MISTY CLIFFS VILLAGE ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER - September 2007
Editor: Tim Anderson
"The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools."
THIS scrap of cynical wisdom, attributed to 19th Century English philosopher Herbert Spencer, came to mind when your scribe was reading a memorandum from our neighbouring Kommetjie Residents' and Ratepayers' Association. The KRRA is moving to solicit contributions from everyone in the southern peninsula to fund legal action in an attempt to halt the headlong approval being officially granted to inappropriate "developments" in the area. More development applications are in the pipeline.
Many of these approvals blithely disregard statutory policies and town planning regulations; objections are often either ignored or dismissed. The outcomes will cumulatively and very adversely affect everyone who lives in these parts. All the civic bodies in the Far South Peninsula Civics Forum are aware of KRRA's move and much support has already been promised. The proposed legal process is likely to take the form of a test case to, as a minimum, compel adherence to existing provisions and regulations. We will keep you posted, and in the meantime anyone interested in reading KRRA's memorandum "Saving the South" may request an e-copy from Bruce Campbell Smith, brucecam@telkomsa.net
NEAR DROWNING
Your part-time committee, and in particular your part-time chairman, are reeling under a stream of legislative and developmental issues in the form of lengthy official documents provided to civics in order to obtain public input on various proposals such as guidelines for resort developments, boat launch facilities, shebeens, gated communities, factory farms, nuclear power stations, and so on. These documents invariably arrive long after their issue date and, we dare to suspect intentionally, often leave only a week or so for response. There is simply neither the time nor the special expertise to comprehensively examine, discuss, and respond to these matters. Appropriate response usually demands much more than common sense. Sometimes we think that the compilers are unlikely to take any notice of public input anyway, so why bother? On the other hand, if we do not respond, we have no platform from which to complain or object when our community is eventually disadvantaged by undesirable outcomes.
(Fear not that there is a proposal to build a nuclear power station on our turf, but we have asked that our association be registered as a stakeholder in the requisite EIA process. Anyone downwind, as we could be, of a potential source of harmfully radioactive particles is a concerned stakeholder.)
There is already a considerable load on committee members to liaise with other civic associations, attend meetings, chase after elusive officials, interact with politicians, law enforcement people, and so on. It is in the nature of voluntary associations that their business meetings are seldom conducted crisply, so the time-burden on participants is considerable. All these issues will sooner or later affect every owner in Misty Cliffs and therefore we invite anyone who can offer time and know-how to come forward to help our efforts, either as committee members (we do have fun too) or to be co-opted for specific tasks.
SECURITY
There has been relatively little crime in Misty Cliffs compared with other residential areas, but the expectation of an increase is very high as more houses are built, more destitute outsiders arrive in the south peninsula, and unemployment increases. At our July meeting Clive Gibson from Scarborough spoke to us about the success of the neighbourhood watch system in Scarborough, Glencairn and Simon's Town by which crime had quickly dropped by an amazing 50 per cent.
The system was based on residents and owners literally watching, and knowing each other, knowing when owners are in occupation, recognising legitimate gardeners, domestics, and regular contractors. The presence of unfamiliar people on neighbouring properties or present at unusual times and days should be made known straight away to the usual occupants, or perhaps to Scarborough Security Services. Owners engaging contractors should notify their neighbours and try to insist that the contractors provide a name list of their staff doing the work.
Notoriously, thefts are committed or facilitated by labourers, especially casuals, attached to contractors and thereby well placed to note who comes and goes and when. Thefts are often planned for execution after the contractor has finished the job. More often than not their employers do not have sufficient information about their labourers to facilitate tracing and identification.
Clive brought a sample form used for enrolling people in the system and this we will circulate for your perusal in due course. Meanwhile we invite any of you to email your comments about this idea.
