The Government of the Azores, which met on the island of São Jorge on February 7, 2012, has decided the following:

1. Allocate 50% of the amount not reimbursed by EU funds to the works of the Cunha da Silveira Museum House, whose public call for tenders will be launched by the Velas Town Hall by the end of this quarter.

2. Launch the public call for tenders for the contract work of the new Velas Basic Education and Secondary School until the first quarter of 2012. The work has an estimated budget of 14 million Euros.

3. Authorise the contract work for the construction of the Caldeira de Santo Cristo car park on Regional Road no. 2 - 2 Ribeira Seca/Topo in the municipality of Calheta, covering a total area of 878 square metres. With an estimated budget of 116 thousand Euros and a completion period of 90 days, this work is intended to enhance the parking safety of those who use the Caldeira do Santo Cristo hiking trail.

4. Authorise the tender procedure to award the contract work for the renewal of Regional Road access to the village of Calheta, starting by the Slaughterhouse, with an estimated budget of one million and forty-four thousand Euros and a completion period of nine months. This project covers a total area of four kilometres and is part of the road renewal projects planned for this legislative period.

5. Give instructions to Transmaçor, SA, to initiate the necessary procedures for creating a social pass for passengers using maritime links between the "Triangle" islands (Pico, Faial and São Jorge). This is another measure to support families, especially those who frequently use the maritime links between the islands of São Jorge, Pico and Faial.

6. Support the organisation of the 25th Velas Cultural Week in the amount of 30 thousand Euros, taking into account the importance of tourist animation brought by this event to the island of São Jorge.

7. Award the collective certification brand "Artesanato dos Açores" (Azores Handicrafts) to "Espécies de São Jorge" (spice pastry) in accordance with the Azorean products promotion system, taking into account its recognised cultural and economic importance.

8. Support the "Santa Casa da Misericórdia" of Calheta in the amount of 160,000 Euros for the purchase of furniture designed to refurnish the Elderly Home.

9. Allocate a global amount of 570,000 Euros to the "Casa do Povo" of Topo for the renewal works of the "Casa dos Tiagos" in that village. This investment includes the renewal of a building that belongs to the Region’s Heritage Inventory, thus returning to the village of Topo a building of high cultural value. The public call for tenders was launched during this visit.
 
10. Authorise the purchase of digital radiology equipment for the area of dental medicine, promoting a more qualified Oral Health monitoring at the Velas Healthcare Centre.

11. Give instructions to the Island Health Unit, in partnership with Public Works, to provide more parking spaces near the Calheta Healthcare Centre and begin the works to expand the Physiotherapy Service.
 
12. Determine that IROA, SA, should proceed with launching of the contract work to provide the Ribeira do Nabo water borehole with electromechanical equipment, connection to the public water supply network and the construction of a reservoir, a distributing pipe and a water supply station for farms. This project has an estimated cost of two hundred and fifty thousand Euros.

13. Support, technically and financially, the construction of three parks for animal handling and health operations in Caminho da Beira, Santo Amaro, Pedras Brancas, Santo Antão and Alqueive do Topo.

14. Start the first phase of the improvement works of the São Jorge Industrial Slaughterhouse to reinforce its cold storage capacity as well as the meet export capacity.

15. Renew the cooperation protocols with São Jorge Agricultural Association and the São Jorge Young Farmers Association, thus reinforcing the improvement of the services rendered to farmers.

16. Promote agricultural training and dissemination sessions in the context of animal nutrition and the improvement of pastures and fodder by growing experimental pastures in a joint action with producers' associations.

17. Proceed with the acquisition of land for licensing and extraction of inert material required for the recovery and maintenance of the rural roads network under the administration of the Forest Services.

18. Authorise the organisation of a permanent exhibition on São Jorge Natural Park at the headquarters of São Jorge Ecomuseum in Norte Grande.

19. Improve hydraulic passages in the access trail to Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo and improve the draining conditions of the water lines running across the access trails to the "fajã."

20. Authorise the torrential correction works in the streams running across the Fajãs dos Vimes and Cubres, including the digging of trenches.

21. Taking into account the information provided by the Calheta Town Hall concerning its technical and operational difficulty in concluding and executing the works to improve hydraulic passages, paving and torrential correction of the access to Fajã dos Cubres and the protection of the coastal area adjacent to Santa Catarina Plant and the Game Field, the Government has decided to undertake the aforementioned works upon the transfer of EU funds by the Town Hall in the amounts required.

