Has the economic situation of the City Council improved in the last three years?
At the beginning we had quite a few problems due to the bank debt from the previous mandate and due to the significant number of pending invoices that were left in our drawers. In 2019 and 2020 we had to allocate a good part of the budget to that. From then on, we have managed to readjust the situation and generate a surplus. We currently manage some 18 million euros, thanks mainly to external financing. This month we held a plenary session to approve a credit supplement of 1.9 million for our contribution to numerous projects and reduce debt. The bank debt will have passed in this mandate from the two million that we are to just 600,000 euros. Now, economically we are calm. We were able to focus on ending all the debt, but we have preferred to also carry out works and services.
Is there progress regarding deficiencies in sanitation?
You are right. We have already approved the pending investment of the 2014-2017 and 2018-2021 Municipal Cooperation plans of the Cabildo for Carretera Vieja, where all the sanitation will be placed. It will be 1.8 million euros. For the 2022-2025 Cooperation Plan there will be another 1.4 million for Matosa and Camino del Mar. The idea is to finish off areas, closed nuclei, that in the future can discharge to the regional treatment plant that will be a reality in the coming years in The victory.
Will the installation of the treatment plant generate any benefit for La Victoria?
We fight for the no, we present the contentious appeal, but once all the ways have been closed, we have managed to get the Cabildo to give the initial project a turn. It has been improved and, by meeting all current technical requirements, odors do not have to be generated, which were the main drawback. We have visited those of Valle Guerra and Adeje and we have seen how they work. Climate change will generate water scarcity and having this treatment plant in the municipality will allow us to have reclaimed water to boost it for the use of our farmers and for irrigation of parks and gardens.
“The regional sewage treatment plant will ultimately be a reality in the municipality in the coming years”
Have they finally renewed the public lighting?
Yes, we have invested close to a million euros in changing the old mercury and sodium lamps from the 70s for Led technology. Electrical panels have also been legalized and that allows for much fewer outages. Around 90% of the municipality has been intervened. This benefits the environment and generates economic savings, such as the installation of photovoltaic panels to produce electricity.
How many photovoltaic solar panels have you installed?
We currently have nine public buildings with such facilities. There are about 500 plates in total. In addition, we have just received another two new grants for the Marrero deposit, which will help to start up the Cuatro Caminos well, and another in El Pinar. The parking building attached to the Town Hall will also have photovoltaic on the roof, so that at the end of the mandate we can have around a thousand solar panels installed.
Is improving the drinking water supply network another major pending issue?
Yes, we have to improve the entire network of pipes, which are many years old and that generates many losses and breakages that have an economic cost. It’s the next big thing. We have a project of 1.2 million euros for two streets. Experts have told us that changing the entire deficient drinking water network costs 20 million euros. We have an average budget of 8.6 million euros, for everything, so we will need, yes or yes, the support of other administrations.
Will the nursing home be able to open in this mandate?
It has to be ready in 2023. We are in the last phase of works, which is quite advanced, and soon we will tender the furniture. We also work on personnel issues. Over the next year it has to start working. Now we have a day center, which will increase to 40 places, and we will finally be able to count on the first residence for the elderly in the history of the municipality with 20 places. Currently we only have the mini-residence for people with disabilities, which we are also going to expand from 6 to 12 users.
La Victoria has never had a PGO either…
Yes, and it will cost. We have to have it, but it is something very complex. We are now in the process of substantially modifying the Subsidiary Regulations of 1991 and we have also carried out, I think correctly, eight minor modifications of those regulations to respond to specific needs. The next mandate will be, if we continue here, to create new roads in La Victoria. It has been more than 20 years since any new street has been opened and we are working on it for Los Almendros, Acentejo-Resbala, a transversal one at the Santo Domingo school… And on a plot to be able to build the first 16 public houses, in La slip. We are also seeking funding for Las Haciendas Street to connect downtown with San Juan.
Will there finally be a roundabout on the main road?
Our task has been done since November 2020 and we are waiting for the Roads area of the Cabildo de Tenerife. It’s up to us now.
When will work on the new car park begin?
It will be very useful for commercial fabric. With this subsidy of 1.1 million and our contribution of 235,000 euros, we hope to start the work in 2023. We will also begin work on the occupational center and we must seek financing to tender the square and the new auditorium. We have the definitive project for the auditorium, which is 5 million, and from Culture of the Cabildo they have told us, verbally, that we will have the financing and we hope to close the agreement in this mandate.
And the first hotel?
The works of the House of the Dean will begin in two weeks. They will last 9 months and then the furniture and management will be missing. Work will begin shortly on the pavilion, on the soccer field stands and, after six years, on the high school fields. It will take 9 months too, but they can finally be recovered with the help of the Government of the Canary Islands. And the next goal is to roof them. In a few months we will also launch a plan for paving and improving the El Pinar playground, which costs 420,000 euros and will be inclusive and accessible. And the library and study room is underway, after the termination of the previous contract, and we want to have it ready by the end of the year.
Will we have to wait for nursery school beyond 2023?
I hope to obtain the 800,000 euros that we lack for the work before the end of the year. We have already saved and bought the building, we have prepared the project and now we are in the phase of obtaining financing. It will be seen in the next mandate.
