MINUTES FOR THE MEETING OF THE 16th OCTOBER 2024

MINUTES FOR THE MONTHLY PUBLIC MEETING OF THE

NEW KILLARNEY-RIVIERA ASSOCIATION

HELD VIRTUALLY OVER THE INTERNET

ON WEDNESDAY 16 OCTOBER 2024 at 18H30

PRESENT:      Wayne Ford (Killarney Village); Charles Whyte (Beverley Heights); Floh Thiele (La Camargue); Julie Randall (Highbury-IMZ); Kim Robinson (Killarney Hills); Nadia Nikakhtar (Killarney Park); S Desai, Kate Denham.

1. WELCOME

• Wayne opened the meeting and welcomed the attendees.

2.  APOLOGIES RECEIVED

• Chene Blignaut apologised for the Brenthurst Court trustees;
• Councillor Huggett is on leave.

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

• Repainting street names on kerbs -: The NKRA meetings have approved to spend R11,500 on having these street names repainted on the kerbs. Charles will liaise with Ismail and Clinton to implement the project. There is also an option to replace the painted street name with a mosaic street name, which is expensive but looks wonderful. Members can contact Bradley to arrange a quote.
• Fence repairs on the embankment -: These repairs have been completed, and the work was paid for out of donations received from residents. Ismail was thanked for his extensive efforts on this project.
• Artwork gate in the 4^th Street Park -: This will cost around R13,000. At the previous meeting, it was suggested that the NKRA should contribute R4,500 toward this project. This proposal was publicised in the newsletter, and there have been no objections, so the meeting now resolved to contribute R4,500 toward this gate project. The gate project still needs to raise another R3,000, and we still need to get formal authorisation from the JCPZ (City Parks). Part of this process will require providing a letter from the NKRA accepting responsibility for all future maintenance. We will also need to consult the community about the final design and colour of the new gate.
• JCPZ also requires a letter from the NKRA accepting responsibility for the proposed new gate giving access to the motorway embankment at the 7^th Street car-park. We need to first do a bit more research on this, to establish what kind of liability the NKRA may incur in respect of people who might be injured on the embankment after entering through our new gateway.
• Illegal hawkers, and drinking on pavements -: Whenever we notice such behaviour, we need to keep calling the JMPD, and copying the reference number to the ward councillor. JMPD don’t always respond, but this is the legal channel. The SAPS have also helped us with this in the past, and may do so in future as well. Vision Tactical are also willing to help “persuade” such people to cease or to move away, but they have no actual authority on the street.
• The street parties at the Urban Hardware car-park are getting worse. Participants are now arriving in cars, so possibly they are coming from a distance. The Urban Hardware car-park is on the Mall property, so the Mall security have authority here. They are effective, but they are not proactive, so they need to be called and informed of a problem in progress. It was suggested to ask the Mall to improve the lighting at this area, and to put up a camera to watch over the space so that their security service can notice the problem more quickly.
• Mentone Court are not yet being directly affected by this development, but if it becomes well established then it will probably get worse. Prevention is better than cure. Staff at Engen have complained to us as well. 
• The on-going risks of cell-phone snatching on pavements, and pickpockets -: Muggings seem to be on the rise again. Personal vigilance is still the best defence. Some areas are very dark, and non-functioning streetlights are a part of the problem. Non-functioning lights have been mapped and reported. Buildings in the vicinity of these dark areas might consider putting up appropriate LED floodlights, perhaps solar-powered where possible. The 4^th Avenue bridge is particularly dark, but we will need to find a suitable place to mount a solar light to cover this area. We are not allowed to put up our solar lights on municipal lamp poles.
• Community Street patrols -: The community patrollers have no authority on the street, but they are proving to be quite effective in discouraging drinkers, many of whom are Killarney residents. Talking to the drinkers, and opening channels, may bring about a more sustainable solution over time. Trained security people accompany the patrols, to add skill and to call in an armed response service in the unlikely event that things might get dangerous. 
• Homeless people in Killarney-Riviera -: The homeless community on ERF 274 in Riviera are still a problem. The ERF has been declared unsafe by a municipal health inspector. The owner of the land is responding and is cleaning it up, but a better wall and gate are also needed.  The homeless community camping outside the offices of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund has been moved away, but we don’t know by whom or to where. At least one person is still living on the street in the vicinity.
• Security fence in Anerley Park -: At the previous meeting it was suggested to replace the steel fence along the motorway boundary of this small park, which has been stolen. This idea was publicised in the newsletter, asking for suggestions, but no feedback has yet been received. This replacement project would be very expensive. It was agreed that before we spend money on the fence, we should first find a sustainable use for the park – if it is used regularly then the illegal behaviour will diminish, but this is not an easy piece of land to repurpose.
• It was agreed to follow up with City Parks to see who owns the public toilet facility in 7^th Street, and apparently City Power has the key. The IMM company might be willing to maintain and lock the facility.
• Killarney Mall refurbishment progress -: no decisions have been taken on this yet, and we continue to wait.

• NEW ISSUES
• Trolley Recyclers – they provide us with a valuable service, but the recyclers sometimes sleep on the streets in Killarney to avoid the commute and to be first on the scene to collect the best material. The Oxford Park in Oxford Road near the M1 on-ramp is being used regularly as a recycling sorting-site, and some of the recyclers are dumping unwanted material in the park. Some people seem to have created a residential area at the on-ramp as well.
• There are various Recyclers Associations, which might be able to help us with this. Charles volunteered to do some extra research.
• Themba Clean-up projects – residents who support these projects have been making donations into a separate WLKR bank account. This account will now be wound down, and the remaining funds will be transferred into the NKRA account.
• The audit firm of Moore Accountants in 1^st Street have built a nice garden on their Oxford Road pavement. Charles will ask them to assist in getting the crash barrier safety rails at their corner repaired, as these have been severely damaged by successive accidents. Cllr Huggett will also be asked to lobby for a replacement warning sign or chevron at that bend, because some drivers at night clearly struggle to notice that the road bends at that point.
• Water outages in 4^th Ave – it has been discovered that Joburg Water had throttled the water supply to facilitate some repairs, and had then failed to reopen the valve.

The meeting was closed at 19:56, with thanks to all who participated.

Our next meeting will be held virtually on

WEDNESDAY 20 NOVEMBER 2024 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