MINUTES FOR THE MEETING OF THE 20th MARCH 2013

MINUTES FOR THE MONTHLY PUBLIC MEETING OF THE
NEW KILLARNEY-RIVIERA ASSOCIATION
HELD AT THE MALL MANAGEMENT OFFICES (1ST FLOOR OFFICE TOWER)
ON WEDNESDAY 20 MARCH 2013 AT 18H00

PRESENT: Wayne Ford (Chair); Kayte Denham; Paul Denham; Deleen Levy; Jo Marais; Ruth Kuper; Abe Sher; Captain Moonsamy (SAPS); Charles Whyte; Trish Terry; Auden Stenerson, Harry Rutenberg; Dalien Rutenberg; Rochelle Aaron.

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

2. APOLOGIES
Clr M Ravid; Mike Kalk; Yogan Naidoo; Steve Mendelsohn; Moggi Lewis.

3. DISCUSSION OF TIME CONSTRAINT
• It was noted that the Mall has requested us to finish by 6pm. As we are guests here, we will strive to keep the discussions short and relevant, so as to finish on time.

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 the statistics for the past four weeks or so. This month we suffered 5 thefts of vehicles (2 from inside the Mall), 2 house robberies, and 5 burglaries. One burglar was caught and arrested, but per the fingerprints there are at least two more burglars still active in Killarney.
• Killarney Hills had an armed robbery – apparently with help from an inside person.
• Once again the SAPS urge everyone to install proper burglar bars on all windows and balcony doors. It would also help if the CCTV cameras also cover the surrounding roads, as the getaway car is often parked around the corner.
• The vacant stand at 58 Oxford Road is seemingly a mode of entry over the back walls of the neighbouring complexes. The owners of the land will only start development in the second half of the year. The SAPS are working with affected complexes to manage this in the meanwhile.
• If you are a new resident in a flat, please immediately change the door locks, as the old tenant (and their servants) may still have copies. Don’t give your keys to strangers – it takes a few seconds to make a wax-impression, from which copies are easily made. If you have given keys to your own servants, be nice to them thereafter, because if you upset them they can and do sell those keys to burglars. Criminals have a network to buy keys (and tip-offs) from upset servants and security guards. If you fire a servant, please change all the locks ASAP.
• Extra police patrols have been requested, but they do not deter house robbers, who will simply wait for the police van to pass by. However the patrols will at least give us faster response times when people call them.
• It is recommended that the trustees assist the security guards by giving them the police patrol van number – 071 675 6001.
• If the patrol van doesn’t answer its cell-phone, please make a note of the date and time of the missed call, and report it to the shift captain as soon as possible on 011 488 6517.
• Often the problem is flat phone batteries. The NKRA will look into providing our van with a cell-phone car-charger. Captain Moonsamy will investigate the process we need to follow.
• Wayne will pursue JMPD Superintendent Zed re the taxi rank and the hawker problems. Meanwhile, please call the new JMPD call centre on 011 378 1000 for all by-law issues.

6. FEEDBACK FROM COUNCILLORS
• Clr Ravid has apologised.
• The valuation roll is being revalued. You can check your new valuation on-line – the link is on our NKRA website at www.nkra.org.za.

7. TRAFFIC ISSUES
• A large number of pothole and road repairs have been undertaken in the past few weeks. Many thanks to the JRA for that. They are also busy resurfacing the pavement around Dukes Court.
• The JRA has also repainted most of the road markings in Killarney Road – many thanks to Clr Ravid for arranging that for us so quickly.
• If you happen to notice more potholes, the link to report them is on our NKRA website at www.nkra.org.za .
• A petition has been prepared asking for better by-law enforcement, particularly around the illegal taxi rank. It will be delivered to all buildings in the next few days.
• The Gautrain bus service is seemingly now operating in Killarney. You cannot pay cash, so you need to first get a Gautrain Gold-card from the station.

8. ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
• Our Centenary Project is well underway. A written strategic plan has been prepared, and will now be implemented. Please see attached, and please let us have your comments and suggestions – the more the better.
• It was agreed that we will hold our Centenary Celebration Day on Saturday 28 September. The official National Heritage Day is 24 September, which is a weekday.
• As part of this process we have prepared a preliminary timeline of the development of Killarney-Riviera. We don’t know most of the details, and the details we have got are sometimes quoted differently in different sources. Please all check the attached timeline, and help us to correct it and to expand it. When finished it should be at least ten pages long, with lots of interesting details about every building.
• We have clarified the process to get heritage plaques, and that process is now underway, starting with the original TAC property in 2nd Ave. If you would like a plaque for your building, please let us know.
• We have clarified that a building with special merit can qualify for a 20% rebate on their municipal rates. This process is difficult and there are costs attached, but a 20% rebate will amount to hundreds of thousands of rands over the years, and is well worth having. Our contacts at the Egoli Heritage Foundation will manage this application for you, so please let us know if you think your building might qualify.
• We will attempt to identify if any members of the original Schlesinger family still live in South Africa, and we will invite them to our Heritage Day celebration.
• The sweeping project has been redesigned to give better value for money. If this doesn’t work we will reduce to 4 days per week.
• We have obtained a quote of R2700 to clear out every one of our 50-something rubbish bins of all the accumulated sand and rubble and compacted rotting garbage. The meeting approved this quote unanimously.
• We have requested a number of additional bins from Pikitup.
• We have created a “Suppliers Referrals” page on our website, at www.nkra.org.za . If you have received very good service from a supplier and you wish to recommend them to your neighbours, please let us know.

9. FINANCE AND MEMBERSHIP
• Our finances are still precarious. However invoices are now going out to contributing members.
• Canterbury Close has recently joined the NKRA as a contributing member. The meeting welcomed them aboard!!!!

10. GENERAL
• The application by Great Martinhall Manor to erect a 15m cell-phone tower on their roof has been approved by the Council, despite our objections. It was agreed to try to identify the cell-phone company in question, to see if we can persuade them to put our health above their profits and their customers’ convenience.
• A suggestion was made for buildings to all use the same security company, so as to get better service and prices. However this has been tried before, without success.
• Some buildings are suing the Gautrain for damages to structures caused by the construction of the Gautrain tunnel. If you have suffered damage and would like to participate in a class-action lawsuit, please let us know urgently.

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

Our next meeting will be held on
WEDNESDAY 17 APRIL 2013 AT 5PM!!!!

PLEASE PASS ON THESE MINUTES TO OTHER RESIDENTS IN YOUR BUILDINGS