CiF convenes July plenary

foto ple juliol 2016Members of the Formentera Council (CiF) met today for the July plenary session. By the session's end, attendants had unanimously adopted an agreement between the Balearic Islands autonomous community (CAIB) and the CiF on the places at the Formentera Day Centre for dependent adults. Social welfare councillor Vanessa Parellada said signing the pact was “an issue of political responsibility” but called attention to an unfavourable report issued previously by the centre's administration that underscored insufficient funding to care for all the patients there. At present, Parellada said, the day centre relies on the Council to make up the funding shortfall.

Plenary members also unanimously passed a measure to establish the island's local holidays for the 2017 year. According to Susana Labrador, the CiF's head of culture, the two festivals will be the Festival of Sant Ferran on May 30 and the Festival of Sant Jaume on July 25. The latter is also island's official holiday, known as Formentera Day, or Diada de Formentera.

Cutting energy consumption
The day's session also brought approval for a measure by the Popular Party to maintain fixed thermostat levels (21ºC for heating and 24ºC for air conditioning). Daisee Aguilera, the Council's head of environment, highlighted the administration's support for the measure to improve energy efficiency, which she said would “reduce our energy consumption and offset some of the effects of climate change”. She also predicted a positive impact on the Council's electricity bill.

All the representatives at the plenary supported the socialist group (PSOE) on a measure to re-establish periodic cleaning and telephone services at the Es Cap centre for the elderly. Finally, a one-off measure was adopted regarding town and country planning at Cala Saona. Councillor Aguilera pledged to pass along news of the plenary agreement to the responsible authorities —the coastal authority and the harbour master's office— “so that land use in the area can be improved”. Aguilera cited improvements needed in the way activities at the cove are managed and watercraft safety is overseen, but pointed to “swimmer and beachgoer safety” as a leading concern.