MINUTES FOR THE MEETING OF THE 20th JULY 2011

MINUTES
FOR THE MONTHLY PUBLIC MEETING OF THE

NEW KILLARNEY-RIVIERA ASSOCIATION

HELD AT THE MALL MANAGEMENT OFFICES (1^ST FLOOR OFFICE TOWER)

ON WEDNESDAY 20 JULY 2011 AT 18H00

PRESENT: Wayne Ford (Chair); Captain Moonsamy (SAPS); Councillor Marcelle Ravid; Charles Whyte; Jo Marais; Steve Mendelsohn; Kayte Denham; Frank Kobrin; Audrey Kobrin; Liora Brett; Andy Grobler; George Kymdell; Ian West; Barry Milner; Henry Rudzinske; Marion Brower.

1.    WELCOME

The chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2.    APOLOGIES

Dave Spencer; Yogan Naidoo; Helene Bell; Deleen Levy; Celeste Mulholland; Rob Milne.

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

• Captain Moonsamy presented the detailed crime statistics since the last meeting. The crimes included: 5 thefts out of vehicles, and 2 thefts of vehicles. One report of an armed robbery, however, turned out to be false. Once again, it is clear that theft of vehicles and theft out of vehicles remain our most serious crime issues.
• Captain Moonsamy made the following crime-prevention suggestions:
  • Don’t ever leave anything valuable in plain sight inside a car, as this attracts criminals;
  • Try to park under a light, and/or near a doorway or guard-post;
  • Improve the lighting, cameras and guarding outside your buildings;
  • Ensure your guards are awake at night, and not vulnerable to attack themselves;
  • Ensure you have a visible steering lock or equivalent protection in your car.
• Please pass on these tips to all your visitors as well.
• Bretton Woods was thanked for the new flood-lights they have installed in 3^rd Street.
• It was reported that Dukes Court will be installing a pre-cast wall and new flood-lights slong their 1^st Street boundary.
• It was reported that Daventry Court and Beverley Heights will be installing extra flood-lights along their 1^st Street perimeters in the near future.
• All buildings which have dark areas along their boundaries are reminded that the NKRA will pay for the installation of low-consumption floodlights to light up any such dark areas, provided neighbouring buildings are willing to host and power those lights.
• It was also reported that a resident has had her tyres punctured by “car guards” in 1^st Street, seemingly for refusing the use of their “services”. If you are being intimidated by “car guards”, walk away quietly and then call the police van immediately – 071 675 6001.
• Captain Moonsamy reported that a crime-awareness campaign will be staged by the police around The Wilds, in conjunction with the Upper Houghton residents as well.
  Extra street-lights would be most valuable in this smash-&-grab hotspot – Clr Ravid please to assist. We are also working on improving that traffic congestion.
• The SAPS are trying to get access to Lhenveolan to follow up on reports of drug-selling.
  Can anybody help with identifying and contacting the caretaker please?
• Captain Moonsamy was asked to keep a close watch on the public toilets in 7^th Street, cnr Anerley Road, as squatters sometimes sleep in there overnight, and alcohol-sellers have been known to operate from those premises.

5.    TRAFFIC ISSUES

• Jo Marais continues to liaise with JRA to improve traffic safety in 4^th Street and Main Road. The JRA Norwood deport has now been drawn in. WF has also identified an engineer who is certified to sign-off on speed-humps, and so this project will now be taken to the next stage.
• The enhancing of the traffic island at the corner of Houghton Drive and Newton Road, to reduce congestion there, will also be discussed with the traffic engineer.

6.    ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

• It was previously agreed to get quotes from private contractors to identify and fix all potholes in Killarney-Riviera, as this would be a very valuable improvement to the area. However we are having surprising difficulty finding any certified service providers willing to undertake the job. A suitable company has now seemingly been found, and we will see what they quote for this work. Where the road is extensively damaged and a lot of cost is
  required, neighbouring buildings will also be approached to contribute directly.
• It was previously agreed to set up a private street-sweeping service. An outsourced cleaner service has been contacted, who are prepared to supply one supervised sweeper for R2000 per month, to work 3 days per week. Dukes Court will work with the recycling contractor to create extra capacity in the Dukes Court wheelie-bins, which can then be used to dispose of the “pavement rubbish”. It was however noted that the recycling contractor has been in hospital for the past two weeks with appendicitis issues.
• City Parks have promised us a number of new trees, on pavements and in the parks. The planting will start as soon as the cold-weather is behind us. We cannot put trees on pavements where there are water, power or gas services under the surface, but in all other requested locations City Parks are happy to be of service.
• Charles reported that Beverley Heights have not been allowed to plant trees on their pavement for this very reason, and have thus placed a number of trees in pots along their frontage.
• The 10^th Street problem is being addressed. The owner of the vacant land has removed the illegal trees. Helene is now trying to source special grass and ground-covers to solve the soil erosion problem – all advice and suggestions are most welcome.
• It was noted that there are many water leaks around our area of late. A list has been forwarded to Clr Ravid. Please continue to report all water leaks as soon as you notice them.
• It was noted that the Lhenveolan building continues to deteriorate. Dave Spencer was told by the managing agents, Colin Sidelsky at Rand Realty, that progress can be expected “soon”, but there are no details yet available.
• The Martindale Mews swimming pool is in the process of being filled in. However the rat problem continues to worsen. Clr Ravid was asked to follow up with the Health department re the warning and compliance notice that the owner was given some weeks ago.
• The owner of Martindale Mews has now apparently contracted with Vodacom to install a cell-phone mast on the roof. It was agreed that this poses an unacceptable health-hazard, and this mast should be resisted. Clr Ravid was asked to co-ordinate the appropriate process of objecting to this mast.

7.    FINANCE AND MEMBERSHIP

• The treasurer reported that the audit fees have been paid, and that a number of buildings have made contributions recently.

8.    GENERAL

• It was again suggested that we consider putting crash-proof pot-plants on some of the traffic islands and circles, to brighten the place up. This will be considered as soon as the appropriate permission is obtained – Clr Ravid please to assist.
• Clr Ravid was also asked to follow up on the continual resetting of the timing for the traffic lights at the M1 off-ramp at Riviera Road. It was suggested that pressure-pads be installed instead, as this off-ramp is dangerously dark at night and having to wait for long periods “encourages” motorists to drive through the red light. Extra street-lights
  would also be valuable at this dark intersection.
• A petition is being circulated in protest against the proposed Eskom electricity increases.
• A concern was also circulated about the wording of a proposed amendment to the municipal Rates Act, which would cause all “second” properties to be taxed as commercial rather than residential properties (an increase of about 200%), if they are being occupied by persons who are not the owners thereof, and rentals charged. Some government officials have since publicly claimed that the amendment is aimed at B&B’s rather
  than residential rental properties, and that the wording will be amended. However we wait to see. It was noted that the email address provided by the government for the lodging of objections, had crashed due to the weight of objections submitted. The various property associations will continue to monitor the progress of this Law, as will the DA.

The meeting was then closed, with thanks to all who attended, and with thanks to the Killarney Mall for the use of their boardroom.

Our next meeting  will be held on

WEDNESDAY 17 AUGUST 2011 AT 18H00

PLEASE PASS ON THESE MINUTES TO OTHER RESIDENTS IN YOUR BUILDINGS