MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE MISTY CLIFFS VILLAGE ASSOCIATION HELD AT THE BEACH HOUSE, MISTY CLIFFS, ON 25th JULY 2004.
WELCOME:
The Chairman welcomed all present and in particular Graham Noble, Chairman of Scarborough Residents and Ratepayers Association, who had agreed to facilitate a discussion on the aims and objectives of the MCVA after the AGM.
APOLOGIES:
Andy Rush; Schalk Visser & Jose; John Kerr; Bosmans; Blersch family; Hendrikses; Paul Booth SPA; Howard Gold, SPA; Rashaad Samaai DEADP; Kevin Ketterer, Cape Town Council.
PROXIES:
Proxies were received from : Mark Rosling; Spencer; Fussell; Williams; Jolyon Leslie; Waylands (represented by Heather Walters).
QUORUM:
The Chairman noted that in terms of the constitution the meeting had a quorum, being at least 25%, including proxies, of all members of the Association.
ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES OF AGM 31ST MAY 2003:
Proposed: Anni Lehr; Seconded: Lyn Mossop. Unanimously accepted.
RESOLUTIONS:
The following resolutions were put to the meeting and all were approved with no votes against:
VARIOUS REPORTS:
The Chairman commenced by paying tribute to two fellow members who headed the two most active sub committees:
SECURITY:
In August last year six houses were broken into and three motorcars. In response the Committee alerted all residents to this problem and made a series of recommendations regarding alarms and call out procedures. In addition a radio alarm system was installed with transmitters at the Crayfish factory connected to Scarborough Security Services. Since then there have been no further incidents. However there is clearly a connection between building activity and crime and the meeting were advised to be on guard whenever building work was being undertaken.
DSTV:
Lyn Mossop advised the meeting that 9 participants had signed up and made their financial contribution and that the DSTV system was on the way to being installed. Leon Morris confirmed that the DSTV signal would not interfere with the alarm radio signal. The DSTV group were linked with and supported by the MCVA but would be operating their own bank account, and had indemnified the members of the Committee against any liability for failure of the DSTV system. There would be no financial or manpower implications for the Committee.
SIGNAGE:
Ivan Harris had for some time been working on getting three signs made for Misty Cliffs: - regulating behaviour on the beach; to replace the Misty Cliffs sign knocked down on the Scarborough side; to indicate Old Camp Road (as described in more detail in the previous AGM Minutes). The cost was R5,170 and Ivan was again authorised to go ahead and get these signs installed.
There was discussion of the need to limit the speed of motor cars along the Main Road and what part signage might play. This has been an ongoing issue for the Committee and Leon Morris and BAC was addressing it.
BUILDING CONTRACT:
Chairman mentioned that the building contract which we required all new house builders to sign, has been continually improved and amended (thanks to Brian Marsh) and was now all-embracing. There would always be the practical problem of monitoring damage to roads and environment and identifying those responsible for causing such damage. Depending on the workload, we might one day have to employ somebody to monitor such damage during building operations. In the meantime we have to rely on residents and the Committee.
FAR SOUTH PENINSULA COMMUNITY FORUM:
Graham Noble was asked to update us on this Forum. It is composed of various local organizations including ratepayers' bodies, and meets every quarter and its second AGM was being held on 24th August. This is a useful body which acts as a mouthpiece for and protects the interests of the entire South Peninsula. Mention was made of the fact that although MCVA supports this body, we have not allocated a specific Committee member to attend their meetings, but left it to those who wanted to attend, to do so.
ROADS DEVELOPMENT:
Tim Anderson and Doug Tunbridge gave reports on the roads.
This is by far the most important project being handled by the Association and it is gratifying to see that in the year since the last AGM, substantial progress has been made so that the roads upgrade is now actually happening.
The project has been divided into two contracts, which was necessary to permit the Council to commit its funds (R750,000). The first tender being paid for by the Council, was under way. The second, MCVA contract was signed but subject to the Contractor fulfilling two conditions: - to provide a guarantee for 10% of the tender price and to provide satisfactory insurance cover. Having spoken to the contractor's insurer, we believe these two items will be provided shortly.
Doug recorded that he has no financial interest in, nor receives any payment for, anything to do with the road project. Apart from Tim Anderson, who has been formally appointed to the salaried position of Clerk of Works for both tenders, none of the Committee members receives any payment for their work on behalf of the Association.
Tribute was paid to Tim for his dedication to this project and the amount of time he is devoting to it.
Progress was satisfactory although the contractor has found more rocks and boulders than anticipated when digging trenches. The environmental monitor believes that it may be acceptable to deposit such rocks and soil on the present contractor's camp site. Tim gave further details about the layout and depth of the various service trenches. He reported that the anticipated finishing date was in October this year.
Doug reported that of the 34 owners who have committed to contribute towards the cost of the roads upgrade, 30 have actually paid so far. We now have approximately R1,250,000 in the roads bank account in the care of Accountant Neil Tedder. We are still R152,000 short of meeting all anticipated costs including professional fees and salaries. However we hope that this will be met by
Two erven, 4 and 5, have no road access and would need to have an Environmental Impact Assessment to permit the road to be extended to their erven. At the recommendation of the Council, we approached Graham Noble who has agreed to undertake the necessary environmental investigation and report at a cost of R11,000. We have asked the two erven owners concerned to share this cost and are awaiting their reply.
Andy Rush our Consulting Engineer is available by phone or email to answer any technical questions about the roads.
BUILDING ADVISORY COMMITTEE ("BAC") report by Leon Morris
Leon paid tribute to all fellow members of the BAC whose contributions make his work possible, especially Kasia Hrabar our architectural adviser; Doug Tunbridge and Brian Marsh for their active contributions; and Jonathan for his motivation and encouragement.
At present there are 34 houses built in Misty Cliffs and another 30 vacant plots. This emphasizes the massive amount of building that is going to happen in the years ahead, and the huge burden of responsibility on this Association to monitor and control the process of the inevitable increasing urbanization of Misty Cliffs.
Kasia mentioned that virtually all owner builders cooperate with the recommendations of the Association and are reasonable. Those who disregard both the views of the community as well as various regulations, and take unilateral action, are the exception.
A major problem facing the BAC is the failure of Council officials, especially those in Building Control, to do their job in enforcing compliance with building regulations and authorised plans. BAC is determined to get officials to take proper action in the case of breaches of such regulations and if necessary will consider legal action to force Council to act.
It was unanimously RESOLVED that this Meeting supports the Committee of the Association in its efforts to make the Council and other relevant authorities act in accordance with, and enforce, the regulations which they are legally bound to apply.
The issue of Special Area Status for both Misty Cliffs and Scarborough is being pursued with the Council.
TREASURER'S REPORT:
Lyn Mossop reported on the financial position of the Association, and copies of the Financial Statements for year ending 28 February 2004 were available. Income from subscriptions was stable at R7,800 (R7,900 for previous year), and there was a cash deficit of R1,251 after expenses.
At year end there was a cash balance of R46,753 (excluding funds held in trust for building deposits and the DSTV). This had increased to approximately R50,000 by now.
Tribute was paid to Lyn Mossop for the exemplary way in which she maintained the books and administration of the MCVA.
ELECTION OF COMMITTEE:
Invitation was extended for nominations to join the Committee. The Turners kindly agreed to stand. Ivan Harris advised that he was not making himself available for re-election, but apart from him, the entire present Committee made themselves available for re-election.
All those standing for election were elected with no objections.
The Committee for the coming year therefore shall be
The AGM was then closed and a discussion group chaired by Graham Noble took place, followed by lunch for which many thanks to Lyn Mossop and Anni Lehr.