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Property
Owners
> Archived
Newsletters > Feb. 2005
Newsletters:
of primary interest to property owners on the Costa Maya, - Rio Indio
- Placer - Uvero - Punta Herrera - Xcalak and other points along the
coast
***********************Newsletter:
February 6, 2005**************************
Contents:
Road Conditions
Continuing saga of mail delivery
Update on Recycling effort
Costa Maya Chamber of Commerce
Zoning and the use of Motorized vehicles inside the reef
Electricity -- READ THIS!
Hi Neighbors,
If you will note the email subject has been changed to include Xcalak.
There are many reasons for this. Primarily I have been receiving emails
from property owners south of Mahahual asking to be included on the
mailing list. Also, most of the issues are relevant to everyone on the
Costa Maya. I hope the weather where you are has not been too cold.
The weather here has been almost too beautiful, with no rain. We could
use some. Please keep the dry weather in mind if you are planning any
lot clearing. The men who clear lots have a tendency to pile up all
the cut timber, palm fronds and other plant material, dump gasoline
on it and have one large raging fire. Fires can get out of hand and
spread to neighboring lots. This kind of burning is illegal, and some
time soon will incur fines. We have only seen one instance of fining,
but we think that in a few months there will be more. Archives of this
and previous newsletters can be accessed at http://www.mayanbeachgarden.com/PropertyOwners_Newsletter.html.
ROAD CONDITIONS
The rainy season has been somewhat brutal on some of the roads. You
can still get up to Punta Herrera without a 4-wheel drive, but the going
is slow in some areas. Thanks to Paradise Lodge, the north end of the
Rio-Indo - Placer beach road is in great shape. The Woodwards who own
Paradise have been having their workers fill in all the potholes. On
the Jungle road north of Mahahual, there is a pretty big pothole just
north of Mile Marker 2, but the rest are easily avoidable.
The good news is that the divided highway from Bacalar to Chetumal is
looking very good. You can drive all the way from Bacalar to the Escarcega
junction on a concrete road with wide shoulders.
CONTINUING SAGA OF MAIL DELIVERY
Last month I reported that UPS delivered a package to Mayan Beach Garden
on Dec. 24th, which I thought was a rather long delay, considering that
it was postmarked Dec. 6th. Last Tuesday, Feb. 1st, I received a letter
sent via US postal service the same day. Thanks to Gabe Zarnotti, we
don't have to wonder which is quicker! The good news is that they both
got here.
UPDATE ON RECYCLING EFFORT and RECYCLING NEWS
The recycling effort continues on. We (meaning all of you who have donated)
made our first official donation to the city of Mahahual to expand the
composting bins which are full. The first donation was $200 USD. The
city made a formal thank you to all the "foreign investors"
on behalf of the city who had no funds in which to do this. Ann and
Neil Guerin, who were early donators were able to attend the meeting
and meet the members of the "Costa Mayan solid waste management"
group (Solid waste refers to the recyclable materials and calling our-selves
the Costa Maya refers to the area from Xcalak to Punta Herrero.) "
The money was turned over to the treasurer and I received a copy of
receipts spent for wood and wire for the bins.
Since the last newsletter I received 3 additional donations to the Mahahual
recycling effort (thanks!):
Neils and Wendy 1000 pesos
Wayne and Carla Kelly 1100 pesos
The Layman family 55 pesos
This brings the total collected to $1241 USD. $200 USD has been given
to the recycling center of Mahahual making a balance of $1,041.27. I
should be receiving a new proposal for the funds next week to expand
the recycling collection bins to include glass and aluminum. Right now
they only hold plastic. We will also help educate the locals about recycling
by creating signs and brochures.
One of the problems has been trying to get the plastic from Mahahual
to a recycling processing center. There is one in Chetumal, but at this
point they are not coming to Mahahual to pick it up. Tom Steddum has
donated his trailer and Orlando Iglesia, from the University of Quintana
Roo has volunteered to haul loads to Chetumal when he goes to Chetumal.
