Dear Vecinos,
Thank you, Jon, for kicking off a great discussion as we move toward our annual election. I believe that it’s important for all of the candidates to go “on the record” about their views.
In the past year, under the leadership of President Scott Brown, Marieke White, and many others, the newly established WhatsApp chat forum for Akumal Norte Owners has fundamentally changed the way communicate about local issues/solutions/information. This needed to happen and is a positive development. I’ll go through my thoughts on the six specific items, but first, I’d like to reflect on “Why Vecinos?”.
Over the past 25 years since the original Vecinos group was established, the overall effectiveness of the organization has been limited by participation. We are a Civic Association with no real legal authority. As an “influencing” association, our impact depends almost entirely on the awareness and participation of the residents. Just a bit more than half of the owners in Akumal are active Vecinos members. The topics that Jon listed in his post are certainly among the most important issues we face. But frankly, it is basically the same list that we’ve worked on for decades.
In the past 10 or 15 years, the region around us has dramatically changed, and the pressures of tourism and development have brought not only improved access to goods and services, but traffic, crime, and increased environmental and regulatory problems as well. Owners in Akumal want the town to be well managed, to protect their investments, and ensure quality of life for themselves and their guests.
The State of Quintana Roo has worked hard to expand its infrastructure, basic administrative systems, and emergency services, but the speed of development and limitations on monetary resources have often outpaced those efforts. So, the implications of inaction are serious and getting more serious. If our goal is to maintain the quality and character of our community, it’s down to us.
We must see things as they are, not as they used to be, or as we wish they were. The Vecinos must do all of the things on that list and more. Every one of them must be actively managed.
My views on the issues. I’ll start with “Other” as I think these are the key priorities:
1. Engage and recruit more owners and residents in the community. In order to have more control over our own destiny we must increase outreach, membership percentages and active participation. Social media and discussion are currently among our most effective tools.
2. Lower organizational barriers to participation. Improve the charter to include people and build a leadership team that truly represents the entire community and its interests.
3. Transparency – Make and keep the processes open. Provide a window for the members into deliberations and decision making to allow the members to hold the elected representatives accountable for their actions.
Record and stream the Board meetings for any and all to see and encourage discussion. Over recent years, we’ve had many discussions about processes to ensure “Confidentiality”, “Disclosure” and “Conduct”, but honestly, organizations all over the world do this routinely. None of these prevent an open system. The stakes are too high the implications are too serious. This matters.
Re: the 6 “Ss”:
1. Road Repair – A forever issue. I have actively supported this beginning with the initial construction (paid for by each building) and will continue to do so. I’ve even removed the reflectors off of the old Pluma tope myself. Count me in.
2. Security – This is serious and given the increases in crime over recent years, is becoming more critical over time. The presence of the Guardia Nacional has been a major deterrent and benefit to us all and must be continued. I also supported the Pluma from the start, before Vecinos took it over, and believe that we need to continue to continuously improve the systems and entry control.
3. Sewer – I’ve written articles in La Voz in the past about the options for upgraded systems and supported this as a “cause celeb” for years. I was part of the small group that donated the bio-digester for the National Guard building. I’ll continue to do support this in any way I can. Many of the legacy building systems are inadequate. The pollution going into the sea is not just coming from the sargasso, it’s from us.
4. Sargasso – Not only a critical environmental problem, but an economic and health issue as well . It’s been with us since 2011 and algae blooms are expanding yearly. It’s not going away any time soon. And it’s not just the beach. We need a “healthy bay” and “healthy shore” environment. All marine life is severely impacted by the inundations as well as the residents and tourists.
I actively support the government strategy and have contributed to the barrier, the beach cleanup, the HMB Sargasso Committee, and will continue to do that. I also highly recommend that the members and public become familiar with the science and excellent academic research done in this area. It is extensive and can “debunk” many of the myths and misinformation here. Our discussion and decisions need to be driven by established facts and recommendations from experts; marine biologists, oceanographers, and marine ecologists.
To the extent that Vecinos can help with the beach cleaning, I support it. But frankly this is too big. As an organization, we need additional resources. Meaningful governmental help will not be arriving any time soon, so I also encourage EPA to continue independently working to provide an effective barrier solution and to help coordinate ZOFEMAT and other assistance.
5. Sidewalk installation – This is an important safety improvement. It needs to be done but it is complex. As it would be adjacent to the road itself, it would have to be located on land that is owned by others, and many sections through the town already have structures and are in use. Secondly, in the future we will hopefully have a sewer line and lift stations that connect the town to the treatment plant in the Pueblo. That will require access to the same land and access would have to be provided by the owners and/or government agencies. This land could then also potentially be used for upgrades/consolidation of utility lines and improved lighting, which are also needed. So, public financing and land access are first steps. In summary, this is an important long term issue but needs to be addressed in a comprehensive manner, not as a partial, "one off" solution. It requires planning and continuing focus.
6. Street lighting – like the road, this is ongoing. We all benefit and Vecinos has done a good job over the years installing, funding, maintaining, and improving the system.
