The first Board meeting of the recently elected Kalkan Belediye, led by Mayor Saim Karakurt, was held yesterday, Tuesday 5th May.

The meeting had a full agenda and took almost 6 hours to complete. There were twelve Board members and advisors sat around the table and around 20 members of the public came along to watch proceedings.  We summarise below the key subjects discussed.

Finances
The finance manager gave a somewhat detailed presentation of the financial numbers to the Board.  KTLN hopes to bring you more details in due course, when we have had time to review them, but for now here are a couple of key points.  The annual budget of Kalkan Belediye is approximately 6,000,000 TL.  We are informed that only 77% of last year's budgeted income was received.  Given the financial commitments that the new administration inherited, this presents them with quite a significant challenge in balancing the books. 

Belediye Çay Bahçe (tea garden) on Kalkan Beach
The new administration has identified some issues relating to the running of the Çay Bahçe behind Kalkan Beach, which has resulted in its temporary closure.  This is a popular cafe and the Belediye is currently working on a solution which will see it reopened as quickly as possible, hopefully some time soon in May.

Old Belediye Building
The Board discussed the way in which the old Belediye building is being used to raise rental revenue.  Since Deniz Bank relocated in March 2009 the office space they occupied has been empty, and rental income of 2,500 TL per month has been lost.  The KTT (Kalkan Dolmuş Co-operative), currently occupies a room on the second floor of this building, and sometimes brings a desk outside the building to sell tickets.  They are interested in having a ground floor office, however the rent for the old Deniz Bank office is prohibitively high. 

The Kalkan Belediye determined that they could not reduce the rent, however they are looking at alternative solutions.  One option would be to build a wooden hut, similar to that used by the taxi drivers, and locate it next to the taxi rank.  KTLN will update you when a solution has been agreed.

Taxis
Related to the above, it is intended that there will be three main taxi ranks in Kalkan.  One would be the existing taxi rank opposite the old Belediye building, another would be a new taxi rank close to the harbour, with most of the remaining taxis being located in the bus station.

Water
Notwithstanding the budget pressures, the Board decided that one element of the water charges should be reduced for consumers.  There is a charge for taking away waste water/sewage, which is charged at a rate of 50% of the charge made for fresh water supplied.  This element of the water charge is to be reduced to 25%.

Improving the reliability of the water supply is a major priority for the Board.  The cost of providing this service has been increasing significantly.  For example, the cost of electricity to pump water has gone up, and the cost of maintaining ageing infrastructure is a drain on resources (no pun intended).  The recent repairs to the damaged pipes near Palamut alone cost around 33,000 TL. 

Municipal Ambulance
Kalkan Belediye has an emergency ambulance, which is based at the Medical Centre on Cumhuriyet Cad. (aka Kalamar Road).  Previously there has been a fixed fee for anyone who is unlucky enough to have taken a ride in the ambulance.  However the Board has decided to make the charge fairer by charging per kilometre.  Journeys will be charged at a rate of 1.50 TL per kilometre.  The poorest in the community (green card holders) will be exempt from this charge.

Harbour Charges
The Board discussed charges levied on visiting boats.  In essence they discussed the need to remain competitive with neighbouring harbours.  The charges for other local harbours will be published shortly and the Board decided to revisit this at the next meeting when this information will be available.

Local Advertising Signs
There was a discussion about the need to ensure that the size of business advertising signs are kept in proportion with their surroundings.  In the centre of the old town, which is subject to strict planning and development rules, henceforth the maximum size of these signs will be 60cm x 120cm.  In other parts of Kalkan businesses will have to seek permission from the Belediye, who will consider each application on a case by case basis.  The new rules will not be applied retrospectively.

New Road from Akbel to Kalkan
The Board listened to a presentation on plans for a proposed new road from Akbel to Kalkan.  This would replace the existing winding road that comes down to the new major junction with the D400.  The timing of this project is not completely clear, however it is intended to do this as soon as funding allows, once the 2009 season is over.  KTLN will bring you more on this later.  We hope to obtain a copy of the plans so that we can show you exactly where the new road would be.  Update 14/05/09: KTLN has now seen the plans and the changes are not going to completely do away with the existing road. The work will alter the existing road and provide better access to parts of Kızıltaş.

The situation regarding the work on Kaş Road was not discussed, however we intend to bring you an update on this in a separate article quite soon.

Helicopter Landing Pad
The Board agreed that a new helicopter landing pad should be built adjacent to the harbour.  Again, the timing of this work will be subject to funding being available, however it is something that the Board wishes to have in place as soon as possible.

Thursday Market
There are some safety concerns about how busy and crowded the end of the market is on Şehitler Cad. (where the Thursday market meets the main road out of Kalkan - where the doner kebab vans park).  In particular, there is concern for the safety of children who go to these vans at lunch time and cross the road to the market.  The Board has asked the Zabita (local council uniformed officers) to ensure that the market stalls are not set up too close to the main road, and you may see them moved further along the side road (Karayolları Sok.), towards the Belediye building.

A general plea would be to take care if driving or walking along the stretch of road near to the market on Thursdays.

Building Work
The Board has agreed that whilst major construction work ended in April, it will permit small scale finishing work to take place until mid May.  This would include activities such as painting and the tiling of small areas.  The local Zabita have been asked to apply the rules with common sense.  In the main season, local residents and tourists are entitled to enjoy life in Kalkan without the nuisance of building noise, however the Belediye does not wish to be unreasonable where relatively quiet and light work needs to be completed.

The Board has also agreed to consider now what the permitted building times will be from the end of this season, so that builders, residents and tourists alike can know exactly where they stand.  They will announce the dates in the near future and KTLN will bring you the details when available.

The Next Meeting
The next Kalkan Belediye Board meeting will be held on Tuesday 2nd June, starting at 10 am.