The new energy contract approved by the Plenary is set for a period of two years (2026 and 2027) and will begin operating on January 1st.
The Plenary also approves the inventory of assets of the Municipal Supply and Sanitation Service, and of maintenance of the public green areas of Maspalomas Costa Canaria, in anticipation of its reversion due to the end of the concession on December 31st.
The plenary session approves the municipal regulations intended to regulate the reserve lists and job pools to fill temporary vacancies.
The full council, chaired by Mayor Marco Aurelio Pérez Sánchez, unanimously approved in its ordinary session this October the awarding of the public electricity supply contract in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana to Endesa Energía for a total amount of 4.784.628,27 euros.
The new energy contract for the municipality's public lighting is for two years, 2026 and 2027, with the possibility of a one-year extension, and will become fully operational on January 1st. Mayor Marco Aurelio Pérez Sánchez acknowledged during the presentation of this matter to the full council that the contract award allows the municipality to regularize the payment of its electricity bills, which until now had been settled through extrajudicial acknowledgments of debt.
The tendering process, organized by the Department of Street Lighting, headed by Deputy Mayor Araceli Armas Cruz, was published in the European Journal and processed through the State's public sector procurement platform. The City Council has achieved cost savings of approximately €2.545.300 with this contract.
The City Council's contracting committee maintains that Endesa's technical proposal "satisfactorily addresses" the key aspects required, such as strategic contextualization, an energy efficiency plan, technological innovation and digitalization of the service, and sustainability and social responsibility.
The contracted rate includes the usual consumption of the City Council, the new lighting points that are installed in the municipality and also the occasional consumption that occurs due to the organization of events or festive celebrations in the towns.
Water supply and sanitation contract
On the other hand, in this same plenary session, the list of assets, facilities and infrastructures affected by the concession contract of the Municipal Service of Drinking Water Supply, Sewerage, Purification, Reuse and Maintenance of green areas that must revert to the San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Council due to the termination of the contract with the concessionaire on December 31, due to its expiration, was unanimously and provisionally approved.
The company Canaragua Concesiones SA has already delivered to the City Council the annexes where the municipal public infrastructures attached to the use of the concession are collected and detailed, and the plans for the water distribution, sanitation and reuse networks and, on the other hand, the inventory of the assets attached to the Parks and Gardens service (facilities, dependencies, vehicles, machinery and tools) linked to the project of recovery, improvement, conservation and maintenance of the public green areas of the Special Plan for Tourist Planning 'Maspalomas Costa Canaria'.
The economic-administrative concession of the Municipal Water Supply and Sanitation Service of the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana dates back to June 18, 1994, when the City Council plenary approved the terms and conditions for the award, the contract of which was formalized with the commercial entity Elmasa on January 9, 1995. Subsequently, on September 5, 1997, the municipal plenary approved a transactional agreement negotiated with the entity intended for the “revision, updating and redefinition of the concession contract”, recognizing “expressly, conclusively and definitively” that the geographical framework of the administrative concession in relation to the project for the recovery and conservation of the green areas of the Special Plan for Tourist Development of Maspalomas included all the urbanizations contained therein, in addition to those that were in the execution phase and those that would be executed in the future, as well as the San Fernando de Maspalomas Urbanization and its future expansions.
The provisional plenary approval of the list of movable and immovable property provided to the City Council by Canaragua is the legal step prior to the processing of the administrative procedure for the reversion of the water supply and sewerage service, which has been ordered by Mayor Marco Aurelio Pérez Sánchez to guarantee the continuity of the service to the residents.
Sports subsidies
The City Council also agreed to include in the Sports Department's aid programs subsidies for sports clubs and the holding of major sports promotion events in the municipality in 2025, for a total amount of €595.000. Specifically, €275.000 will be allocated to sports clubs, €70.000 to the organization of the Maspalomas Cup, €35.000 to the Transgrancanaria, €30.000 to the Maspalomas Open Water, €25.000 each to the Maspalomas Rally and the Pilancones Trail; and €20.000 each to the EPIC Gran Canaria, the U14 Women's International Basketball Tournament, and the Acebuches Trail. €15.000 to the Challenge Gran Canaria and the Fataga-San Bartolomé Rally Hill Climb, and €10.000 to the Santiago de Tunte Football Club and its project to reactivate and expand youth participation in the midlands of the municipality, and to the inclusive swimming project for children in the municipality with special needs 'Sumas-Swimming Together'.
Social inclusion of homelessness
The plenary session also approved a funding commitment for the project to assist people in situations of extreme social vulnerability on public roads, run by the organization Obra Social de Acogida y Desarrollo (OSDAD). The City Council will sign an agreement with OSDAD, which will be subsidized with a multi-year expenditure of €100.000 charged to the municipal budgets of 2026, 2027, and 2028. The subsidy agreement entails the recognition of the strategic priority of this action in terms of social inclusion, protection of rights, and strengthening of the public system of Municipal Social Services.
