The square that will change the Villa

Hereinafterthe municipal government works to pay the 160,731 euros of recognized debt, what must be approved by the Plenary the day after tomorrow; will pay by decree 21,296.35 euros for material collection and 23,817 euros for a certification of the work carried out within the contract; will elaborate the bases of the contest to conclude the works, will bid and award the final work.

Víctor García, Councilor for Economy and Finance, is prudent as well as optimistic: «We want to reach an agreement with the contractor. Otherwise, it will be the Advisory Council of Canary Islands the body that will determine the conditions of the rescission”. He understands that “we are advancing after much technical and legal work to resolve the situation of the Villa de Arico plaza”, but warns that the judicial route, raised by the socialists, remains open.

This is a project that the company and the construction management had to face, addressing its adaptation to current technical regulations almost at the beginning of the works. With the argument of the state of the land, the construction company paralyzed them and proposed a modification of the project, which the Plenary approved on April 12, 2018 for 157,807.79 euros (7.72% of the budget), which amounts to 2,067. 307 euros the budget of the executed project. When exhausted, the work was paralyzed.

a complex situation

Víctor García values ​​the work of municipal technicians and staff “by resolving the many difficulties encountered in providing legal coverage for the payment of invoices pending payment to the construction company.” The plenary agreement of the past day 15, which authorizes said expense, had the abstention of the PSOE. At this point, García laments “the absolute lack of collaboration from the opposition, voting against the budgets, abstaining from the solution proposals or trying to extend the completion of the work in court.” In his opinion. “Judicializing this file and turning the plenary session into a circus of criticism without contributing anything does not help to resolve, but to slow down the solution.” The PSOE denounced the approval of the project before the Prosecutor’s Office.

With the premise “we do not feel guilty of this situation, but we do feel responsible for solving it”, Víctor García defends that “we want to face the beginning of 2023 working on the tender for the part of the work that remains”. In summary, it remains to finish off the work and carry out the electrification. “We are beginning to unclog the square, a very complex procedure for any City Council, but we are on the way to recover this space for the municipality.” A task in which “we will continue to seek the consensus of all parties to move this project forward.” The information and participation in this long process has been carried out in permanent contact with the neighborhood association of the Villa.

The Remodeling project of the Villa de Arico I and II square and its surroundings covers 5,343.80 square meters of surface, which are distributed in 1,114.62 that occupy the streets and sidewalks, 3,073.73 square meters of square and 313.01 square meters garden squares. This enclosure will house the crypt, public toilets, multipurpose rooms, an assembly hall, exhibition halls and the Municipal Library. The construction of the square was tendered for 2,865,588 and a period of 25 months for its execution, but the successful bidder offered to carry it out for 956,089 euros less than the price (1,909,499 euros) and in 18 months. Its financing comes from the compensation that the municipality received from the Cabildo for the landfill. Agreement that the insular Administration did not renew. The project was approved in 2015 and the tender and start of work took place in 2016. The idea of ​​building a new plaza for Villa de Arico dates back to 1994.