Chairman's Report to the Annual General Meeting of the Misty Cliffs Village Association for the period 1st March 2005/6 to be held on Sunday 2nd April 2006 in the Scarborough Community Hall at 10 am.
The year has been particularly active with the completion of the Old Camp Road upgrade and services project, application for registration of the Village Association as a Public Benefit Organisation, new building projects, environmental control, and a considerable number of proposed legislative changes in the Unicity on which to provide input.
Membership
To engender a commitment to and participation in the Village Association your committee has reviewed Clause 2 of the Constitution, the "Member Clause", in order to give effect to the principle that all members of the Misty Cliffs community have expectations of the Association, and have rights and obligations to maintain the "sense of place" which we all enjoy. Therefore every member of the community should be recognised formally as a member of the Association. The purpose is, in part, to emphasize that the committee serves the interest of the community as a whole. Your committee is also of the view that the right to vote at general meetings should be accorded only to those members who have paid the required annual subscription.
Clause 2 of the Constitution has therefore been reworded to capture these ideas. The correspondingly amended Constitution was sent to you, together with the notice of the meeting, for ratification at the AGM.
Last year 38 [61%] out of 62 owners paid the annual subscription of R300. The balance of 24 [39%] owners failed to pay in spite of being sent emails, faxes and continual reminders in all our communications. This is clearly unsatisfactory and very disappointing. We truly hope that our improved membership conditions and the obvious service we provide will encourage many more owners to support their Association with subscription payments. This income helps to protect Misty's unique "sense of place", make it a desirable place in which to live, and safeguard every member's property investment.
Public Benefit Organisation
The Village Association is now formally registered with SARS and our application has been made to qualify as a Public Benefit Organisation and thus be tax-exempt. The bureaucrats have been hard at it making us complete numerous forms, but now it looks as though we are finally on the point of official classification as a PBO.
Your executive committee held seven meetings during the year. Formal minutes are kept in our new Minute Book and, as required, are available for inspection by the authorities.
Registration as a Conservation and Village other legislative and related matters
We are no nearer to being registered as a "Conservation Village" than we were last year. The advent of the consolidation of building regulations throughout the Peninsula via the proposed Integrated Zoning Scheme [IZS] has placed our application on hold. Our joint efforts with the Scarborough Rate Payers' Association to break through the bureaucracy have not so far been successful. We will continue to persevere and await the outcome of the deliberations on the IZS. Once this is finalised it looks as though we will be required to apply for an Overlay Zone in respect of the Misty Cliffs/Scarborough areas. In the interim most owners are adhering to the Local Building Regulations which we agreed with the South Peninsula Administration.
We made formal written comment to the Unicity on the Integrated Zoning System, Overlay Zones, Spatial Plan, and the public hearings on service delivery. A great deal of work and time was involved in making these inputs, and although there is not yet anything to show for it, they are absolutely essential if we are to have any hope of avoiding the potentially devastating effect of unmodified IZS proposals on our investments.
In addition we have been involved in devising control measures related to jet skis, helicopters, dog control, traffic and road markings, monitoring of illegal mussel picking, and the planning of a more practicable rubbish collection strategy for our area.
As a result of the plethora of new municipal legislation an umbrella body of rate payers' associations has been formed to exchange views and information towards achieving coherent interaction with the legislators. Thus, together with most of the other Rate Payers' Associations in the Peninsula, your Association has joined the Greater Cape Town Civic Alliance [GCTCA].
Leon Morris has been actively involved in representing your Village in these important areas. We thank him for his time, patience and persistence.
Environmental monitoring
Tim Anderson as our Environmental Officer commenced duties during this period and has been active for the past seven months. As a result many plots have been cleared of alien infestation and we only have four plots to go before the village is clear. Dumping and abandoning of building rubble and garden refuse is constantly monitored and we ensure that it is removed.
We will also be ensuring that waste paper and other debris are continually removed, and that storm water channels and drains are cleared monthly.
Building and plans approval
Four building plans were approved during the year, and advice and assistance on building regulations provided to owners and their architects and builders. Two of these developments are currently in progress and it is anticipated that the others will commence this year.
Our concerns about certain building work on Erf 29, and on portions of the road reserve adjacent to the property, together with associated weakening of the support structure of the newly upgraded Old Camp Road, are still in the process of objection and negotiation through the municipal and legal processes. Resolution has taken a step forward recently and we trust that the position will be resolved this year.
Regular inspection by the Environmental Control Officer of all building developments is performed. Monitoring their possible effect on the road has enabled us to take prompt action to ensure good housekeeping is practised by builders to prevent and/or repair damage to the road.
