MINUTES FOR THE MEETING OF THE 13th JANUARY 2010

MINUTES FOR THE MONTHLY PUBLIC MEETING OF THE

NEW KILLARNEY-RIVIERA ASSOCIATION

HELD AT THE MALL MANAGEMENT OFFICES ON 13 JANUARY 2010 AT 18H00

PRESENT:         Wayne Ford (Chairman)

Jo Marais; Faye Susser-Sher; Jacques Stoltz; Liora Kloss; Yogan Naidoo; Barry Milner; Yousuf Karrim; Cheryl Sack; Charles Whyte; Kuben Naidoo; Graham Sifrin; Visagan Naidoo; K Jadwat; Henry Rudzinski; Helene Bell; Leo Schwartz; Fikile Buthelezi; Nandi Mhlongo.

1.         WELCOME

WF welcomed everyone to the meeting. Happy New Year to everyone – let’s make it another good one!

2.         APOLOGIES

Steve Mendelsohn; Marcelle Ravid; Frank & Audrey Kobrin; Herbert Prins; Rob Milne; Marion Brower.

3.         APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

The Minutes of the previous meeting were taken as read, and were approved.

4.         SECURITY FEEDBACK / SECTOR CRIME FORUM

• Inspector Bester was not present, and no detailed crime statistics were available.
• The Hillbrow CPF executive committee has been reconstituted, and now consists largely of members of the Inner City Forum. These are organised and committed people, so we look forward to seeing good things from the CPF in the future. Several of the previous executive have also been re-elected, so continuity will also be preserved.
• JMPD was not present. However we are told that a new JMPD manager has been appointed for the area, and we hope to see her in the future as well.
• The “Street Committee” database only has contact persons from about half the buildings. All are urged to visit neighbours and obtain email addresses please.
• The NKRA added extra fencing to the corners of our two bridges over the motorway, to further hinder the vagrants. However, the accumulation of litter on the embankment here is a serious health concern. A PikiTup visit is needed here urgently to remove this waste.
• A hawker blitz is required – Clr R please to facilitate. Members are meanwhile urged to call the Council on 0113755555 or 0118860757 or 0113768514 to report potholes, vagrants, hawkers, litter and every other issue. Council reaction is prioritized according to the level of complaints, so the more we report issues, the faster they will be attended to.
• The Lhenveolan problem was again discussed. Maintenance of this building is being hindered because one of the joint-owners is a deceased estate, which is taking a long time to wind up. Meanwhile, please report drinking in public to the Police.
• A burglary has occurred at Gleneagles – please all watch out for suspicious people, including people in workers’ overalls specifically.
• Drug selling continues among the loiterers. The police have informers in the area.
• Whenever you notice a suspicious event, please try to get license plate numbers, or a photo if possible.
• Please don’t give money to beggars, or buy from hawkers – if you encourage them, they are encouraged to stay.
• CORE Tactical and CAP are to be approached for fresh quotes. Does anybody have contacts with either of these initiatives?

5.         TRAFFIC ISSUES

• The NKRA will request the installation of various traffic calming measures, which we will have to pay for ourselves. The first issues to be addressed will be a new speed-hump at the corner of Killarney Road and 3^rd Street (Pick ‘n Pay entrance), a new traffic island in 4^th Avenue at the corner with 7^th Street (where taxis short-cut the circle down the on-coming lane) and an extended traffic island on the M1 off-ramp into Riviera Road (where taxis create an additional lane straddling the white line). JM will arrange site meetings with the various relevant officials to initiate the process. We will then get quotes, and a formal vote on such expenditure will be taken as soon as we have the info.
• Only JRA-approved designs can be used, so the many better and cheaper methods such as rumble strips are illegal – they can be used on private roads only.
• Members who believe that additional traffic management measures are necessary in the vicinity of their buildings should send in motivations to wdford@global.co.za.
• A number of potholes and excavations require attention: pavement of Riviera Road near corner of Oxford; 3^rd Street near corner 2^nd Avenue, 1^st Street, 5^th St corner 4^th Ave, 9^th St. West Street corner Riviera Road is still a problem too. The potholes are attended to according to their seriousness and the importance of the road. All JRA resources are currently being focused on the M1, and our issues will be attended to when they rise to the top of the list.
• The timing of the M1 off-ramp robot at Riviera Road is causing highway backups – please could this be checked and reset. 
• General enforcement is needed for taxi noise and traffic infringements – please all phone in and complain.

6.         ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

• The vagrant problem is linked to recycling, in that the vagrants recover recyclable waste from our bins to sell (and they then leave a mess behind them.) We are struggling to find a contractor who is willing to place bins at individual buildings and collect the material for recycling. However we will continue working on this.
• The street lights in 2^nd Avenue are faltering, and need a check-up.
• We need new street signs. Perhaps we could get those kerb-stones with the names carved into them. Reflective car number plates are also a good option – they can be attached to kerb-stones, or on building walls. We need to get quotes for a bulk deal.
• The weeds in 4^th Avenue are getting out of hand. The residents will meet in 4^th Avenue corner 5^th Street on Sunday 17 Jan at 9am, to collectively remove these weeds.
• Dr Martin’s buildings are in need of some extra TLC. If anybody knows Dr Martin, please invite him to our meetings.

7.         NEWSLETTER AND WEBSITE

·         WMP have offered to sponsor the newsletter again this year.

·         The next newsletter is ready, and we are just waiting for a confirmed recycling agreement so that we can include these details too.

·         Please send all news items and potential articles to WF at wdford@global.co.za

8.         FINANCE AND MEMBERSHIP

• There have been no expenditures since last month, and no new members have joined.

9.         GENERAL – FEEDBACK FROM MEETING WITH NEW MALL MANAGER

The meeting was very constructive, and the new manager welcomes interaction with the community, so please make your suggestions – their contact numbers are in the Mall Newsletter. Also, the security guards are required to communicate with shoppers, so report problems to them too. Specific feedback from the meeting includes:

·      The rumours of a new casino development are completely groundless. An unemployed architect did the proposal on their own initiative, in the hopes of getting the job, but for 2010 the Mall owners intend to focus on fixing and fine-tuning only.

·      The ticket machine at the bottom of the ramp on the western parkade will be moved, to make it more accessible to drivers.

·      The Mall already cleans the taxi area, including emptying the bins, and they will put more bins on that pavement.

·      A formal public transport facility will be incorporated into a future development, when the BRT rolls out, but this will not happen during 2010.

·      The Mall is happy to support speed-humps in Killarney Road.

·      Additional landscaping in the parking areas is being considered.

·      The Mall tenant mix is being re-strategized. Additional food outlets are being considered, and ventilation issues are being addressed.

·      The rain-water run-off in Killarney Road is being addressed.

·      The Mall have put us in touch with their recycling contractor.

·      The soccer and the car racing have been stopped, as has the hooting at night. Please report any further infringements.

The meeting closed with thanks to all attendees.

The next meeting will be held on

WEDNESDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2009 AT 18H00

PLEASE PASS ON THESE MINUTES TO OTHER RESIDENTS IN YOUR BUILDINGS