You Won't Believe This

A trash update...

I feel like I am in an episode of Star Trek. The Borg, i.e., all my neighbors, are telling me “Resistance is Futile.” You can’t make this sh*t up.

Our little town…and yes, that is our favorite gelateria within 100 feet of our front door.

The Saga Continues

When I updated you last regarding our trash situation, I had just sent a petition to the câmara. We did not receive a response to the petition, sent via registered mail. So I continued to send emails…I will admit a few were rather snarky. While we did not receive any written response, we did find workers in front of our house every time it rained (that is, nearly every day).

They would close the street and fill the lakes pictured above with an oily stone mixture. They would then bring a huge tractor, tires nearly as high as our door frame … barely fitting between the cars and our sidewalk, and run it back and forth over the mess. When they left, I would go outside with a brush and soapy water and clean the front of our house. It would rain that night, and we would repeat this process the next day.

Is Someone Going to Answer Me?

One of my many emails asked if anyone was planning to respond to the petition. A few days later, I got a response:

• Parking: There are neighboring streets where you can park. (Note, as a resident, we are permitted to park for free on our street. We must feed the meter on all other streets.)

• Architectural Integrity: The new system is more hygienic. (This assumes one can fit their trash, garbage, boxes, and occasional mattress into the can. These sorts of items are routinely left near the chute.)

• Lack of Transparency: We submitted a project to the EU in 2016 for this work. It was approved by the EU. (Haaaaa?????)

• Value of our Home: I’m sorry, but it has been raining… (Oy!)

However, the letter included an invitation to meet with the Senior Engineer responsible for the project. A few days later, we had confirmed a meeting with him at 16:00 on 11 April.

My proposed location...1 block further west.

16:45 We Meet with the Engineer

A cafe owner on our street corner accompanied me to the meeting. As we waited for our meeting, he said, “You should not expect anything to happen at this meeting.”¹ When we finally met with the Engineer, note time above, he presented a map similar to the one at the top of this post. He explained that in 2016, they had been granted money from the EU to install the new system. The plan ensured that no one would need to walk more than 200 meters to find garbage, trash, and recycling bins. In the middle of each circle was a dot. One dot was directly across from our front door.

I had come prepared. I showed him the location, one block from our house, that did not include homes, and the back of the GNR building across the street. “Place the bins there,” I suggested. He responded that he could not change the plan.

The building we purchased in 2021.

I then showed him the photo above. “This is the building we purchased in 2021,” I said. I then showed him a photo of our home (sans dirt and mud). “This is the way the building looks today. Did anyone look at the planned location of the bins to see if any changes had been made since 2016?” “Nope.”

At this point, I will admit I got a bit emotional. “We made a significant investment in our property … improving an unsightly, unsafe building in this community. No one will buy our house if they look out every one of our front windows onto 5 bins. Are you going to write me a check for €500,000 to compensate us for our loss?”

“I cannot change the project,” he responded.

Directly behind our house is this small square. Note the 3 “old” underground bins that are installed. My alternative suggestion is that they remove these and place the new ones there.

We Are Meeting with the President

The heated exchange ended with me asking who could change the plan. “The President of the Câmara is the only one who can change the plan.”

“Well, I asked to meet him and I got you instead. So I suggest you arrange a meeting for me to meet him.”

A few minutes later, he had retrieved Miguel. Miguel promised to get us a meeting with the mayor, but explained he was on vacation the next week. He promised he would call me with an appointment. He did. We are scheduled to meet with the President (mayor) on 28 April at 08:30.²

In the meantime, I have contacted 2 attorneys. I contacted the Faro attorney who assisted with purchasing the building. He said there is nothing an attorney can do.³ Our local attorney cannot represent us, even though he would like to, because he holds a seat on the municipal assembly. However, he did say that we should partner with the priest who met with the mayor regarding the issue. You see, one of the bins is installed within two feet of the door through which he distributes food to the poor every Wednesday afternoon. So next Monday, a few of my neighbors, the priest and I will meet with the President (mayor). I’ll take my photos.

Deseje-nos sorte, Podes lutar contra a Câmara Municipal?, Espero…

Nanc

1. I looked at him with a shocked expression. Not because of what he said, but rather because he said it in English. In the nearly 3.5 years I have interacted with him in my broken Portuguese, he has never spoken a word of English. Of course, he is fluent.

2. This date is smack dab in the middle of a planned road trip. We have changed our plans, shortening our trip..

3. Yesterday, I emailed him to ask if there was a way we could have known about the 2016 plan when we purchased the building. Should this have been disclosed? I await his response.