Completion of the road upgrade project
The Old Camp Road upgrade was completed with no overrun on costs even though it took far longer than estimated by the consultants and contractors. It was a particularly trying time for permanent residents, many of whom were inconvenienced and had to walk or climb to their properties over an extended period. I thank them for their support. From the feedback we have received most owners are extremely pleased with the result.
For the record the total cost of the project was estimated at R2.4m with a contribution from the Unicity of an estimated R1m [we could not obtain the exact figure but it was in the region of 25 per cent more than originally agreed]. The balance of just under R1.4m was funded by 33 [75%] out of the 44 owners on the mountain at an average of R39 000 an owner.
From the amount raised by owners of R1 394 451 we spent slightly more than this amount by including some vegetation rehabilitation [more to be done] and the construction of steps to improve access and safety from the northern end of the road down to the main road. Additional steps have also been built on the southern end of upper Old Camp Road down to the pedestrian track in the stream valley. The purpose is primarily to prevent environmental damage by walkers and building workers taking short cuts through properties and road reserve.
I draw your attention also to the new steps and boardwalk constructed to facilitate safe beach access from the northern end of Old Camp Road.
The special Road Project Trust Fund established with Guarantee Trust Claremont has been audited and wound up and the contract retention of R49 012 transferred to the Misty Cliffs Village Association account as reflected in our balance sheet. This payment falls due later this year.
I am also pleased to confirm that the upgraded road has been formally handed over to the South Peninsula Administration. Consequently all maintenance and repair work, including the cost thereof, is now the responsibility of the City.
It would be remiss of me not to formally record our thanks to the officials at the South Peninsula Administration, the consulting engineers Faure & Rush, the contractors R.T.Enterprises and Sundown Construction, and to Graham Noble whom we roped in as our environmental consultant. Also and in particular to Tim Anderson on behalf of the community for the exceptional way in which he oversaw the project and dealt patiently with exasperated residents and owners. Thank you Tim for a professional job well done.
Baboons
Discussions have been held with Graham Noble of the Scarborough Rate Payers' Association about the ongoing baboon management funding difficulties experienced with Province and Unicity. The discussions show some promise of evolving a sustainable baboon monitoring strategy for the Scarborough/Misty Cliffs area. Graham is drawing up a formal business plan including funding requirements and will present this to our Association as soon as possible.
Website
With the guidance of Brian Marsh our website was launched early last year with the able assistance of property owner Jeff Spenser who lives in the UK. We have recorded in excess of 3 600 hits in 12 months. Our intention is to delegate someone on the committee to develop and maintain the site.
Newsletter
We have had excellent feedback on the news letters we distribute. During the year we decided to increase their frequency by circulating them as soon as possible after our bimonthly executive committee meetings so that Misty members are better kept in touch with what's going on. Well done again to Tim Anderson our hard working scribe.
Treasury
Audited accounts will be distributed at the AGM. Our financial position is sound with a surplus of R12 712 being carried forward from this year making our total accumulated funds R60 055, most of which is invested in the money market.
I wish to point out that our gratuity to the Environmental Control Officer of R1 000 a month to defray travel and incidental expenses was paid only for seven months last year amounting to R7000 as reflected in the accounts. This will increase to R12 000 for the full 12 months in the coming year.
Our auditors resigned during the course of the year (not on account of any dispute) but fortunately your committee was able to appoint Misty Cliffs owner Tony Turner C.A. as Public Officer and Auditor of the Association for the past year. Tony has been actively involved since his appointment for which we thank him. We will seek approval of his appointment for the coming year at the AGM.
Community
Our first end-of-year party last December was a great success and everyone who attended said we should hold a party again this year. We have decided on Sunday 17th December 2006 in the hope of catching the out-of-town owners, most of whom arrive mid-December for their Christmas holidays.
Executive committee
My thanks to our committee of Tim Anderson, Lyn Mossop, Leon Morris, Anni Lehr, Jean Maritz and Brian Marsh for their hard work and dedication to support the owners of Misty Cliffs.
Brian Marsh has decided not to stand for re-election and we would thank him for his valued advice and substantial contribution on many fronts over the past three years. His professional advice and guidance will be missed.
We are hoping to welcome new committee members so as to bring fresh ideas. We need to have at least three additional members to spread the workload.
Conclusion
With the completion of the road upgrade, the main structure of the Village in place, and the appointment of the Environmental Control Officer, we are now well positioned to monitor and maintain Misty's wonderful "sense of place" and to protect the value of our members' investments.
Doug Tunbridge
Chairman