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Hi Folks The last few weeks have been (and continue to be) hectic for the SFBRA! We have been doggedly and incessantly pushing the Kouga Municipality to attend to a long list of urgently need repairs and long overlooked issues! On 26th October we were finally able to have a meeting (Click here to read the minutes) with the acting Municipal Manager where we put to him a prioritised list of the most pressing issues we are aware of and those brought to our attention by residents. In light of the many queries I have been receiving on the issue of valuations we raised this topic at this meeting and asked for a definitive written statement from the municipality. I have had no reply from the Municipal Manager since the meeting but the Valuation Department's stance is: "The following decision was taken by the Valuation project Manager that residence and owners of properties all queries must direct to the Valuation Office. The Valuation Department will then after receiving such a request reply to the owners personally." By far the most pressing and worrisome issue over the past few months has been the temporary causeway over the Sand River. After repeated correspondence, meetings and phone calls to the appropriate authorities, we have had a verbal assurance from Marius Keyser of the Provincial Roads Department that they aim to complete the widening and strengthening of the Sand River causeway by the end of November, whereupon they will raise the weight limit to 30 tons, thus enabling the commercial heavy duty trucks legal access across. Click here for a letter Hilton Thorpe wrote to the Department of Economic Development and Environmental Affairs which succinctly sums up our plight. Please diarise the 19th December at 18h00 for the SFB Residents Association's AGM in the Bowls Hall. Our agenda will be:
Whilst you have your diary open – please also include: Please Click here for a draft proposal on "St Francis Surveillance" CCTV cameras – by: Simon and Lynn Edwards (Calibre Security). As a locally based and community Company, Calibre Security, under the guidance of the St Francis Bay Community Police Forum will be installing the first 2 or 3 CCTV cameras at their cost should they get the approval of the community for this project. Sites will be identified in critical areas of St Francis Bay. They will also project manage, install and commission the surveillance network together with their existing Control room with professionally trained staff manning it 24-7. Once you have read through this could you please send your vote to simon@stfrancisbay.com. Notice To Property Owners In The Design Process. New standards on energy usage in buildings that becomes effective on 10 November 2011 will require property owners to meet the new energy-efficiency standard SANS10400-X of the SANS204. New plans submitted after 10 November will need to be more energy-efficient and environment-friendly. Note: 'Building practitioners who cannot meet these requirements due to the fact that they are already busy with the development of the plan submission, can apply to the local Authorities Building Control Officer for exemption from such legislation. This exemption period will cease to be available six months after the legislation being enacted.' To receive exemption please forward a "letter of appointment" of the building practitioner that is in the process of drawing your plans. Our local building control officer will accept this appointment letter as proof of a plan that was already in the design phase before the 10 November 2011. This exemption will apply to plans submitted after 10 November but before 10 May 2012. If you have any questions, please call Trevor de Groot (042-200-2252) -building control officer for Greater St Francis area. On the St Francis Bay Sewerage Levy – Ward Councillor, Ben Rheeder says: Tourism – Warren Manser Special Projects – Nigel Aitken
Social Services – Ann Knight 083 304 9340 or knight.elizabeth.ann@gmail.com Thyspunt – The Debacle Continues – Hilton Thorpe The required legal procedures are being treated as if they are a mere formality, and with contempt. Massive environmental and social impacts have emerged, and serious flaws are being played down or ignored. Eskom is behaving as if the major decisions have already been made. The consultants will shortly be applying for Records of Decision for the site and the transmission lines, despite the fact that crucial material information is still not available. Eskom appears to have recognized that the Thyspunt site is not viable in terms of current NNR requirements for emergency planning. The solution is to seek to change the rules, reducing internationally-recognised emergency planning zones from 16 to 3 kilometres. This would be done in terms of "European Utility Requirements" (EURs), which are a product of the European nuclear industry, and have not been recognized by any national nuclear regulator worldwide. As Eskom has still not determined which specific technology will be used, it cannot apply to the National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) for a license. This issue remains unresolved, so the entire EIA has been undertaken at risk. This, of course, smacks of insider information. The impact on St Francis Bay and the Kromme community will be massive and dire. Eskom plans to use the R330 to transport its heavy & ultra-heavy loads, across the Kromme River bridge, past the village to the "Dunes". This would involve tens of thousands of heavy loads past the village, 24 hours per day, 7 days per week for some ten years. Such an access would guarantee an exponential growth in our squatter community, with all the social pathologies which would inevitably result. This despite the fact that the original site selection process specifically stated that the coastal resorts should be left unaffected. Where is our constitutional right to fair and just administration? The Thyspunt Alliance, of which the Residents' Association is a member, is committed to opposing the entire proposal, and to participating fully in the process. It looks certain that, whichever way the Record of Decision goes; it will lead to an appeal. If this fails, the Alliance is gearing up for court action, which will only be possible if the affected communities as a whole give it the required financial support. With this is mind, a campaign will shortly be undertaken to seek pledges of support should this be required. Crime and Your Community – Tony Moore St Francis Fire & Rescue – Keith Donaldson – Holiday Fire Safety Tips
IN THE EVENT OF FIRE: GET OUT, STAY OUT Interim Report from SFB Riparian Homeowners Committee – Tony Butler The Committee is also looking into acquiring a smaller dredger that will be able to address areas that the large dredger cannot access. Dredging of all areas will commence in earnest after the holiday season. The necessary approval from the Department of Environmental Affairs has been secured by the SFB Riparian Homeowners Committee and we are currently obtaining quotes for the work to be done. An additional hurdle we are facing is the bridge over the Sand River has a 10M/T limit which could impact the transportation of rocks for the revetments. As a result the SFB Residents Association and the SFB Riparian Homeowners Association along with other stakeholders in the area are looking into the possibility of carrying out the temporary rehabilitation of the bridge utilising existing undamaged supports before the start of the holiday season. This will ensure that we are able to commence work on the revetments early in the New Year when weather conditions are favourable for work on the beach. It is vital that as many people as possible attend the SFB Riparian Meeting on the 19th December 2011 where these and other important issues will be tabled and discussed with the most important being the raising of funds from Homeowners needed to finance the revetments. For our latest Minutes of Meeting Click here Many thanks to those who paid their subs this last month – your payment will be reflected as having paid for 2011 and 2012. Click here for a list of members for 2011. Well folks we look forward to seeing you at our AGM on the 19th December – by then it will hopefully be summer! Kind regards
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The state of the exposed Dune spit has deteriorated significantly over the last few months and the Committee believes that the establishment of revetments needs to be actioned sooner rather than later.