The Calpe Town Council has today signed the termination of the contract for the management of the municipal swimming pool. This procedure comes after having received the favourable opinion of the Consell Jurídic Consultiu, which endorses the decision of the council to terminate the contract as a result of the numerous breaches of the concessionaire company.
A new stage in the management of these facilities will now be taken over by the City Council. At the ordinary November plenary session, held a few days ago, the councillor for Contracting and Sports, Ximo Perles, explained the steps and procedures to be taken so that the pool can return to full operation, a process which he estimates can be completed in a year and a half.
The pool concessionaire will now have a period of 10 calendar days to return the facilities to the Town Hall, which means, in principle, that they will be closed to the public after this period has elapsed. However, according to Ximo Perles, "our intention is to have the pool closed for as little time as possible" and he pointed out that as soon as the lifeguard service is awarded, which is expected to take place shortly, the facilities will be reopened. In fact, a super-simplified contract has been chosen for this tender, provided for by law for services whose provision does not exceed 10 months, and which is characterised by a reduction in time and formalities in the contracting process.
"It is a quick formula to be able to reopen the pool as soon as possible and once it is awarded, a new tender for the lifeguard service with a larger budget and a longer duration will be put out to tender," said Ximo Perles.
At the same time, the Town Council is working on the drafting of a public prices ordinance with the aim of charging a fee for the use of the swimming pool, as well as on the tender documents for payment by card and a computer application that will allow payment by mobile phone.
It is planned that public swimming in the pool will be free of charge until the entry into force of the public prices ordinance and the intention of the government team is to offer a programme of activities to the public once the service begins to be financially sustainable. Among the plans of the Town Council is also to hire a person to be responsible for these facilities and to coordinate their operation.
"We ask for the public's patience because it will take a year or a year and a half, if we are lucky, to get all the procedures in place," said the Councillor for Contracting and Sports.