Dear Participants,

this Administration Board (from now on AB) has concluded, for over two months, the mandate that has been conferred to it at the shareholders' meeting of 18 March 2017. Costa Paradiso Territory’s regulation establishes that it has four months from the date of the deadline to summon the meeting intended for the renewal of the community’s authorities. However, the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic and the consequent government restrictions on the people’s gathering deeply complicate both the activities to convene and the meeting’s preparation, caused by the staff reduction in the offices of the Community, and  the actual participation of those entitled to vote. Subsequently it’s difficult to predict a date to summon the meeting; certainly not until the restrictions on the people’s gathering is on. In any case, the meeting will be convened as soon as the conditions will permit it , that is when each owner will have the physical opportunity to participate.

In this scenario, the AB, at the end of its proxy, retains necessary to provide:

- An account of the management activity carried out in the past three years;

- A summary of the current situation;

- A clue of a perspective on the future of the Community.

It also considers essential to remember the past-president Ferdinando Buffoni, who passed away last year, and to pay tribute to his memory.

The activity of the AB carried out in the three-years period 2017-2020

In March 2017, the AB had attended at the elections for the renewal of the management authorities of the Community with a specific program; the main goals were essentially:

1. Bring the financial situation of the Community back to normal;

2. Start, in collaboration with the public bodies concerned (Municipality of Trinità, EGAS and Abbanoa), the transition of the urbanization’ works management besides the related services (including in particular water and sewerage system) to the appointed institutions by law;

3. Protect the territory from a potential abuse and promote interventions and initiatives aimed at enhancing and improving the enjoyment of the Participants.

The most urgent problem, addressed by the AB at the time of his inauguration, was, then, trying to restore the financial situation of the Community. Actually, the ‘safe’ was completely empty; Abbanoa boasted a credit of over one million euros to the Community and had, therefore, untied the water for about six months; the social security institutions were creditors of around € 300,000 of charges to be paid relating to employees of the Community; the arrears amounted to about three million euros; there were significant debts with various suppliers. The community was practically in a state of bankruptcy.

Against this background, the unpaid portions were immediately recovered and the most urgent debts, such as the one towards Abbanoa, were paid. The water supply was thus restored in less than three months and the arrears were progressively reduced to physiological levels. To avoid further unties due to defaulters, the c.d. Water Supply Allotment Service Water has been agreed with Abbanoa, with the activation of utilities and the consequent issue of bills directed to individual owners. Substantially, thanks to the collaboration of the majority of serious and responsible owners, this AB has completed his mandate with the accounts practically in order, with the exception of some arrears positions for considerable numbers which the executive procedures entrusted to the Judicial Authority are in place.

The activity of the AB did not restrict itself balancing the accounts and the Community’s budget  though; it also focused heavily on the second objective, which is to bring Costa Paradiso into a situation of complete legality, as regards to the management of primary urbanization works and the urban services related to them.

In this regard, the AB has tried in every way to start a negotiation table with the public subjects involved: Municipality, E.G.A.S. and Abbanoa S.p.a., for the assignment of the water and sewage service to the managing body appointed by law (Abbanoa). Despite initial signs of availability, the Municipality has maintained an attitude of closure and unavailability to any possibility of agreement, on the incorrect assumption that the owner / supervisor of the infrastructure in question must still be the Community, "unless the TAR establishes it ", as the mayor said. It also claims that it is still up to the Community to carry out the expansion-adaptation project of the sewage system to current needs and technical standards, in order to reach the subsequent testing and transfer to Abbanoa.

In an attempt to put an end to a complete illegitimate management, on several occasions, during 2018, the AB has communicated to all the public authorities who have various competences on this matter, the intention of the Community to cease the material management of the water and sewerage system of Costa Paradiso, as it lacks a legitimizing title,  therefore it’s abusive. Only the sense of responsibility prevented the actual closure of the plants. As a consequence, until the physical management of these services have stopped completely, the Community will be forced to ask the services’ users themselves to participate to the expenses.

Facing the indifference of the recipients to this communication, in December 2018, the Community was forced to appeal to the TAR requesting:

- ascertainment of the obligation-duty of the Municipality of Trinità to acquire the primary urbanization works carried out in Costa Paradiso and to take over their management, insured so far in fact, and thus untitled by the Community;

- the sentence of the Municipality to fully carry out the testing, the management and eventually to enlarge and strengthen  the sewerage system, following the legal procedures.

- the cancellation of the no impediment for the two entrepreneurs operating in C.P. for the realization of the 1st excerpt of the sewerage project to extend the system itself

.

