NKRA Communique – November-December 2023

Hi everyone

We held our November NKRA public meeting via the internet on Wednesday 15 November 2023. The issues arising from that meeting are included in this newsletter. There is no meeting in December, so our next public meeting will be held at 18h30 on Wednesday 17 January 2024. All owners and residents of Killarney and Riviera are welcome to join in. An agenda with a meeting link will be circulated closer to that date.

This beautiful pavement garden is in 9^th Street. Many thanks to these residents for this lovely contribution to our community.

A few weeks ago City Parks had to cut down a jacaranda tree on the pavement in 5^th Street, because the roots were rotting on one side and the tree was in danger of falling over in a strong wind. We are glad to report that the tree has not died, and it seems to be attempting to make a come-back. The huge root system is obviously compromised by decay, but clearly there is enough of a root system left to sustain some sort of further life. If this tree grows back at full speed it will still be about twenty years before it is big enough to pose any sort of hazard, so hopefully it can continue to grow and produce flowers for many more years. People sit on that stump, and already somebody has snapped off the new twigs that were sprouting. Trees are valuable, so please would everyone help to protect and support the new growth.

The squatters camping on the motorway embankment etc are still a problem, especially near the parking lot in 7^th Street. This is a by-law enforcement issue, and only JMPD can fix it. The JMPD gives priority to the issues with the highest volumes of reports, so we all need to continually report these issues when we notice them. Please include photos with your reports when you can, and please ensure that you get a reference number.

The same applies to illegal hawking, illegal street drinking, and public disturbances generally. We need to continually report these issues when we notice them, include photos with your reports when you can, and please ensure that you get a reference number. The JMPD contact numbers are included at the end of this newsletter.

We have commenced the project to add a security camera to watch over the 7^th Street car park area. This camera will be incorporated into the existing security camera system at Castlerosse, which is monitored by RCS Security. This will cost about R3,300, and the project was approved at both the October meeting and the November meeting.

It was noted that our damaged NKRA PTZ security camera at Daventry Court in 1^st Street has been successfully repaired after all. It was discussed to reinstall it on an extended bracket, reaching out a bit further over the street, so that its zoom function can be utilised to also monitor the activities on the 1^st Street pavements further east toward the Mall. This will hopefully give us some coverage of the pavement in the stretch outside Martindale Mews, where the shadows are particularly deep.

The proposed street cleaner project for the 7^th Street car park area and pavement was approved at the October meeting. The project was confirmed at the November meeting, which also agreed to undertake two or three days of cleaning as soon as possible, to remove the backlog of litter and make the area properly clean. Thereafter we will switch to one day per week for on-going maintenance – perhaps a Friday or Monday. It was agreed to persist with this approach over the Christmas period, when we anticipate that littering will be extra severe, and when a lot of visitors will be passing through Killarney. We will reassess and reconsider the project at the January meeting, and if we decide to continue, we will need to find a sponsor. The cleaner will also interface with the RCS security staff at Castlerosse, and will act as an extra pair of eyes at that problematic location.

The SAPS has been reminded regularly about the drinking on our pavements, and a raid took place in 1^st Street recently with some alcohol being confiscated. However we need to have an on-going JMPD involvement to resolve this problem, so please continue to call the JMPD every time street drinking occurs.

Apparently, a number of these party attendees are from outside of Killarney, who come here to party on our pavements because it is known to be a good place to socialise. However, according to the security guards, the bulk of the party-goers are apparently Killarney residents. These people are often employees of buildings, who live in tiny rooms where no socialising is possible, or even allowed. Most buildings do not allow staff members to use the common-property entertainment facilities either, so they socialise on the pavements instead. We are also aware that the street parties at the western end of 1^st Street were largely attended by residents living in over-crowded conditions in the buildings of Hyde Court and Lhenveolan. Once this issue was addressed by those two buildings, the street parties in that vicinity effectively ceased to be a problem.

It was noted that the street parties in 1^st Street sometimes happen in the darker areas, especially in shadows where trees have obscured the streetlights. Extra pavement lighting might therefore be a useful deterrent to illegal behaviour. This will also make the cameras more effective. All buildings are therefore requested to instal extra floodlights covering their pavements, if you have any areas of deep shadow at night. Modern solar LED floodlights are very effective, and they are also increasingly affordable.

The festive season is usually a time of rest and joy, but unfortunately it is also often a time when crime spikes. In these heat waves, many people will sleep with windows open. If you do not have good burglar bars, then this provides an opportunity for a burglar – even if you live on a higher floor. It is important to perform regular checks of your home security systems and fences. Test your alarm systems and your panic buttons regularly. Inspect your electric fence regularly, and especially after storms. Burglars who break through electric fences often spend days preparing, so a regular check may find that the fence has been tampered with before the actual crime takes place. It is particularly important to check your home security before going away on holiday and leaving your home unoccupied for a few weeks.

The risk of cell-phone snatching on pavements will also get worse over the Christmas period. We need for all buildings to post constant reminders to all persons. It would be especially valuable if buildings could have a security guard standing with people out on the pavement while they wait for their ride, although this might be impractical for some buildings.

