es por esta razón que
apelo
a todos los que aun no han
considerado pagar la modesta cuota de $200 dólares anuales a que lo haga lo mas
pronto posible. Como un incentivo,
me permito invitar a los
residentes que si pagan a que traten de convencer a un vecino o a un amigo a
que también pague. Recuerden que
cada pago de cuota puede
hacer una diferencia. Para mayor
información, por favor pónganse en contacto con la Sra. Ann Lafferty al Tel.
221-61-56
o con la Sra. Judith Lomas
al Tel: 221-57-00, o consulte la pagina web:www.conchaschinas.net.
Atentamente,
Peter Gray –
Presidente de la Asoc. de Colonos de Conchas Chinas
CCHA President’s Letter
Thomas Q. LeBrun, President
Conchas Chinas Homeowners Assoc.
APDO Postal #1-59
Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco,CP 48300 Mexico 29 de Mayo, 2002
Dear CCHA member,
I was elected President at the
General Assembly on Feb. 19th to reorganize the management of CCHA, strengthen
our collections and improve communications with our owners. Lanny Dykes, Tari Bowman and Pat Bendix
agreed then to serve until today when I would nominate a new slate of officers.
The reorganization is
complete. The management of CCHA is now
more like that of a corporation than that of a fraternal organization. We will
rely on email and a web site to reduce the clerical workload and communicate
more effectively with our membership.
Although still very much “a work in progress”, our web
site www.conchaschinas.net has email addresses and lots of more detailed
information, past and present.
Today I am asking you to
elect Buri Gray as Vice President with focus on government relations, Jerry
Lafferty as Treasurer, and Ray Capiaux as Secretary. In addition I have appointed 3 Chairmen of
Standing Committees: Marco Anderegg, New
Development; Harvey Prawer, Maintenance and Judith Lomas, Membership. Judith has in turn appointed 11 precinct
captains to be the first point of contact for owners and CCHA, they are listed
at the web site. To keep continuity, Lanny
Dykes has become a member of Marco’s Committee and Tari Bowman of
Jerry’s Committee. Ann Lafferty is
our Webmaster and DataBase Programmer.
Judith’s committee has
collected the data to expand our owner’s relational database dramatically
(e.g., we now have 125 email addresses, our preferred way to communicate). We still need lots of info. Get in touch with Ray Capiaux if you want to
complete or verify yours.
In less than 3 months
The responsibilities of CCHA
are broader than a conventional homeowners association. The association is responsible to you and to the city for general cleanup of streets
and beaches, street and lighting maintenance and landslide removal (a major
expense during the rain, since CCHA does not have the equipment to do so). CCHA
has never had enough funds to improve the overall Conchas Chinas ambiance to
the level that a residential area of our quality deserves. To do this we need higher payment
paticipation. A two pronged attack will
be used to strengthen our collection procedures.
a)
The short term
one; We will get the Mayor’s written help (to delinquent members, RE Agents
and Notaries) to reinforce the authority we derive from the Convenio with the
city. We will use our collection attorney, Rios & Ortiz, as required.
b)
The long term
one; We will find a legal scholar in this area of Mexican law to research what
authority is implicit in the many Federal, state and city, laws and regulations
that are incorporated by reference into our Escrituras (and by reference, the
Conchas Chinas Fidecomiso’s enabling documents and by further reference
Federal legislation that enabled the confiscation from the ejido and subsequent
resale of land). The same analysis is
pertinent to our Constitution and the Convenio with the city since they also
incorporate numerous Federal, State and city, laws and regulations by
reference.
The garbage policy approved
by the Board has been included in this package.
April 30 financials and the
proposed changes to the Constitution are also included.
The working agenda for the
May 29 General Assembly has been included as well. We hope to see you then at Casa Maria at
ESPAÑOL
Estimado Colono de Conchas Chinas,
En la ultima Asamblea General del 19
de Febrero, 2002, fui elegido Presidente de la Asociación de Colonos para
ayudar a reorganizar la administración de la misma, reforzar la colecta de las cuotas,
y mejorar la comunicación con los propietarios en nuestra Colonia.
El señor Lanny Dykes, y las señoras Tari Bowman y Pat Bendix acordaron
continuar en sus puestos hasta el dia de hoy, en que yo presentaría una lista
de los candidatos para los puestos de la nueva Mesa Directiva.