Talking about the 3d goal, the AB has done everything to encourage and support the operations of the Technical-Artistic Commission, the team required by the Regulation to control construction activity,

Briefly, although only partially achieving the objectives indicated above, the activity of the AB developed on a line of action aimed at ensuring: the rightness and legality of the administrative management; the recovery and financial balance of the accounts; the common heritage and environment’s protection, marking a clear difference compared to the previous administrations. In addition, Health Service deserves a special mention, as it has been significantly enhanced, with the result of full users’ satisfaction.

The position of  Trinità ‘s Municipality towards  AB

Perhaps, precisely for the lines of action just outlined, during 2019, the Municipality of Trinità and simultaneously also the best known entrepreneur of Costa Paradiso, have undertaken various initiatives against the AB. The Municipality first presented a precautionary appeal, which was rejected; then it started an ordinary trial, asking the Civil Court of Tempio Pausania to: "revoke the current Board of AB;

order the same AB, or authorize the Municipality to summon immediately the meeting for the appointment of the new administrative body; electing (during the meeting) an administrator authorizing him to present the request for the extension of the V.I.A. and upon completion of any other executive activity of the resolution of 28.05.2011, having as its object the realization of the expansion project and the extraordinary maintenance of the purification infrastructures and of the existing sewerage system, with expenses to be paid by the Community ".

According to the Municipality’s lawyer, the AB, in fact, "put in place acts and behaviors aimed at disregarding and eluding the decision taken by the shareholders' met on May 28, 2011 and, on the contrary, assuming a diametrically opposite attitude, reaching the point of requesting the 'cancellation of the administrative authorizations issued to the Community for the execution of the above-mentioned expansion works ".

These behaviors would constitute "serious irregularities and violation of the AB duties"; they would become harmful to the interests of the Municipality both as for the  owners of a share of the thousandths of the Community and as for the representative body of the territory “.

The resolution, referred to the appeal of the Municipality is, as amply evidenced by this AB on the Community website, a completely anomalous resolution, flawed both in form and in substance, having been voted by numerous people who should not have been admitted to the vote, thus in fact null and void, in which a minority of owners placed their responsibility of all an expense of absolute importance, moreover undue and without any guarantee.

 In relation to the decision of the AB to follow the normal legal procedures to solve the sewerage issue, the Municipality meant to take another path, not exactly in line with the current regulatory framework, favorably evaluating the proposal presented by two private companies for the construction of the first shred of the expansion project, without involving the Community.

 The entrepreneur mentioned above, with clearly coordinated action, tried to help him, with a warning sent to all members of the AB announcing a claim for compensation. To this warning, he followed a complaint to various authorities against each member of the Board of Directors for unauthorized discharge, omitting the non-secondary fact that many of the houses he owns drain onto Imhoff’s tanks, equal to those of the members of the AB and most of the houses of Costa Paradiso. The same entrepreneur appeared in court, during the appeals pending at the TAR (the one promoted by ATCP and the one promoted by the Community), in support of the Municipality’ reasons, with the obvious intention of provoking the postponement of the hearings and moving forward in time the final judgments of the TAR.

In the picture briefly described, it is evident that the AB has been subjected to a series of attacks, aimed at blocking its action for the change of a system,that has always been based on a combination of implicit agreements between the Municipality and the Community, directing to maintain the status quo of the management of Costa Paradiso. This status provides only expenses for the owners of Costa Paradiso and only incomes for the Municipality. A functional system which seeks to build construction development inconsistent with the criteria and requirements of the parceling development plan, with the result of scarring  the environment, that is everybody's natural heritage.

It is clear that this development, however twisted, had to be supported by an adequate sewerage and water treatment plant! The AB certainly doesn’t deny the urgent need for Costa Paradiso, of an appropriate sewage system to service all existing real estate units. But who should have supervised and arranged that  if not the public authority in charge of governing the territory and issuing building permits? The Municipality of Trinità, at the time of the release of the building permits, not only had to supervise the matching of the buildings to the technical standards of the housing development plan and the rightness of the existing sewage system with respect to the new buildings, but also has the responsibility for a serious default : it did not collect the duties of the primary urbanization from those who built it, which would have made it possible to finance, in line with the building development in Costa Paradiso over the past twenty years, the construction of the expansion of the sewer and other necessary works.

It is true, however, that the Municipality, instead of carrying out the procedures provided for the regulations by taking charge of the main functional and functioning works, wanted to privilege the private solution, proposed by two entrepreneurs with important interests in Costa Paradiso, first granting a no hold to the realization of the 1st section of the sewer expansion project, then the permission to build two new companies, headed by the same entrepreneurs, after entering into a specific urban planning agreement with the same.

The Community contested these measures in front of the TAR, as they are characterized by diverse profiles of illegality. At the same time, it also presented a complaint-petition with the general power of Tempio's republic attorney to ascertain the correct legitimacy of the  Municipality’s behavior.