We are considering the practicalities of a wireless communication security network for Misty Cliffs; a similar system is embryonic in Scarborough and we are keeping in touch. If we were to set up something like this it would probably be based on a wi-fi facility. Thanks to one of our enthusiastic owners, Tim Parsonson, Misty Cliffs is already a wi-fi hotspot through installation of Skyrove, and the facility is available to anyone in line-of-sight to erf 9 and whose PC, laptop or celtel is wi-fi enabled. This is blessedly independent of Telkom, there is no rental and users simply buy Skyrove credit through the internet. An initial estimate is that the charge could be in the region of 50c/Mb. We will circulate more information either in the next newsletter or by an earlier leaflet. Please don't pester the Parsonsons about this; they are not always in residence; route your comments and enquiries through your scribe.
BABOONS
Have we stumbled upon the reason for some baboon deaths in our enclave? Some folk are understandably trying to get rid of rats which inevitably are around, especially with the availability of kitchen waste from unclosed or tipped-over bins or bags of trash not put into bins at all. No one wants vermin around and the usual suburban or industrial remedy is to put down poison. Very sadly, the poisons commonly available are not sufficiently selective and so are just as likely to kill domestic animals, harmless rodents, genets, etc. Baboons are intensely inquisitive and will at least sample almost anything that looks edible. Any baboon can swiftly tear open a cardboard rat-poison container of which several have been found along Old Camp Road. It is much better to use an old-fashioned rat trap, with the benefit that its victims will be happily eaten by the likes of mongooses - or should that be mongeese?
Baboons have been regularly around of late but have not been an undue problem. The monitors, or "monkey shepherds" as they have been called, seem to be doing an adequate job but we will always be interested to hear from residents what they think. During July the monitors were temporarily withdrawn for a week's training and instruction.
It is interesting to see how the baboons have learnt to ignore us - several people have found a baboon on the veranda sitting patiently waiting for someone to open a door or window, whereupon the animal casually pushes past to look around inside the house for goodies, and in due course ambles away again. Speaking of doors and windows: we continue to notice them left open or partially open, even when the usual occupants are out. Baboons are strong and can easily wrench open an insecurely latched door or window, just as they can squeeze through burglar bars and fanlights. Upstairs windows are not much less accessible as baboons can jump and climb prodigiously. A bad result of this ability is that having squeezed into the property they often cannot squeeze out again, whereupon they panic and create havoc inside.
The monitors' primary task is to keep troops of baboons on the move, generally always away from habitation. They also identify troops, families and individual animals so that this information can be accumulated for research purposes and more-effective "herding". Baboons spread out during their foraging and it is unreasonable (and undesirable) for any of us to expect monitors to clamber through private gardens rounding up stray animals. Also, there are a number of loner baboons who may pop up anywhere at any moment. Individual monitors may arouse needless suspicion of not being on the job whereas in fact they may be part of an outflanking tactic to contain the troop members. The monitoring job demands very long hours in all weathers (baboons are not fazed by rain or cold) and often involves tramping up and down the mountainside which can be extremely tiring. Monitors warrant the most courteous and appreciative treatment for the work they're trying to do for us.
SARS and TAX
After a prodigious delay and many inquiries we have at last received notification from SARS that our association has been approved as a "public benefit organization" - just as we had given up on them and resolved not to chase them any longer! What this amounts to principally is that the MCVA's receipts (including membership subscriptions) and accruals are exempt from tax liability. So too are donations made to the Association. Bequests or accruals from deceased estates are correspondingly exempt from estate duty - please will members promptly revise their wills in the association's favour accordingly. We are required to submit our audited accounts and tax return annually to the "tax exemption unit" for review.
"RECEIPTS"
The receipts which most concern us are the annual subscriptions of R300. At present we are way behind. Please, folks, bring your sub's up to date straight away - they are our primary source of income for a growing host of activities and services on behalf of all owners (not only residents) in Misty Cliffs. Any other income is either small beans or fortuitous.
Too many owners do not contribute membership subscriptions even though they benefit just as much as those who do pay. The more who pay the longer we can hold off increasing the subscription rate.
We no longer bank with ABSA. As notified in at least two previous newsletters we have moved our account to Nedbank's Noordhoek branch. If you pay electronically or by internet please change your beneficiary accordingly. ABSA will not necessarily notify you if you try to pay into an account which no longer exists!
If you prefer to pay by cheque our box number remains as 22709, Scarborough 7975. Please write your erf number on the cheque! Similarly in internet or electronic payments please put your erf number as reference! We sometimes receive payments from unrecognised third parties - eg, trustees or attorneys - and it's a problem matching these payments to the correct owner.
