MINUTES FOR THE MEETING OF THE 18th OCTOBER 2023

MINUTES FOR THE MONTHLY PUBLIC MEETING OF THE

NEW KILLARNEY-RIVIERA ASSOCIATION

HELD VIRTUALLY OVER THE INTERNET

ON WEDNESDAY 18 OCTOBER 2023 at 18H30

PRESENT:     Wayne Ford (Killarney Village); Charles Whyte (Beverley Heights); Trish Terry (Gleneagles); Paul Dijon (Hampshire Mews); Leon Mare (Castlerosse); Kathleen Fitzgerald (Chelston Hall).

1. WELCOME

• Wayne opened the meeting, and welcomed all attendees.

2.  APOLOGIES RECEIVED

• Kim Robinson (Killarney Hills).

3. DISCUSSION OF TIME CONSTRAINT

• We will try to keep the meeting to one hour if possible.

4. CONFIRMATION OF MINUTES, AND MATTERS ARISING

• The minutes of the previous meeting have been circulated to all attendees, and have been approved by them. The details thereof were incorporated into the monthly newsletter.

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

• Squatters camping on the motorway embankment and golf course pavement: This is a by-law enforcement issue, and only JMPD can fix it. Wayne has discussed this problem with our new SAPS acting sector manager, Warrant Officer Theledi, and she has undertaken to involve JMPD in the effort to address this. The Hillbrow CPF has also committed to helping to get JMPD to intensify their efforts in Killarney.
• The JMPD standard excuse is that they have limited resources. It was noted that we pay high property municipal rates, and that our service delivery is poor. However the JMPD does not allocate resources based on how much property rates an area pays, but rather on the “perceived seriousness” of the problems in that area – which seems to be based on how many complaints are received and logged. It is therefore very important that our residents call JMPD often to report issues. Please always ask for a reference number when you log a complaint, because a complaint without a reference number has not actually been logged.
• The various JMPD contact numbers are included at the bottom of these minutes.
• Wayne has also contacted the golf club management. They are aware of the problem, and they are also reporting the squatters regularly.
• The meeting noted that the amount of loitering around Killarney Avenue is getting worse. This has also been reported to the SAPS acting sector manager for action.
• The 7^th Street car park area is an on-going source of concern regarding hawkers, alcohol selling, littering and rubble dumping, as well as providing pedestrians with illegal access to the motorway embankment. It was previously suggested to buy a security camera, to be added onto the existing camera system at Castlerosse, which is monitored by RCS Security. This will cost about R3,300. We included this proposal in the August and September newsletters, and we discussed it at the September meeting, and nobody has objected. Leon from Castlerosse was present at the meeting, and he supported the project and the proposed involvement of Castlerosse. It was therefore resolved to proceed with this project. Wayne and Leon will work with RCS Security to implement it ASAP.
• It was noted that our security camera at Daventry Court in 1^st Street has been damaged,  and it is not fixable. It was agreed that Charles will discuss with the service provider the possibility of getting a cheaper and simpler camera to replace it, which will be less expensive but will also have less functionality. Since the problem in this area has largely been resolved, a cheaper camera might be a good idea. Daventry Court has also installed new security lights on their 1^st Street pavement to improve security still further.
• The 7^th Street car park area also has a problem with accumulated litter. It was previously suggested to hire a street cleaner for the car park area and the adjacent pavement. The RCS Security company has a subsidiary company which does cleaning and gardening as well. They have quoted us a price of R380 per day. This rate covers the wages of the cleaner, as well as the admin cost, the equipment required, and the necessary supervision, along with a profit margin. The cleaner will interface with the RCS security staff at Castlerosse, and will act as an extra pair of eyes at that location.
• The proposal was to hire the cleaner for two days per week, for four weeks, at a cost of R3040. We will then reassess how much value it is adding, and if we decide to continue, we will need to find a sponsor. The meeting resolved to proceed with this project.
• It was argued that the quoted daily rate is quite high, and it was further agreed that RCS will be approached to negotiate a lower rate if possible. It was also agreed that we do not want to hire an employee directly, and that the associated admin effort and risk does make it worthwhile to use an outsourced service provider and pay extra.
• We need to continually warn people about the risk of cell-phone snatching. Although we stress this in every newsletter, we still see many people outside on pavements, with phone in hand – probably waiting for an Uber. These are the primary target for the cell-phone snatchers, and Killarney has clearly become a target-area of choice. It was noted that the people collecting outside the Click’s entrance to Killarney Mall are a particular target – this risk will be discussed with the Mall management. It was suggested asking the Mall to provide a drop-and-go area for Ubers, with some degree of extra security.
• The project to sue the municipality to enforce the by-laws, has bogged down because the lawyers need to first have a complainant who has the financial means to pay the legal costs of the municipality if we lose the case. The NKRA does not have the assets or the revenue stream to be able to do this, so unless we can find an organization willing to undertake the risk, this project is frozen. We are hoping that the opposition political parties may be willing to join such a case, but so far there has been no response from the DA. Wayne will again attempt to contact the ActionSA party. It was suggested to contact other ratepayer associations in the area to propose a joint effort. We can also try the Ward Committee, or the municipal ombudsman process.
• We are continuing with our project to gather reliable feedback from our various buildings on the quality of the borehole water available in Killarney-Riviera. The information we have collected thus far will be shared with all buildings via the next newsletter. In particular we need to know about current costs of drilling, the municipal permit process and costs, and the useability of the water that is available in the area. It was again noted that it will probably be cheaper and safer for buildings to install large Jojo water tanks filled with municipal tap water to provide their residents with an emergency water supply. We would also like to build up a list of recommended service providers.

6.  NEW ISSUES

Charles will renew the quest to have City Parks remove the huge tree stump of the fallen tree at the corner of Anerley Road and 7^th Street.

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The meeting was closed at 19h55, with thanks to all who participated.

Our final public meeting of the year will be held virtually on

WEDNESDAY 15 NOVEMBER 2023 AT 18H30

PLEASE PASS ON THESE MINUTES TO OTHER RESIDENTS IN YOUR BUILDINGS

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

JMPD call centre hotline number – 080 872 3342

JMPD Control Room – 011 758 9620

JMPD number to report Homeless People camping in the vicinity – 011 490 1538

JMPD number to report Illegal Dumping – 011 490 1684

JMPD number to report Noise Pollution – 011 718 9684

JMPD number to report Illegal Advertising – 011 490 1547

JMPD number to report Illegal Trading – 011 490 1744

JMPD number to report other By-Law issues – 011 490 1684