MINUTES FOR THE MEETING OF THE 7th DECEMBER 2022

MINUTES FOR THE MONTHLY PUBLIC MEETING OF THE

NEW KILLARNEY-RIVIERA ASSOCIATION

HELD VIRTUALLY OVER THE INTERNET

ON WEDNESDAY 7 DECEMBER 2022 at 18H30

PRESENT:     Wayne Ford (Killarney Village); Clara Cruz Almeida (Interlaken); Nadia Nikakhtar (Killarney Park); Kim Robinson (Killarney Hills); Vivian Darko (Russell Fisher Properties); Adrienne Egbers (Cranwell Hall); Charles Whyte (Beverly Heights).

1.     WELCOME

• Wayne opened the meeting, and welcomed all attendees.

2.     APOLOGIES RECEIVED

• Barbara Buntman (Kingsborough).

3.     DISCUSSION OF TIME CONSTRAINT

• We are using the free-version of Microsoft Teams, which imposes a time limit of one hour on our virtual meeting.

4.     STATUS OF OUR SUBURB, AND LIST OF ISSUES REQUIRING ACTION

• There has still been no progress with the municipality repairing our many problem pavements. It was agreed that we will probably have to repair the pavements ourselves. This will be considered in detail in 2023, once we know the intentions of the municipality. The ward councillor will be asked to assist us with the communication. Such projects can be very expensive, and we don’t want the pavements to be dug up again as happened after the last time we repaired them.
• Some of the potholes in the roads are also getting very serious, including 2^nd Avenue specifically. We need to create a register of these problem areas as well.
• It was agreed that in cases of damaged pavements adjacent to non-member buildings, the buildings will be approached to contribute to that specific repair.
• It was noted that certain pavements are now dangerous to walk on because heavy plant overgrowth forces pedestrians to walk in the street. It was agreed to draw up a list of these cases, and to approach the Councillor for remedial action, failing which we can address this ourselves. So far, the Martinhall pavement in Oxford Road has been reported as a problem, as well as the pavement in 7^th Street bordering the motorway fence.
• We still need more law enforcement. Phone snatching is an increasing problem, and we need more lights, more guards, and signage to continually warn residents against walking around with phones or valuables in their hands.
• The recent major water outages have emphasised the need for buildings to install communal backup water tanks, including perhaps additional communal tanks on the roofs of the buildings. Having such tanks feed into the building’s main water network is expensive and complicated, and it only helps for a short while, as residents will not realise that the water has been cut until these tanks themselves have already run dry. However in the event of a prolonged water outage, having a supply of clean water on hand will be very valuable, even if it has to be collected from these tanks in buckets from stand-alone communal taps.
• The resolution of the taxi situation at the Mall is still in progress. This will not be resolved for at least another year.

5.     PARK PLAYGROUND REFRESH

• It was resolved to obtain two cubic meters of fresh sand to top up and refresh the playground in the park, as well as some bags of the antimicrobial salt to kill bacteria in the sand. This will cost around R7000, and this purchase will be actioned in January.
• Regarding the suggestion to add an additional small slide to the playground for little children, it was noted that the community support for the idea had been minimal, and concerns had been raised about the costs and the actual need for a smaller slide. Members have suggested that we should rather use our limited funds to repair the pavements instead. It was agreed to do additional research, and to ask for more ideas and suggestions from the community.

6.     GENERAL

• The hawkers continue to be a problem. It was confirmed that no pavement in Killarney is wide enough to permit legal hawking. However where there is demand from customers, suppliers will invariably arrive to profit from this demand, even if they do so illegally. The municipal parking area in 7^th Street opposite Castlerosse has been used for years by illegal hawkers, because of the space and the substantial passing trade. It was suggested that we should approach the community to hear if the community would support creating a legal hawking area in this parking lot, heavily regulated and managed by the JMPD, as happens elsewhere in Johannesburg. It was noted that the JMPD cannot be relied upon to police the adherence to the regulations.
• It was agreed to keep the taxi problem as a permanent agenda item.
• It was noted that the bonsai expo at the Mall had been very successful.
• It was noted that holding meetings in the first week of the month makes attendance difficult for some people. The monthly meetings in 2023 will therefore be held in the 3^rd week for the first few months, to see how much this helps.

The meeting was closed, with thanks to all who had attended the meeting. The chairman extended festive season greetings to all attendees.

Our next public meeting will be held virtually on

WEDNESDAY 18 JANUARY 2023 AT 18H30

PLEASE PASS ON THESE MINUTES TO OTHER RESIDENTS IN YOUR BUILDINGS

JMPD call centre hotline number – 080 872 3342

JMPD Control Room – 011 758 9620

City emergency hotline on 011 375 5911

SAPS patrol van – 071 675 6001

If you get no response from the patrol van, please call 10111

Councillor Huggett – by SMS or WhatsApp – 071 785 8068