ROADSIDE REHABILITATION
Wonderful rains have done great things for the weeds and aliens along the Old Camp Road road reserve. The removal of these will begin very soon and we hope to finish while the ground remains soft. It is a semi-skilled job because some weedy-looking plants are indigenous and very welcome.
A very promising development has been initiated by Greg Shaw who has interested the Environmental Science department at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology in taking on the "greening" of the road reserve as a formal student course project. This would involve very diligent programmed "weeding" and then expertly supervised preparation of the ground for planting during early autumn. All sorts of interesting plants, shrubs, and trees would be used and we are hopeful to acquire these at a meaningful discount.
Greg, a film maker, may be the "greenest" resident of Misty Cliffs having invested enormously in creative landscaping and having brought in all sorts of animals, including guinea fowls (alas, to feed the neighbouring cats) and having chosen trees which particularly attract a range of bird species.
FIRE FIGHTING
The somewhat precariously functioning Fire Department recently tested the Scarborough fire hydrants but so far has not produced a report on the outcome. Nor have we been able to ascertain if the Misty Cliffs hydrants were tested at the same time as they should have been. We are concerned about this as we know that the hydrants along the upgraded Old Camp Road, although connected to a 110 mm water main in accordance with regulations, are fed lower down from a 75 mm council service main, ie one that can provide only half the flow.
We were exceedingly lucky not to have had a major fire last summer and it may be hoping for too much that we'll survive another summer similarly. If a fire sweeps through our enclave it's likely to be monstrous because bush growth has been tremendous after the long and heavy winter rains.
In your own interest if you have a house at Misty, please immediately see that vegetation, both bush and "garden", is cut well back, especially on the southern side where the fires come from. Make sure all aliens are removed, together with dead protea branches and undergrowth. If you contract someone to do this then insist on a guarantee that whatever is cut down or uprooted is completely removed from the site and taken to the Kommetjie Road dump site. Piles of dead bush left around are nothing less than incendiary bombs.
We remind you again that property damaged by fire attributable to overgrown neighbouring or own land may find any insurance claim repudiated, and/or, the owner of the offending land held liable for the damage. Insurers are making this stick nowadays - it's not just a theoretical threat! (And make sure that your fire insurance policies have no small-print exclusions hiding somewhere, and that the premiums are up to date.)
RECYCLING - NEW REGULATION!
A useful additional deterrent to baboon raiders is the launch of the municipal recycling programme, immediately effective, by which Millennium Waste (the people who do the Tuesday trash collection) will provide a transparent plastic bag for all recyclable material. This will require residents to pre-sort their trash which is a trivial task for the benefit of discouraging baboon raids, the option of contributing input to the job-creating jewellery and art project being run by KEAG at Imhoff's farm, and cutting down on the amount of waste which is rapidly overloading the local disposal site.
The project is now a municipal regulation! It is being applied progressively to other areas.
The bins which most of use at present (some awful folk still don't bother) will continue in use of course but will be ONLY for kitchen/food waste, wet paper, nappies, plant material, foam plastic like polystyrene blocks and trays, foil-lined containers, and glass other than bottles.
The transparent bags must be placed on top of the secured bins on collection day. Initially baboons may pounce on the see-through bags but they will quickly learn that these contain nothing edible.
The new bags should contain any kind of DRY paper and cardboard, glass bottles and jars with corks and lids removed, empty cans, and plastic bottles minus corks and caps.
The corks and lids, caps etc should be accumulated and taken to the work project at Imhoff's farm where materials are in constant short supply and will be appreciatively received.
Please rinse all food containers!
If you have tenants or guests using your house it is a good idea to pin up these requirements somewhere conspicuous and make sure the people understand that this little chore is a municipal requirement.
COMMENTS AND NEWS
If you have any interesting input - questions, ideas, criticisms, denials (very vogue lately) please e-mail (preferably) these to your scribe:
Tim Anderson
timofpen@mweb.co.za
Fax: 021-683-3534
Tel: 021-674-2834
Cel: 072-128-2319