José Chulvi: “A Year Dedicated to People and Building the Future”

Xàbia Mayor José Chulvi released his appraisal of 2020; we reproduce it in full below:

“To say that 2020 has been difficult is already a topic that does not do justice to reality. It has been more than difficult and we will be forever etched in our memories for what it made us suffer and also for what it taught us. It is in the face of challenges when societies and individuals prove their character and Xàbia has done so admirably.

The joint effort of civil society and the administration, businessmen, workers and families, professionals and volunteers, has been the key to moving forward. There is still a long way to go. The virus is still spreading through the streets and attacking the people we love, but we are doing well and we have to stay strong and united.

For the government team, 2020 has meant working on two objectives: in the short-term, on what was urgent to meet the demands of the COVID crisis, and in the long-term, on what is important that affects the planning of the people we love. Giving our best on a day-to-day basis to help people who needed us has not prevented us from taking ambitious steps in providing infrastructure and services. This year, it has not been a lost year.

Thus, regarding the social health emergency, we have allocated around 3,000,000 euros in social services, and 1,590,000 to integrate the most vulnerable families into employment. In addition, we have dedicated 1.5 million in aid to economic reactivation of companies in Xàbia. And this only directly, because in addition, the occupation tax for the public highway, the expansion of terraces or the tourist concessions have been reduced. All this, 750,000 euros that businessmen have been able to allocate to create wealth and sustain employment. To this should be added the million euros in social aid funds from Amjasa or the close to 30,000 euros in institutional campaigns to stimulate local consumption.

But don’t let the figures make us lose sight of what matters: what we have done is mobilize all the necessary resources to be together with people. We are in this together and in Xàbia nobody will be left behind.

On the contrary, this year we have achieved very important improvements in our town. Some of them are historic, such as the new Triana bridge, the Cristo de Mar ramp or the partial pedestrianization of the Montañar to recover a unique bay in the Mediterranean. In addition, the Customs neighborhood has a new, free, illuminated and paved parking for 160 vehicles. The Avenida dels Furs, the pavements of Avenida Juan Carlos I, the Thiviers drainage system and the wall of the Gorgos river have been completely renovated. And roads such as Pic Tort have been paved to provide better service on the Granadella beach. This in terms of the most visible things, but in 2020 we have also renovated 12 kilometers of the drinking water network, we have improved self-protection and emergency plans and we have protected our natural environment.

And, above all, we have laid the foundations for an exciting 2021, in which recovery is a reality. This year the municipal swimming pool will already have a shape (since it was promised to us in 2005), the Municipal Auditorium will restart its work, we will begin the works of the Cap de Sant Antoni Lighthouse and we will continue to improve the educational centers thanks to the impulse of the Generalitat Valenciana .

For all this, let’s say goodbye to 2020 satisfied, despite the pain, because in Xàbia we have known how to take care of the present without forgetting the future. Courage, strength and let’s step forward!”