MINUTES FOR THE MEETING OF THE 17th OCTOBER 2012

MINUTES FOR THE MONTHLY PUBLIC MEETING OF THE
NEW KILLARNEY-RIVIERA ASSOCIATION
HELD AT THE MALL MANAGEMENT OFFICES (1ST FLOOR OFFICE TOWER)
ON WEDNESDAY 17 OCTOBER 2012 AT 18H00

PRESENT: Wayne Ford (Chair); Charles Whyte; Captain Moonsamy (SAPS); Paul Denham; Kayte Denham; Raphael Ndlovu; Ruth Kuper; Steve Mendelsohn; Clr Marcelle Ravid; Sgt Potsane (JMPD); Dave Spencer.

1. WELCOME
• The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. APOLOGIES
• Yogan Naidoo; Moggie Lewis; Hendrik Cloete (ADT); George Kymdell; Audrey & Frank Kobrin; Margaret Constantaras; David Kramer; Jo Marais.

3. DISCUSSION OF TIME CONSTRAINT
• It was noted that we have been asked by our hosts to try to finish by 7pm if at all possible. As we are guests at this facility, we need to respect this request.

4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING
• The Minutes of the previous meeting were taken as read, and were approved.

5. SECURITY FEEDBACK / SECTOR CRIME FORUM
• Captain Moonsamy presented a summary of the detailed crime statistics for the month. This month we suffered 6 thefts of vehicles, 4 thefts out of vehicles, 2 common assault, 2 frauds (at the Mall), 2 armed robberies, and 5 cases of theft and shoplifting at the Mall.
• Car theft is thus still a serious issue. Please be aware of suspicious characters, and of people following you, and immediately call the police patrol van, on 071 675 6001.
• A grey Nissan bakkie and a grey Ford Focus have been reported as behaving suspiciously in past weeks – please be especially aware of such cars.
• The crowd of aggressive beggars at the Engen quick-shop has been reported, and the police patrols will pay extra attention to that site.
• The Spiderman cat burglar does not appear to have struck since last month. However he is most active in hot weather, when people are inclined to leave windows and balconies open for ventilation, so please don’t get complacent.
• There will be a march soon about the murders of three Hillbrow police officers in recent weeks. Dates are to be determined and communicated.

6. FEEDBACK FROM COUNCILLORS
• Councillor Ravid reported that she has submitted a list of potholes and missing manhole covers to the JRA.
• The new water-repair holes in 3rd Street were discussed, as well as those in 8th Street (Riviera) and 5th St.
• The old repair problems in 4th Ave and Riviera Road have still not been addressed.
• The billing woes continue to continue.
• Problematic street lights in 8th Street were reported.
• Please get reference numbers when you report concerns, so that Clr Ravid can follow them up for us.
• There will be a ward meeting at Patterson Park on 7 Nov – details to follow.
• The proposed PPS construction was discussed, but it falls into Parktown and must be communicated to Clr Myeni. WF has communicate this to him.
• Clr Ravid has no further feedback on the ward-based allocation of JMPD officers, or the so-called 10+ project.

7. TRAFFIC ISSUES
• The new raised pedestrian crossing and speed-hump at the intersection of 3rd Street and 2nd Ave will be built in the next few days, weather permitting. The signs will go up first, and the construction only next week.
• The water-pipe repair excavation at the corner of 4th Ave and 5th Street has not yet been re-tarred. The various leaks and leak repairs in 4th Ave at the corner of Riviera Road are also still outstanding. It was noted that the many manholes on the two bridges have all been covered with the new covers, but other manholes remain open and dangerous.
• The proposal to boom the dead-end roads is underway. This will take a long time.
• The Gautrain has established bus stops in 3rd Street. They have not yet communicated the full route, or the schedules. Clr Ravid will request this information for us.
• Clr Ravid was again asked to request turning arrows in Riviera Road, at the intersection of 4th Ave/ Main Road.
• Sgt Potsane of JMPD joined the meeting. He was requested to focus on the illegal taxi rank, hawkers in 4th Ave and at the taxi rank, and car washers in 3rd Street. He was also requested to facilitate demarcated bays for taxis in 1st St to remove congestion from Killarney Road and to avoid taxis parking in front of garages. It was mentioned that the ATA will bring an extra marshal to the site, to assist with parking problems.
• JMPD has intervened to ensure the illegal taxi rank doesn’t overflow into other streets.
• Sgt Potsane was requested to facilitate adjusting the timing of the robot at the Riviera Road motorway off-ramp, where cars stand for long periods after dark for no reason, and are exposed to hijacking.
• Sgt Potsane had no further information re the ward-based allocation of JMPD officers.

8. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
• As part of the New Strategy Paul, Kayte and Wayne met with an officer of UrbanGenesis. He undertook to use their contacts in the municipal offices to get improved service delivery. We will start with clearing the rubbish bins and storm-water drains, pruning dangerous branches and fixing street-lights.
• The heritage project is gathering momentum. The Heritage Sub-Committee (Charles, Kayte, Paul, Ruth and Wayne) will meet next week with another resident heritage specialist, to gather information and advice.
• The clearing out of the pavement bins was discussed. A number of these bins are more than half full of building rubble, placed there illegally by successive renovators, and this causes the bins to overflow very quickly. The UrbanGenesis process will hopefully bring some progress here.
• The large pavement trees have still not been pruned, although the request was logged in July. Wayne will pass on the reference number to Clr Ravid.
• There was no feedback on the Blue Living Estates environmental cleaning project.
• It was noted that the Martindale Mews pool area has now been cleared of rubbish, and the compacting for the new car park is well underway. We note with delight that Dr Martin has retained the majority of the mature trees in that space. Charles will thank Dr Martin for this on our behalf when they meet.

9. FINANCE AND MEMBERSHIP
• It was noted that only 21 buildings have made contributions so far this year. The recession is clearly an issue, but hopefully the new branding, the new speed-humps and the UrbanGenesis initiatives will encourage more buildings to contribute next year.
• Kayte of Pam Golding Properties has donated R1200 to the NKRA, in line with her pledge to donate R100 for every owner who approaches her for a valuation. Please everyone get valuations urgently. Other estate agencies are challenged to make a similar commitment.
• Kayte Denham handed out the new NKRA-branded signs, for buildings that are contributing members and for buildings that are part of the recycling project. There are also general safety signs that all buildings are entitled to have. All buildings should please contact us to have their own signs delivered to them. The meeting thanked Kayte for these signs, which are impressively smart and visible.

10. GENERAL
• We have been approached re selling advertising space in the newsletter. It was agreed that we would consider adverts in the newsletter at a cost of R1000 per issue for a 1/8 page, provided it is for a service useful to our residents, and provided it doesn’t clash in any way with our sponsor, Nomsa Nene.

The meeting was closed, with thanks to the Killarney Mall for the use of their boardroom.

Our next meeting will be held on
WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2012

PLEASE PASS ON THESE MINUTES TO OTHER RESIDENTS IN YOUR BUILDINGS