Along these lines, the council also approved the 'Comprehensive Intervention Project for People Experiencing Homelessness' in this municipality as a "strategic initiative for social inclusion, community cohesion, and strengthening the public social services system," said the councilor for the area, Dimas Sarmiento. This is a 24-month pilot project offering personalized, continuous, and coordinated support to people living or sleeping on the streets, through a technical team comprised of a social worker, two social educators, a social integration specialist, and an administrative assistant. The total estimated cost of the project, which will be implemented through indirect management, is €356.200, although its viability depends on financial support from the Gran Canaria Island Council and the Government of the Canary Islands.
Infrastructure rehabilitation
Another matter unanimously approved by the entire plenary session was a budget amendment of €245.000, which will be primarily allocated by the Department of Roads and Public Works to the rehabilitation and replacement of municipal buildings. Specifically, €200.000 will be earmarked for the renovation and adaptation of the public restrooms in Plaza de Fataga, the rehabilitation and painting of the façade of the Maspalomas Cultural Center, the installation of shade structures in Plaza de Lomo Galeón, the repair and fencing of the wall of the Widow of Franco, and the renovation and refurbishment of the restrooms in the municipal Roads and Public Works offices. The other €45.000 will be used for a €5.000 grant to the Irrigation Community of Cercados de Araña to cover the cost of transporting water tanks to alleviate the effects of the drought on the farms in the area, and the other €40.000 for refurbishment and improvement works at the Municipal School of Music and its adaptation to the current needs generated by a greater functional demand, as well as its safety and accessibility.
Regulations for municipal job banks
The City Council also unanimously approved the regulations governing the Reserve Lists for filling temporary and interim positions in vacant posts across various categories of staff and civil servants at the San Bartolomé de Tirajana City Hall. The document, processed by the Department of the Presidency and Human Resources, headed by Deputy Mayor Elena Álamo Vega, has the approval of the labor unions and the staff works council. Its objective is to create pools of temporary public employment to guarantee the continuity and efficiency of the local administration's work. The reserve lists resulting from public calls for applications will be valid for four years and may be extended annually until a new list is approved through a public call for applications. "The approval of these regulations will allow us to make a clearer understanding of the rules, especially during the probationary period for staff with the required qualifications who are unsure of their job performance."
FCM liquidation debts
Another matter unanimously approved by the Plenary was a budget amendment of €15.000 earmarked for the payment of outstanding debts owed by the Maspalomas Canary Foundation (FCM) to a notary and the Canary Islands Economists Cooperative (Coecan), in order to facilitate its complete dissolution. The City Council's objective is to liquidate this entity, which no longer fulfills the functions for which it was established.
Hotel Las Tirajanas
Also unanimously, the City Council approved the expiration of the proceedings approved in the plenary session of June 26th regarding the termination of the administrative concession contract for the Las Tirajanas rural hotel (Monte Pobre Parador-Restaurant) with Mar Abierto SL, and initiated a new procedure aimed at rescuing this 60-room, 4-star tourist establishment, owned by the municipality and inaugurated in 2000. The First Deputy Mayor, Alejandro Marichal, explained that the City Council is taking this measure due to the insolvency proceedings the concessionary company is facing. Therefore, the plenary agreement also includes granting a hearing to the company, the entity that has arbitrated the insolvency proceedings, and Caixabank, as the mortgage creditor, so that they may submit any arguments they deem appropriate. Should any of them present an objection, the City Council will request an opinion from the Canary Islands Advisory Council.
T-4 Polygon of El Tablero
Also at this session, the minor modification to the General Urban Development Plan (PGOU) of the municipality was definitively approved for the area of Polygon T-4 in El Tablero. This modification, processed at the request of Gerlach Inmobilien Investment GMBH, which initiated the procedure in 2018, does not reclassify land or change the overall uses or structural layout. It simply eliminates the urban planning parameter that references the number of dwellings that could be authorized on seven plots within the polygon, thereby increasing the number of market-rate housing units that can be built. The number will increase from 94 to 160 dwellings, adapting the planning for this area to current energy demands.
Requests to the Environmental Authority
Among the urban planning matters, it was also approved to send to the Municipal Environmental Body the requests to initiate the simplified strategic environmental assessment procedure for the minor modifications of the PGOU intended, on the one hand, to categorize and order the built area of Islas Canarias in El Salobre as a rural settlement and, on the other hand, to proceed with the change of use and definition of the boundaries of plot 29 of Salobre Golf to allow a change from tourist to residential for the construction of homes.
Economic Management Audit
The Corporation also unanimously considered the Management Audit of the Canary Islands Municipal Financing Fund for the 2024 fiscal year of this City Council. The report reveals that the economic and financial health indicators for San Bartolomé de Tirajana are sound and indicates “an improvement compared to those obtained in the previous year.”
Popular events of tourist interest
Moving on to the Motions section, the council unanimously approved an amendment proposed by Mayor Marco Aurelio Pérez on behalf of the governing group to a proposal from the Socialist group. This amendment extended the recognition of the popular fish barbecue during the El Pajar de Santa Águeda festivities as an event of tourist and cultural interest in Gran Canaria to other popular and traditional festive events in the municipality, such as the mackerel barbecue during the San Fernando de Maspalomas festivities, the paella during the El Tablero festivities, the Bajada del Carbonero in Tunte, and the Las Mañanitas in Castillo del Romeral. “They all deserve this importance and recognition,” stated the mayor.
