Let's start at the start

But let's be fair:  the concept was sound.  The land that ITW built the village on is private land. The village therefore is responsible for its own maintenance and services, unlike other villages such as 1600, 2000 which come under the umbrella of the Bourg St Maurice Commune.

So the ASL, which is owned by all of us, and of which we are all members by dint of owning property in the village, is a legal framework in France. It is designed to provide things such as snow clearing (monitored by the fire services), street maintenance, lighting, waste removal to the boundary, and a host of other civic functions. It provides  the TV channels, the CCTV and street security.  It pays for the Cabriolet, and hence determines it's opening times.

ITW  also included the responsibility to decide which shops are able to sell which products and services: this is in order to keep both a diverse and balanced offering, as well as enabling a degree of monopolistic behaviour to encourage inward investment (more on this in later updates - it is the bugbear of my life frankly)

It does not have the power to grant drinks licences.  It does not have the responsibility for law and order, but as the de facto town council, can act on behalf of the residents in regards such things as noise pollution.

ITW then saw the opportunity to expand it into a Resort Club, much like their North American Operations, within the same framework. The ideas was to promote the village and provide entertainment, and generally improving the environment for us and our clients.  The ASL arranges journalists visits, the webcams, and tries to keep the village name in as many press reports as possible. Again, probably no bad thing.

Trouble was, they forgot to tell us, And they certainly forgot to ask us - the bill payer - if this is what we wanted. There was a certain amount of arrogance from Robert Jerome as I recall:   "Oh you owners, you will not embrace the vision, all you want to do is save money".

And mixing the two under one legal entity, while smart from an administrative point of view, has caused nothing but confusion and angst amongst the membership.

But thanks to the determination of the OA and those individuals prepared to make a stand, then whatever the past, those days are now behind us.

The budget is under control,  the staffing levels and salaries more in keeping with the tough economic conditions, and the unravelling of tax liabilities and other "sensitive"  contracts continues.

The make-up of the board is now set as 4 apartment owners, 2 retailers and one seat for a hotel operator, a far more representative grouping, and reflects those who actually pay our 'council taxes'.

Next time, I'll introduce some of the players, and more details on where we are,  where we are going, and what happens at the (interminable...)  monthly conference calls.

Jim