Today members of the Consell de Formentera plenary assembly gathered for their regular June session. Councillors voted unanimously to endorse use regulations at the Consell de Formentera Archive (Arxiu del Consell de Formentera, ACF). Raquel Guasch, councillor of heritage, said the regulations set the ACF's framework for action and management and conservation criteria "to ensure documentation is a more durable and accessible asset". The councillor said that this legislative term, the objective of Consell de Formentera, which is responsible for safeguarding local documentation, is "to promote the ACF and offer islanders transparency and accessibility". "The ACF is more than a repository; it exists to serve everyone", she asserted.
The GxF-PSOE cabinet overcame the abstention of Sa Unió representatives to grant initial approval to budget amendment number 1/2022. Bartomeu Escandell, councillor of economy and finance, described the €4,204,253 amendment as equipping the budget to match current imperatives. He indicated it would be financed with the Consell's surplus funds, and that the administration would maintain zero debt.
"This is a necessary change that aligns the budget with current needs and islander services. New demands require new funding", the councillor added. The modification includes €460,000 to recruit personnel to regulate Estany des Peix, as well as money to open the local old people's residence. Line items of €290,000 will go to initiating development of professional career recognition for Consell de Formentera workers who apply for it; €1,159,000 for land acquisition; €160,000 to meet rising costs at the oil mill and €170,000 to draft the project for new stands at the Municipal Sports Field and to begin construction.
The cabinet again overcame opposition abstention to pass an amendment "to adapt to current staffing imperatives, i.e. staffing needs for the regulation of Estany des Peix and the future old person's residence; and also to attend to agreements made with unions at the negotiating table", according to Paula Ferrer, councillor of human resources.
2023 bank holidays
Plenary members came together to endorse the appointment of Juan Yern Juan as Formentera's substitute justice of the peace so that Mr Yern can be appointed by the Governing Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands for a period of four years. Likewise, representatives from every political party supported a proposed designation of local bank holidays in 2023: 25 July, Diada de Sant Jaume, and 26 December, Mitjana Festa de Nadal.
Restricting anchorage on posidonia
The day's session also brought approval for two opposition proposals that were brokered by the cabinet. In the first, which scored unanimous backing, councillors urged the Balearic Ministry of Environment to enable material and human resources necessary for an anchoring assistance service. The idea behind the measure, said Antoni Tur, councillor of environment, is "that no boat anchor on posidonia; that the service concession holder urgently dispatch boats to perform this work and that in the coming seasons there be strict contractual compliance". The second proposal involved posidonia removal on beaches. Overcoming the opposition's abstention, the cabinet urged the Govern balear to initiate an environmental awareness push; ask the Directorate General of Natural Areas to authorise the partial removal of washed up posidonia based on technical criteria (rather than scheduling issues) and finally, in order to combat the sand loss attending removal of the seagrass from beaches, to study the feasibility and suitability of enhancing how washed up posidonia is managed.
Cross-party support additionally materialised behind a proposal which was tabled by Sa Unió representatives and brokered by the cabinet to encourage the Consell de Formentera to continue implementing actions to facilitate access for people with reduced mobility in the centre of Es Pujols and the rest of the island. Councillors also urged the Consell de Formentera to continue implementing initiatives to decarbonise the municipal fleet of vehicles.
Finally, members of the plenary voted in unison to back a Sa Unió proposal "urging the Govern balear to take the necessary steps to guarantee the television signal reaches all of Formentera's inhabitants equally".
Official proclamations
Representatives also approved two official proclamations. The first proclamation marked the maiden celebration this year of World Refugee Day, 20 June, in which the Consell "stands with all refugees and denounces the systematic violation of their rights, as well as the extreme situation of vulnerability and helplessness they face". Ana Juan, president and councillor of equality, described the second proclamation, commemorating World LGBTIQA+ Pride Day, 28 June: "It reaffirms the Consell's commitment to continue promoting public policies that recognise the human rights of LGBTIQA+ people" and expresses local government's "firm intention to value equality, diversity and visibility of all identities and orientations".
30 June 2022
Communications Office
Consell de Formentera
Today Ana Juan, president of the Consell de Formentera, joined volunteers of the Spanish Cancer Association (Asociación Española Contra el Cáncer, AECC) for an AECC-led information session at Platja des Pujols. President Juan pointed out that in 2020 the beach in Es Pujols became the first on Formentera to join the Balearic Directorate General of Public Health's "Smoke-Free Beaches" (Platges sense fum) push. Today some twenty island beaches are party to the campaign. The president indicated that efforts are under way to incorporate more smoke-free spaces on the island.
These days of extreme heat, Consell de Formentera firefighters are patrolling Cala Saona, Es Ram and other areas where the fire risk is high. The crew is also performing forest fire drills, including one last weekend near Sa Roqueta in Es Pujols. The efforts are meant to build fire crews' skills responding to real accidents, handling hose lines, communicating and operating vehicle pumps, not to mention highlight the functions of each team member. Three firefighters and a service chief participated in exercises that involved two fire engines and a light vehicle.