The Killarney Mall continues to maintain aspects of the park in 4^th Street, which is looking really attractive now. In particular they are mowing the grass regularly, which will become a serious undertaking as the rain increases, and which was not a service which we could depend upon the City Parks department to perform reliably. This is a valuable supplement to the sterling efforts of the NKRA gardener, who is sponsored by Russell Fisher Properties. There has however been no decision yet from the Mall on relocating the taxi rank. We hope to see some progress with this early in the new year.

During the past few weeks, another child was bitten by a dog in the park, and it has also been noted that dogs sometimes fight with each other. We seriously need to find a sustainable solution to this problem, but so far there is still no consensus among the community members on how to go forward. Until we can agree on a practical solution, which will also receive the approval of the Joburg City Parks department, the existing municipal by-laws must continue to be complied with in full. These by-laws state that all dogs in the park must be kept on a leash at all times. Our little park has only a small amount of space with which to serve the needs of a comparatively large community, and it was designed to be used safely by all residents through the dog-owners walking their dogs on a leash. If you have large dogs which need to run freely in large open spaces, please would you consider taking them to a larger park such as Delta Park or Zoo Lake etc.

St John’s Wood in 2^nd Street have completed their new borehole. They have reported that it is yielding about 1200 litres per hour, and that although the water is relatively clean, they have installed a filtration system as well. The total cost was apparently around R350,000. They were not required to obtain a municipal permit to drill this borehole.

We have been informed that the quality of borehole water can fluctuate quite quickly if additional contamination is introduced into the water table. It was also noted that boiling the water will kill any bacteria that may be present, but that boiling the water will not necessarily remove all chemical contaminants. We again recommend that buildings consider installing Jojo tanks on common property where possible, filled with clean municipal tap water, to provide a small emergency back-up supply of safe water. Unlimited free water would obviously be ideal in these difficult times, but going off-grid is neither cheap not easy.

It was noted that the Riviera Road streetlights have finally been fixed. This is particularly important because of the heavy pedestrian traffic on that pavement, and the many missing manhole covers which make that pavement very dangerous at night. The municipality has also recently repainted the kerbs and road markings around the corner of Oxford Road and Riviera Road, and has been seen conducting various litter-cleaning projects. There is a lot of fixing still to be done, but at least we are seeing something in return for our tax contributions.

The parked Ubers in 3^rd Street can be noisy, and sometimes cause a disturbance. It is legal for them to park in our streets, just like any other motorist, but causing a disturbance is not legal. Once again, the only remedy is to report this to JMPD for official action. If you can get photos or video evidence, which clearly identify the cars or drivers concerned, then emailing the Uber head office might also help.

For all municipal service delivery issues, including potholes, pavements, Pikitup, electricity and water issues, you can contact the municipal Call Centre on 0860 562 874 to have your concerns forwarded to the relevant operational departments. Please would everybody keep on reporting these issues, and always ask them for a reference number. Please try to include photographs of the problem where you can, as this does seem to speed up the response a bit. You can also log municipal problems on MySmartCity, at https://mysmart.city, or you can download their App from the website.

As we swelter in the worsening heat waves, we remind residents that many buildings use heat pumps to heat their central hot water, and that these heat pumps dump cold air as a waste product. Every heat pump installation has a different design, but in some cases it would probably be practical to set up some garden furniture near the cold-air exit points, and the residents can then enjoy the abundant cold air for free.

We remind our community that Killarney does still have a branch of the Johannesburg Public Library. It is inside the Killarney Mall. It is accessed from the underground parking outside the banking entrance, and the door is between the entrance and the blue post-boxes. There is a sign on the wall beside the door (circled here in green), although this discreet sign is a bit overwhelmed by the huge bright banner advertising the cinemas. We have asked the Mall to consider painting bright and colourful signage around the library door, to improve its visibility.

As we come to the end of the calendar year, we are grateful to note that 38 buildings out of the 55 sectional title buildings in Killarney-Riviera paid their NKRA membership subscriptions for the year – this is about 69% of the total. The list of the members for 2023 is as follows:

• Berkeley Square
• Beverley Heights
• Biarritz
• Brenthurst Court
• Bretton Woods
• Canterbury Close
• Castlerosse
• Chartwell
• Chelston Hall
• Christina Court
• Cranwell Hall
• Daventry Court
• Devon Place
• Dumbarton Oaks
• Earls Court
• Glenhof Gardens
• Greenhills
• Hampshire Mews
• Hyde Court
• Interlaken
• Killarney Court & Gardens
• Killarney Hills
• Killarney Park
• Killarney Village
• Killarney Wilds
• Kingsborough
• Knightsbridge
• Mentone Court
• Monviso
• Park Avenue
• Portofino
• Rapallo
• Riviera Mansions
• Riviera Villas
• Sevenoaks
• Splice
• The Rivieras
• Whitehall Court

Many thanks indeed to all these buildings for your on-going support. Thank you also to the people who make personal donations as well.

We are happy to receive photos of any interesting things that might be happening around our area, which we might include in future newsletters. We also welcome all suggestions from all residents, on all issues. In particular, these are currently our primary action points:

• Managing the squatter problem in Killarney;
• Finding a sponsor for a street cleaner for the 7^th Street car-park area and pavement;
• Continually warning people about the risk of cell-phone snatching.

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Our first virtual meeting of 2024 will be held at 18h30 on Wednesday 17 January 2024.

Holiday Greetings to all, keep well, and keep safe.

Wayne Ford

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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