22. Promote out awareness raising actions, in collaboration with local authorities, for the selective collection of waste with the aim of preparing the entry into operation of the Waste Processing Centre and recover the damaged area of Fajã do Ouvidor damaged pier to consolidate that port infrastructure.

The Government has also decided:

23. Change the legal scheme for the allocation of support under School Welfare in order to strengthen and expand the policy to support families in a school and educational context.

Regarding the allocation of social support in the area of Education, the Government intends to apply the same criteria adopted for granting family benefits, improving transparency in the allocation of such support measures and expanding the number of potential beneficiaries.

At the same time, these measures promote the standardisation of the support awarded to children attending preschool as well to basic education students. In addition, the support to secondary school students will also be reinforced with the purpose of promoting schooling at this school level.

The proposed measures also ensure the provision of free schoolbooks and other educational resources by schools to needy families as well as the allocation of kind or financial benefits which include food, accommodation, school transport support, merit scholarships and financial support subsidies.

It also introduces changes to reinforce the autonomy of schools in the allocation of support, based on the belief that their in-depth knowledge of local population allows them to find the best solutions for specific cases.

The approved proposal is an important effort undertaken by the Regional Government to benefit Azorean families and students with the purpose of ensuring the equality of opportunities and social justice within the regional educational system.

Hence, the proposed School Welfare framework will be integrated in the set of social policies conducted by the Regional Government in view of the increased difficulties that families are currently facing.

24. Recognise, through Resolution, the "ARSxV Ponta Delgada" Project, targeted at a healthcare and social support unit in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, as a Project of Regional Interest (PIR), determining that the recognition be valid for a period of 180 days.

This is an investment project of about 11 million Euros, which aims to contribute to the diversification and consolidation of the health services supply, particularly in the areas of continued care and long-term cared, estimating the creation of 120 jobs.
 
25. Support the participation of Fonte do Bastardo Youth Association and the Ribeirense Sports Club in the second round and the sixteenth final of the Challenge Cup Men and Challenge Cup Women, respectively. The Government has allocated the global amount of fifty-two thousand Euros to promote the projection of a regional sport in an area where the Region has recently won major national titles.

26. Authorise the signing of a contract between the Region and Azorina SA., to regulate the cooperation between both parties throughout the year.

The approved programme contracts aim to provide Azorina with the necessary resources for developing its competences in the following areas:

- Implementation and management of land management development plans of hydrographic basins;

- cleaning of lake margins and the cleaning, maintenance and afforestation of rural properties, owned by this company; such as:

- management of the Azores Environmental Centres; and

- the implementation of the annual activity plan of the Regional Network of "Ecotecas" (Environmental Awareness Raising Centre) and remaining Environmental Education actions whether or not integrated in the areas covered by the Island Natural Parks.

These contracts are also intended to ensure the necessary funding, under the applications for the Thematic Territorial Enhancement Operational and Tourism Proconvergência programmes, for the implementation of the Sete Cidades Crater Lake Hydrographic Basin Management Plan, and more specifically the execution of the first phase of the Contract Works for the Renewal of the lake margins; 1st phase - Village Section to the Tunnel and Urban Front.

27. Approve a proposal for Regional Legislative Decree that exempts from licensing the extraction of pebbles along the coast when that material is intended for fishing gear and clarifies the rules for filling the crew list of fishing vessels.

28. Authorise the signing of a programme contract between the Region and IROA, SA, in a global amount of € 2,509,343.00 (two million, five hundred and nine thousand, three hundred forty-three Euros), for a regular cooperation between both parties under the programme to increase the competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sectors.

The contract now signed aims to improve and develop infrastructures, through land restructuring and the reinforcement of investments in water supply, network of agricultural roads, rural electrification and modernisation of farms by supporting early farm retirement and encouraging the purchase of agricultural land.
 
29. Authorise the launching of the public call for tenders to award the contract work for the improvement of the operation conditions of Porto Judeu fishing port on the island of Terceira.

This investment of over 1.2 million Euros, with VAT included at the legal rate in force, is intended to reinforce the connection of Porto Judeu to the sea by improving port accessibilities with the expansion and reinforcement of the operation conditions of its fishing port.