APC JAN-99 NEWS LETTER

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APC NEWS FROM JORG

Guest
Smith / Enron

APC is in the process of initiating a lawsuit against Smith/Enron for the harm they have done to Costambar residents. If you want to be part of this court action, which could be lucrative for property owners in the event of a favourable judgement, please fill in the forms which can be obtained at the APC Office in Barlovento, or at Don Docker?s home.

It is the intention that only those who are up to date with their commitments with APC will benefit from the outcome.

Zoning Plan

A Committee under the direction of Gordon Badger is working on a zoning plan for Costambar. All we have now is a series of regulations concerning construction in Costambar, but nothing written in accordance to zones.

However, the people should know that all construction in Costambar must be approved by APC, as well as DEFINPRO and other government bodies. Investors and landowners who wish to build a home should get a copy of these rules and regulations which are quite elaborate and binding. For example, three story buildings are not allowed in certain areas of Costambar and are only allowed elsewhere with the written permission of APC. There are rules concerning the kind of constructions allowed, the type of roof, even the color of the exterior paint. APC intends to make sure that in the future everyone respects these laws.

Garbage

The Ayuntamiento of Puerto Plata is now the official garbage collector in Costambar. Most of the residents have signed the contract with the Ayuntamiento after el Sindico Ramon Ortiz met twice with the residents. The contract stipulates that each household should pay RD 350.00 on signing the contract , as it is the case for INAPA, CODETEL and others. Afterwards, it was agreed that the monthly rate, starting October 1st 1998, would be RD 250.- for a house and RD 150.- for an apartment. The Ayuntamiento is also responsible for cleaning the beach. Ramon Ortiz has asked APC to collect these fees in its place.

The RD 500.- maintenance fees paid by the residents from the first of October to the end of December does include garbage. Those who have not yet paid are urged to do so. It is important that everyone feels responsible and does his or her share for the well-being of our community.

Beware non-payers. El Sindico Ramon Ortiz specified that he had the legal authority to make people pay. At first, there may be a fine for non-paying residents. If they still refuse to pay, he can take legal action to send them to prison. This was confirmed by the town lawyer, who was present at both meetings, quoting the Law No 3455.

Beach Plan

Judith Pratt-Jefferies and Alice Kobbs are in charge of conducting a survey to determine what kind of a Beach Plan the people of Costambar would like to have. They are asking all the residents of Costambar to fill out the form, which will be given out with this Newsletter, or which can be obtained at the APC office at Barlovento in the language of their choice (Spanish, English, French, German or Italian).

This questionnaire is the result of a previous survey limited to twenty people. The Committee would now like to see all of Costambar participate in the present survey. Please forward your filled out form to the APC Office at Barlovento, or leave it at Sandy Beach Restaurant, before the 30th of January 1999.

Attitude Some people think that being in what they call a Third world country gives them the right to do anything they want, that they can build the way they want, and that they don?t have to pay taxes or maintenance fees.

Such an attitude can only be perceived as an uncivic way of looking at things. Whether you live permanently in the Dominican Republic or only temporary, you are part of a community. And as a member of a community, you must live by its rules, the same way as in other countries. No community can offer services free of charge. There are fees to be paid for the distribution of water, for the collection of garbage, for street lights, for security, and for improving and repairing the roads and streets.

Consequently, everybody who lives in Costambar must take part in the financing of these services. Otherwise, they should move to an isolated part in the country where there are no maintenance fees because there are no services. Paying maintenance fees is a question of civism. An obligation to be a loyal member of a community.

ID-Cards

Security can be a problem in a partly touristic community like Costambar. That is why APC has ruled that every person living, working or visiting Costambar must have a specific ID-Card. Also, every car and motorcycle should carry a sticker identifying the vehicle. ID-Cards (or Carnet) are processed at the FANET Office near the entrance. It is made, including the photo, at the cost of RD 100,- . ID-Cards are not required for young children. And the car sticker is free of charge if the owner has his ID-Card. The price of RD 100,- has been establish to cover the cost of Visitor?s ID, Beach visitors, and Hotel clients for whom the ID-Cards are free.

