Response of the Alternative Landscape Group (ALG) to Communication 86

Versión en español

Dear president,

We have seen Communication 86 and whilst recognising and appreciating that the resort needs to move foreward, we believe that we have been unjustifiably scapegoated and need an apology from you. We have worked (and were still working) very hard to produce some alternatives.

You have sent your communication to every owner in the resort, we don’t have that luxury.

We all feel insulted by the ensuing communications and will use all our efforts to clear our names as we don’t consider ourselves as having failed. The failure on our part, was our hope that we would have a Board that would listen to the community and this working group and, more recently, we hoped that this was this was going to change with a new leader. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case. The same mistakes are being made by the same people! And yes, many of us bought off plan so have been able to watch the evolution of Riquelme from the start.

Firstly, we would like to make one thing clear, no formal direction was ever given by the Board. We assumed that we were there to help put in place a plan, to save as much of the green areas as possible on Riquelme. The only stipulation was to report by mid September. If you had wanted interim reports, you should have made this clear at the beginning. If you had initially stated that all we were to do was to design a garden, then we would not have bothered wasting our time and knowledge on this project. That is a job for professional garden designers.

Please use the expertise that abounds in the community to all our advantages. A Board that doesn’t consult is no use to our resort.

No member of the Board was present at the initial meeting of the ALG. This meeting was absurdly delayed after the initial request for volunteers. It was made clear to the group that the Board wanted no involvement with us. For some, this led to a suspicion that the motives of setting up the group were about appearance rather than a genuine search for solutions.

You mention transparency in your communication. That is exactly what we want too, it’s also what the community deserves. Therefore we feel that you really need to publish the true facts. Mud slinging at us, is going to have very negative repercussions. (The HR community knows that our gardening group is working hard and is trying to make a positive difference.) Our primary goal was to help correct, what can only be described as a very flawed plan pushed through by the Board with no regards to the Community’s opinions.

We also don’t see the why the Board suddenly says this is urgent. Over 14 months was wasted whilst this plan was put together not including the latest debacle. Plants will die without water but so far seem to be hanging in there so why not produce an agreed plan to deal with any problem areas?

STV’s initial plan was flawed and rejected by many owners. Repeating the same again will not be acceptable.

We all know there is a water shortage but as we will come back to later, the water supply problems are solvable and solutions should have been put in place years ago. Our report on water will be with you soon.

After we (the ALG) had been established, we were contacted by many owners. We consulted widely. The repeated theme from many was that of an unsatisfactory service from STV. Any complaints to HRGR Admin were usually rebuffed.

They commented on the “divide” across Riquelme with very little effort put into the gardens at the southern end of the resort. Whilst we all understand the need to have a welcoming appearance when entering Riquelme only a blind man would fail to see that when you get to the “poor end” there is a marked difference. I am sad to say that this perception was echoed by many recent visitors to Riquelme who have no vested interest in the site.

Transparency could be improved if the STV survey, which was submitted in Oct 21 was published. Rumours abound that it was very negative and that this is why it was never published.

The board gave the gardening committee no opportunity or means to produce a meaningful plan. How could we create a plan whilst being denied all relevant information, having no budget and no help whatsoever from the Board, Administration or STV. Businesses could not work under those restraints.

1. We requested the STV contract as we wanted to see what the provision in it was for after care of plants on Riquelme. i.e. We saw the waste of time effort and community money by STV in planting and placing palm stumps in the area opposite the water treatment plant. The area was then just left to die. This is only one example of many reports from concerned owners.
2. We requested information on what had been done regarding Water contracts. This was so we did not duplicate or obstruct any progress in obtaining a water supply. We have since been informed that water can be available, but the board negotiation team were not using the correct approach. We will supply more details as this is in all our interests.
3. It was obvious from feedback received for the community that STV have been out of control on Riquelme for some time. Your comments “that the Board will take action” is welcomed. However, we are still getting reports about owners being sprayed by “Harmful” insecticides and herbicides. At least two members of the group will be happy to serve denuncias against STV and would ask how you want this handled? The complaints you dismissed were very serious and did happen!
4. The replies to the report in Attachment B “Principles and recommendations for the sustainable management of the gardens of Riquelme” raise a lot of questions and we feel that the “expert” should be identified. It appears that a deliberate “hatchet job” was done on the report. There were many inaccuracies in the replies. These will be identified later.

Alternative Landscape Group. July 12th, 2022

Related posts
Report on Irrigation Water at Hacienda Riquelme (Executive Summary)
Principles and recommendations for the sustainable management of the gardens at Hacienda Riquelme
Brief history of a gardening project
Economic impact of water in the resorts