Moreover, the municipal measures are intended to open substantially a new phase. As a matter of fact they would be directed not only to solve the immediate problem of the sewer for the existing real estate units of the two proposing entrepreneurs, but also and above all to level the road for new building developments, which, according to the mayor's claims would be several thousand cubic meters (even two hundred thousand). In fact, it would be phase two of the allotment equipped with an agreement according to the outline of Law 1150/1942, which would entrust the management of the new urbanization works to the entrepreneurs themselves. This phase, if implemented, would lead to the complete concrete of Costa Paradiso causing serious consequences to the natural environment!

It is more than evident the serious anomaly intrinsic in this design of the Municipality's project, which, on one hand, does not close the old agreements, fulfilling the related obligations for material acquisition of the urbanization works already completed, on the other hand, it stipulates a new one for the above mentioned purposes.

These considerations can help to understand what is the  central issue of Costa Paradiso  today: that of realizing a real change, supported by the AB, to overcome an absolute improper system, based for years on a plot of relationships between the Municipality of Trinità and the Community. The Community, has played the role of replacement of the bodies responsible for the management of the water and sewerage service, with expenses exclusively burdened by the owners and totally to the advantage of the Municipality.

It's clear that this is the real stake, on which the future of Costa Paradiso depends. As a demonstration of its desire to reach the goal of providing the Costa Paradiso area with an essential work from an environmental and hygienic-sanitary point of view, the Board of Directors has never stopped attempting to find the solution to the problem with the public administrations (Municipality, Egas, Abbanoa)

As shown in the memo of the meeting of the AB of January 24, 2020, a few months ago a significant financial contribution from the Community to the implementation of the project was also proposed to the public institutions, which has to be endorsed in a suitable meeting. This shows that the Community, in addition to the expenses for the drafting of the project and for the V.I.A. supported in the past years, is available for further contributions, as long as the works will be realized according to the procedures supported by the relevant regulations. In any case, the AB considers it counterproductive, whether even damaging to entrust the construction of a public work, such as the sewage system, to two companies that do not give suitable guarantees, both professional and financial, as their procedures seem to be at least questionable and with measures affected by defects of legitimacy , this goes against the interests of the community.

But the most serious thing is that the Municipality of Trinità does not even agree to take the mandatory step which is the necessary prerequisite for the inclusion of Costa Paradiso in the perimeter of the regional Integrated Water Service thus to start to solve the problem: carry out the obligation to take charge of existing public works in Costa Paradiso.

It will also depend highly on the attitude of the Municipality, if it wishes to continue to want to favor the private solution proposed by the two companies mentioned, or, realizing that this attitude has led to a complete standstill, will accept to fulfill the obligation to take charge of existing public works in Costa Paradiso, take the step which is the necessary condition for the inclusion of Costa Paradiso in the Integrated Water Service, therefore in the area of regional interventions planned for the related infrastructures it will fulfill the obligation to take charge of existing public works in Costa Paradiso.

It will also depend on the role that the Community Participants will want to play in the game, thus whether to side openly, in support of the path taken by the AB towards the legality of Costa Paradiso's area, or consider, as more than someone has written, that the project of the two companies that have entered into the new agreement with the Municipality, consistent or not with the current legislation, however, it would be an opportunity for those who want to have their own home equipped with a sewer. This will be precisely the real topic of the next meeting.

If this is the perspective, it is necessary to make at least a mention of the possible risks that Costa Paradiso faces, if the current stalemate continues for a long time.

For example, due to:

1. Problems deriving from the expiration, in the next month of December, of the drain authorization, for which the AB has not submitted a renewal request, since he it’s not entitled to do so;

2. Problems deriving from the possibility that the Municipality of Trinità, in the event of a loss to the TAR, will plea to the Council of State, that has set the next hearing on 28 October p.v., with consequent and further postponement of the interventions for the sewerage system;

3. Problems resulting from interventions by the healthcare authority or by the judicial authorities for possible damage to the environment, caused by the inadequacy of the sewage system, which could also lead to the closure of the village.

4. Problems deriving from the economic crisis produced by the pandemic at the expense of local entrepreneurs and of the Community itself, with possible repercussions, on the maintenance of the services present in the village, on the payment of quotas, and, ultimately, on the life of the Community itself.

For this reason, we wish that the meeting for the renewal of the Community’s management bodies, with everyone's aware participation, will be able to take place in a short time in order to deal with the problems described above.

Best wishes

The AB

Gianni Monterosso

Ferdinando Mulas

Maria Luisa Ferrari

Claudio Pedace

Luciano Ognissanti

Stefano Angeli