The skills transfer process took ten years and caused many headaches, but the core of the Farol of the island of Culatra is from today, February 1st, under the jurisdiction of the Chamber of Faro, which gains management, but also the responsibility for solving the problems that exist there, at the level of public space.
Yesterday, Wednesday, the 31st, the Chamber of Faro signed a protocol with the Administration of the Ports of Sines and Algarve (APS), transferring competences for the management of the island, also known as Ilha do Farol, and is, from today onwards, the entity responsible for the maintenance and management of this urban nucleus.
This passage of testimony, an old desire of both the municipality and the Ilha do Ilha Association, Farol of Santa Maria and also of APS, will bring changes, mainly, «in terms of operationality», revealed to journalists Rogério Bacalhau, president of the Chamber of Faro, apart from the signing of the protocol.
Until now, residents and owners of the Farol were struggling with a problem common to many “tenants”: having a “landlord” who lives far away, in this case, more than two hundred kilometers away.
«Until now, if a problem existed in this territory, [the association] had to call the APS. And APS doesn't have the resources here. Anything has to be entered into a competition”, illustrated Rogério Bacalhau.
The municipality not only has the resources, but is also nearby, on the other side of the Ria Formosa
«Above all, we have this operationality, which will allow this space to be better looked after, that we have a close relationship with problems and can solve them. This is the philosophy of the transfer of competences” that was registered yesterday, added the president of the Chamber of Faro.
There is no shortage of problems to solve – and Feliciano Júlio has them all on the tip of his tongue.
«The most pressing problem is accessibility. We have many pedestrian crossings that are completely destroyed and need to be repaired as urgently as possible", said the president of the Ilha do Ilha Association. Farol of Santa Maria.
According to this person, the majority of people who seek out the infirmary in the Farol, mainly “during the bathing season”, they do so due to “falls on the treadmills themselves, because these do not offer guarantees. They are old and need to be repaired».
This is also the priority highlighted by Rogério Bacalhau, who admits that «the issue of streets needs to be addressed now».
However, he warned: "Don't expect anything to be resolved in February, March or April."
On the other hand, «it is necessary to regularize a number of situations with the houses, (..) because there were people who died and the situations were not transmitted and, therefore, they are not regularized».
Feliciano Júlio also points out the "urgent" need for policing in the nucleus, during the summer season, because "at night people don't feel safe", as well as the construction of "a new nursing station, because the current one is out of date, is obsolete”.
Finally, the president of the association of Farol asks for public lighting to be renewed, as what exists “is dilapidated”.
«We want lighting, but we wanted it to be solar lighting, because we want to protect the environment. We also want to speak to the City Council about the degradation of the dunes. We don't want people passing through the dunes to go to the beach».
This is because, «by damaging the dunes, they are harming the environment and taking away the only protection we have».
Rogério Bacalhau said, for his part, that «there are a number of properties that are vacant and that, at this moment, become the property of the municipality», under the protocol signed yesterday.
At issue are buildings «that have nothing to do with the houses there» and that have not been in use for decades, located in the Pontão da Barra area.
The idea of the Chamber of Faro is to recover them, even if this will “take some time”.
«For example, we want to set up a civil protection station here with firefighter equipment, to provide more security for those who are here, particularly in the summer, but also throughout the year», revealed Rogério Bacalhau.
On the other hand, there has already been contact from the Algarve Marine Science Center (CCMAR), which «wants to create a hub here».
«We can do artistic residencies, have a cultural movement here. We are studying this. Only from today do we have responsibility [over this territory], but we already have some ideas. Let's then try to implement them and create a set of skills that will be an added value, both for the core of the Farol, as well as for the municipality", concludes the president of the Chamber of Faro.
From the APS, there is a guarantee that this passing of testimony is something that this entity has already been trying to promote “for years”, together with the Chamber of Faro.
«We have been trying since 2014, and since then we have had great cooperation. Finally, with all the legal processes that were necessary, today is the time to transfer these skills», summarized José Luís Cacho, president of APS.
«We think that, in fact, the Chamber has all the conditions. It makes perfect sense that she should have the mission of managing these spaces,” he concluded.
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