La reorganización ya esta terminada. La
dirección de la Asoc.de Colonos se asemeja mas a la de una corporación que a la
de una organización fraternal. Pensamos hacer uso del
"email" y del "web site" para reducir el trabajo de oficina
y comunicarnos más efectivamente con todos los socios. Aunque todavía
esta en la etapa de "proceso", nuestro "web site" www.conchaschinas.net contiene direcciones de "email" e información mas detallada,
tanto del pasado como del presente.
El día de hoy, les pido que elijan a la Sra.Buri
Gray como Vice Presidenta enfocada a relaciones gubernamentales, al
Sr.Jerry Lafferty como Tesorero, y al Sr. Ray Capiaux como
Secretario. Además he nombrado a 3 Directores de Comités: El Sr.Marco
Andregg - Nuevos Desarrollos, el Sr.Harvey Prawer-Mantenimiento, y la
Sra. Judith Lomas-Membresia. A su vez, la señora Judith Lomas ha
nombrado 11 Jefes de Manzanas que serán el primer contacto entre los
propietarios y la ACCCH. Sus nombres aparecen en el "web
site". Para ayudar a la continuidad, el Sr.Lanny Dykes será miembro
del Comité de Marco, y la Sra. Tari Bowman trabajara en el Comite de
Jerry. La Sra. Ann Lafferty es nuestro Programador de "Webmaster
y DataBase".
El Comité de la señora Judith Lomas ha logrado
obtener mucha información la cual ha seriamente incrementado nuestra "data
base". (e.g. Hoy contamos con 125 direcciones de
"email" - nuestra forma preferida para comunicarnos.) Todavía
nos falta mucha información. Les agradeceremos se comuniquen con el señor
Ray Capiaux si desean completar o verificar sus datos.
En menos de 3 meses, el señor Harvey Prawer ha
logrado reparar hoyos alrededor de las calles de la Colonia, y
ha arreglado áreas grandes en la entrada norte hacia la parte de arriba de
la Colonia, así como varias áreas en la Calle Sta. Barbara. También logro
que se pintaran los postes de luz que lo necesitaban.
Las responsabilidades de la ACCCH son mayores que
las de una asociación de colonos convencional. La Asociación es
responsable ante ustedes y la ciudad de la limpieza general de las calles, la
playa, el mantenimiento de las calles y el alumbrado publico, así como de recoger
derrumbes de tierra. (Esto ocasiona grandes gastos en época de lluvias,
ya que la ACCCH no tiene el equipo para hacerlo.) La ACCCH nunca ha
contado con fondos suficientes para mejorar el ambiente general de Conchas
Chinas y ponerlo al nivel que una área residencial como la nuestra
merece. Para lograr esto necesitamos aumentar el número de socios que
paguen sus cuotas. Usaremos los dos siguientes pasos para reforzar el
procedimiento de colecta de cuotas.
a). A corto plazo. Obtendremos una
carta del Presidente Municipal dirigida a los Colonos de Conchas Chinas que no
han pagado, a las Agencias de Biene Raices y a las Notarias) en donde se
confirme la autoridad que recibimos del Convenio celebrado con la ciudad.
Usaremos los servicios de nuestros abogados de cobranzas, Rios y Ortiz, cuando
sea necesario.
b) A largo plazo. Solicitaremos los servicios
de un abogado especialista para que investigue que autoridad es implícita en
las leyes Federales, del Estado y de la Ciudad, leyes y reglamentos incorporados
por referencia en nuestras Escrituras (y por referencia los documentos que uso
el Fideicomiso de Conchas Chinas, y por mayor referencia la legislación Federal
que permitió que se pudieran poner a la venta los terrenos ejidales. Este
mismo análisis es pertinente a nuestra Constitución y al
Convenio celebrado con la Ciudad, ya que ellos también incorporan
numerosas leyes y reglamentos Federales, Estatales y de la Ciudad, al
hacer referencia a ellas.
También se ha incluido a) una carta sobre la nueva
política de recolección de basura -
b) Los reportes financieros al 30 de abril y
cambios propuestos a nuestra Constitución -
c) La Agenda para el 29 de mayo -
Esperamos contar con su presencia en la
Asamblea en Casa Maria, a las 6:00 pm.
.
PRESIDENT’S APRIL LETTER