People here are really determined to make this work. Meanwhile, the
dock has volunteered one of their large trucks to haul combined plastics
from the dock AND Mahahual. Large organizations move slowly and so far
it hasn't happened, but the effort continues to move on.
Also under "recycling news" is the fact that the environmental
groups are really getting serious about recycling. Recycling bins have
been placed throughout Mahahual for the collection of recyclable materials.
One of the restaurants didn't like the bins so removed it. Several requests
for removal didn't work so the local group went to Chetumal and got
a $2100 warning fine assessed against the restaurant. The bins were
back up the next day. They are also getting serious about mixing bones
with compost in the city compost bins and and looking at assessing fines
for restaurants that don't comply.
COSTA MAYA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
In a ceremony in Mahahual on Jan. 21st, 2005, The Mahahual Chamber of
Commerce was given autonomy from the city of Chetumal. It will be known
as the Costa Maya Chamber of Commerce and include the area from Xcalak
to Punta Herrera. A vote was taken and Miguel Sosa was voted as the
new president of the chamber of commerce.
Being a member of the chamber of commerce is quite a bargain. If you
have a corporation, you can be a member for 200 pesos. We registered
our corporation last week. You might ask why you would want to be a
member of the chamber of commerce, but I think it is important for foreign
investors in the Costa Maya area to have a voice in what is going on.
I'll report more on the activities of the chamber of commerce in the
months to come as I am on the board. I will be representing all of the
foreign investors, the first time that foreign investors (non residents)
have been represented in the state of Quintana Roo. In the near future,
the membership fees collected by the chamber will be used to promote
the following goals:
ATM machine in Mahahual (hopefully a bank as well)
Social Security doctor for the workers in the area
childcare center for workers in Mahahual
Web site promoting the businesses along the Costa Maya
ZONING AND THE USE OF MOTORIZED VEHICLES ALONG THE COSTA MAYA
On Feb. 3, there was a meeting in Mahahual at the Aricefe restaurant
to alert everyone of the zoning laws for use of motorized vehicles (jet
skis, boats, etc). There were many officials from state, local and federal
environmental agencies as well as the Navy. A law has been on the books
for quite a while that limits all motorized vehicles from being used
INSIDE the reef. The only use of motorized vehicles is for transportation
of passengers outside the reef and such use is limited to certain buoyed
areas. These areas will be established in a workshop in Mahahual on
the 18th of February at the Aricefe restaurant. Based on what zone you
are in, there may be no motorized vehicles in your area at all and you
may have to find other areas to put boats into the water. Prior to Feb.
3, the law was being ignored, but as of noon on that day, the law will
be enforced by the Navy. Mahahual already has a buoyed area, but if
you have a boat and wish to use it to get out to the reef, please avoid
problems by making sure you go VERY slowly, avoid any wake inside the
reef and only use your vehicle to transport yourself and any passengers
outside the reef. I will report more on this when I can get a copy of
the full law and a copy of the zoning regulations which should be available
in English in the near future.
ELECTRICITY
The first effort at getting attention for electricity failed. Now your
property information is needed again since a copy of the list that was
turned in was not made (sad lesson learned). We now have another opportunity
to apply to CFE (the electric company). They now have very specific
information that they need. Please email me back with answers to the
following, and PLEASE pass this on if you know of any other property
owners.
If you have or are currently building - how many rooms are there?, (this
lets them know how much electricity they need in each house or facility)Equipment
you need that requires electricity, such as refrigerators, TV sets,
water pumps, air conditioners, etc.How many days of the year are you
using the facility at the present time?If you are planning construction,
when will this take place and can you answer any of the above questions
about your lot?Address, Lot or the best idea of where you are located.
Owner's name
It is important to get this information back to me this month as the
window for consideration is fairly short.
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Thanks for your help and we'll report more next month as we learn more.
DISCLAIMER: The information in this newsletter comes from meetings
I attend which are all in Spanish. I have to trust my poor Spanish or
use an interpreter. Anytime I am incorrect, I will print a correction,
so if you see any errors, please let me know.
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Updated:
19-Apr-2008
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