No security system can be perfect, but the Management Committee believes that a good control at the entrance through ID-Cards and stickers, together with a police patrol system, can greatly improve the security in Costambar.

The police patrol will shortly be equiped with walkie-talkies which will be linked to a base station situated at Barlovento.

ID-Cards offer a better control of who is living in Costambar, who is working here, and who is not; it can also help control the moto-conchos coming in and out of Costambar, as well as wild vendors, thieves, burglars, and others. The system in not fool proof, everybody knows that. But anything that can help security is worth a try. So get your ID-Card now.

Benefit Hot Dog Roast

Costambar Mission School on the Cafemba Road is a government school for young Dominicans. The building however is funded by Costambar homeowners and friends.

The ninth annual Benefit Hot Dog Roast will take place Sunday, Feb. 7th 1999, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM at Olson?s beachside villa, No 14 Calle Enriquillo. Donations of paper back books would be appreciated for the book sale.

Bi-Monthly Meetings

From now on, the ?Town Hall Meetings? will be held every second week, on Monday night, at 7:30 PM, at La Paloma, Villa Marlena. The next meeting will therefore take place on Monday, January 18th 1999.

All residents of Costambar are welcome to these meetings.

Sunday Mass The Liturgical Community of Costambar would like to announce that Mass will be celebrated every Sunday, at 8:30 AM, from January 17 to April 18, 1999, at Olas Tropicales Water Gardens, 53 Calle Duarte, Costambar, under the auspices of The Bishop of Puerto Plata, His Excellency Gregorio Nicanor Pe?a.All denominations are welcome to participate. The Service will be held in English and Spanish.

Committee Pro Calles The Road Committee would like to inform the people of Costambar that because of the heavy rain that we suffered in November, the roads had to be looked at and cleaned up. All the drains were unpluged and cleaned of any debris, and the speed bumps, posts and lines had to be repainted. We particularly concentrated our efforts to the beach road and all the accumulated sand on the pavement which is quite bad for the new asphalt. Fortunately we still had RD 108,000.- in the bank, and RD 10,500.- were spend on this first maintenance job.

We also would like to tell the Community that it has been unanimously agreed by the Committee members that no existing funds will be spend on new roads or new projects. The entire sum left will be kept for the maintenance of the existing new roads, which was what the money was given for. We also would like to say that nobody is allowed to break the pavement without previous autorization from APC and the Road Committee. Anyone who needs to break the pavement for water or electrical connections needs prior approval of APC and will be required to deposit sufficient money to make all necessary repairs. Any construction which brings trucks on paved roads has to pay a fee according to the size of the construction and the owner will be held responsible to put the road back to its original shape, he will be ultimately responsible to see that the engineer has complied.

At the end of about a year, the Road Committee will turn over the entire management of the roads and their maintenance to APC, which by then will have ample funds to look after it.

Businesses

A few business persons from Costambar are asking the business community to get together and see what role they can play to make Costambar a more dynamic community. It seems that at the present time, everyone is going his own way. It was suggested that these people should get together to promote the uniqueness of Costambar and coordinate their efforts to help make this community a beautiful, active and harmonious place to live in.

Property Survey In order to establish a proper and acurate billing system, the Finance Committee, under the direction of Terry Musgrove, is presently conducting a property survey of all owners of houses, apartments and land in Costambar so that a complete and detailed data base can be established. The Committee is looking for volunteers to work on this project. So if you have any spare time, don?t hesitate to propose your help by leaving your name at the APC Office, or by calling Terry Musgrove at 970-7156.

Annual Meeting The APC Annual General Meeting will be held on February 2nd 1999 at La Paloma, Villa Marlena. The Board of Directors will present a report on its activities since it took over the Maintenance of Costambar. The Finance Committee will present a Statement of Income and Expenses for 1998. Also, the budget for 1999 will be discussed and approved or disapproved by a majority of voters.

It is therefore important that as many people as possible attend this meeting if they want to take part in the decisions which will be made concerning Costambar. The Annual General Meeting will be conducted in English and Spanish.