MINUTES FOR THE MEETING OF THE 17th APRIL 2019

MINUTES FOR THE MONTHLY PUBLIC MEETING OF THE
NEW KILLARNEY-RIVIERA ASSOCIATION
HELD AT ROOM 223A OF THE MALL OFFICE TOWER
ON WEDNESDAY 17 APRIL 2019 AT 17H00

PRESENT: Wayne Ford (Killarney Village); Charles Whyte (Beverley Heights); Tony Mantle (Gleneagles); Ruth Kuper (Gleneagles); Julie Wilson (Killarney Hills); Vivienne Cobbett (Biarritz); Elena Joaquim (St Johns Wood); Jenna Segal (Interlaken); Adrienne Egbers (Cranwell Hall); Dalien Rutenberg (Glenhof); Margaret Urban (Hanover Gate).

1. WELCOME
Wayne welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2. APOLOGIES RECEIVED
Eleanor Huggett (Ward Councillor); Romi Reinecke (Daventry Court); Annica Marincowitz (Chartwell); George Kymdell (NAMA); Harry Rutenberg (Sevenoaks).

3. DISCUSSION OF TIME CONSTRAINT
• We will strive to keep the discussions short and relevant, so as to finish by 6pm.

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
• Sergeant Mdlolo was not present.
• We have however been informed that our dedicated sector patrol vehicle is sometimes diverted to other suburbs, if they have serious crimes in progress elsewhere at a time when our car is effectively underutilised. This is done on the basis of priority, and our street parties are obviously rated as a lower priority than an armed robbery in a neighbouring suburb.
• It has been noted that illegal cigarettes are being sold on our streets, in various places. This will be reported to the SAPS and JMPD, and to the tobacco enforcement agencies. Please let us know if you are aware of any locations of this illegal activity. Video evidence would help greatly.
• The street party situation at the west end of 1st Street is improving rapidly, with greater police focus finally bearing fruit. The problem may also be diminishing due to cold weather, or due to some of the problem-persons having left the area, or due to some of the parties moving elsewhere in Killarney. The guards have reported that the source of the problem now appears to be centred mainly in Lhenveolan. Once we have video evidence of this, Wayne will approach the managing agent of Lhenveolan directly.
• The apparent success at the west end of 1st Street indicates that our high-resolution PZT security camera was a good investment. We need to now start planning to install an extra camera at the east end of 1st Street, by the taxi rank, where the problems are even more severe. Valuable lessons have been learned, and we can proceed with much confidence.
• It has been established that the Vumacam system will not meet our needs here, as those cameras cannot be redirected, so the criminals will quickly establish “blind-spots” to allow them to shield their activities from scrutiny. Also, the Vumacam cameras are not monitored, they only provide a retroactive record of what happened. This is undoubtedly valuable in itself, but this will not meet our current needs in 1st Street.
• However the main constraint is that we need to have security people monitoring the camera, and pointing and zooming it in real time to catch the criminals in the act. The best place to mount this camera will be on the Mall, but we will need to arrange for an appropriate monitoring process as well.
• Charles will speak to the experts who installed our camera, and get their suggestions.
• If any buildings would nonetheless like to speak to Vumacam about their service, you can contact Eitan Ash directly on 082 824 9560, or by email at Eitan@vumacam.co.za
• Sgt Mdlolo can be contacted on 071 675 6000. Please call her directly if there is any problem requiring the SAPS.
• When you notice a problem developing with a street party or similar, please first call the City emergency hotline on 011 375 5911 and ask the operator to log a call for you. Don’t let them just transfer you to JMPD, make sure they first log a call for you with a reference number. If JMPD don’t thereafter arrive within about 30 minutes, then contact the Councillor with your reference number and ask her to chase JMPD for service.
• Councillor Huggett can be contacted by the community at any time, by SMS or WhatsApp, on 071 785 8068.

6. FEEDBACK FROM COUNCILLORS
• Cllr Huggett did not attend the meeting, as she is on leave. We have not yet received feedback from our meeting with senior DA officials last month, but a follow-up meeting has been scheduled for 23 April.
• The municipality cannot uproot the homeless people currently living on the embankment of the motorway, unless they have some better accommodation available to which the people can be safely relocated. No such alternative accommodation is currently available.

7. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
• Numerous problems have been reported to the municipality, especially on pavements.
• Last month it was agreed to hire Nolicent Ntete from the park from time to time, on some of his spare days, to do specific work clearing up specific problem pavements, and areas such as traffic islands. This was reported in the minutes last month, so that member buildings who were not present at the meeting could also be informed, and participate in the discussion. No objections have been received, so this project will now be activated.
• It was also agreed to attempt to fit some sort of latches onto the two pavement bins which have large doors in the side, to stop the doors from hanging open and allowing all the rotting contents to spill out onto the pavement. This would require a battery-powered cordless drilling machine. If any resident or caretaker has such a drill and is prepared to loan it to us, please would you let us know urgently. Alternately, the meeting authorised the chair to purchase such a drill, as a permanent NKRA asset. We don’t know yet what these items cost, but it will undoubtedly prove useful in the future as well.
• It was reported that the City Council has received an offer to purchase the defunct electrical sub-station in Riviera, at the corner of Main Road and North Road. We have no further details at this time.
• The fence at the public toilets at the intersection of Anerley Road and 7th Street needs to be moved back a bit, as it is blocking the view of motorists attempting to enter the intersection from 3rd Ave (Biarritz and Astrotech etc). This is a serious road safety risk. Wayne will contact City Parks to re-start the process. In the short term, these weeds should be cleared as well.
• It was reported that the litter at the taxi rank constantly overwhelms the sponsored sweeper. Our cleaning project in that area will need to be re-evaluated.
• Please report problems of potholes and pavements to the JRA at http://www.jra.org.za/find-and-fix-mobile-app, or call 011 375 5555. Please keep the reference numbers for follow-up.
• Please also use the number 0860 562 874 to report all road and pavement-related problems to the municipality. This includes all cases of rubble being dumped on pavements, potholes in roads or pavements, road signs in need of repair, streetlights not working, blocked storm-drains, or traffic lights out of order. You can also report all of these issues to the call centre hotline number – 080 872 3342. Please keep the reference numbers for follow-up.

8. FINANCE AND MEMBERSHIP
• 25 buildings have paid their 2019 membership subscriptions to date, which is 41% of all the buildings in our area.
• As Gleneagles has allowed their membership to lapse over the past two years, Ruth Kuper of Gleneagles has personally donated the equivalent amount on behalf of Gleneagles. We thank Ruth for this very generous gesture.

9. GENERAL
• Emails have been circulated by the “We Love Killarney” organisation, advertising the imminent launch of their first project.
• You can contact “We Love Killarney” at welovekillarney@gmail.com, and you can follow their events at https://www.facebook.com/welovekillarney/posts/2676665509041384
• The NKRA supports all projects that will make Killarney-Riviera a better place.

The meeting was closed, with thanks to the Killarney Mall for hosting us.

Our next meeting will be held on
WEDNESDAY 15 MAY 2019 at 5pm

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