YOU, the community of Betty’s Bay have been amazing, and I am proud to say that I am part of this community.
Welcome to another edition of the BBRA newsletter. This month I want to give specials thanks to the BBRA TEAM: Amund Beneke, Jorika Rabie and Liz Buncker, Rob Boyd, Karon Scholefield, Graeme Mc Gill, Liezel Bohdanowicz, Abigail Davids, Shameez Joubert, Wendy Lucas, Vivienne von der Heyden and Claudele Jackson. (And Prof Jac Conradie for translating this tome- Ed)
We have said goodbye to Graeme McGill, who has now retired and has stepped down from his portfolio for Water and Sanitation. We have not filled this portfolio yet. From the TEAM: Go well, Graeme. May you be blessed with good health and happiness in your full retirement!.
Furthermore, we have made some changes to the TEAM in the best interest of our community.
We have strengthened our Fire and Rescue portfolio by bringing in Liz Buncker to assist Jorika. We welcome Liz to the TEAM in the knowledge that she will add value to our endeavours to keep Betty’s Bay in a state of preparedness for all disasters.
Membership continues to grow and we are happy to have everyone on board. There are 1579 members, with 433 active and 1146 passive members. I make a special request to everyone to become an active member of the BBRA by contributing a mere R100 per year. The funds are important for us to operate effectively for the sake of all. A passive member is a member on our database and on the group that has not contributed yet. If you are a paid-up member you have the right to vote at an AGM.
BANK DETAILS
Account Name: Betty’s Bay Ratepayers Association
Branch: ABSA Hermanus
Account type: Cheque
Account Number: 4066616439
Our Ref: Your Surname & Erf Number
Applications may be obtained from our secretary, Karon Scholefield, via email at the following address: bettysbayratepayers@gmail.com
Focus at the moment is on developing the Disaster Plan for Betty’s Bay and the 2030 Plan for Betty’s Bay. These documents are intended to keep us informed and aware of what should be done, who should do what and when, apart from the issues which are handled by the different portfolios. The BBRA channels items through to the Ward committee for action and to the municipal administration in Kleinmond for co-operation.
Concerns remain for the future in terms of there being a continued decline in capacity and financial resources within all government and municipal departments. We should recognise this and put ourselves in a position to deal with it.
We have certain people problems in Betty’s Bay that can only be fixed by a change in attitude. I am specifically talking about a few residents speeding along our roads. It is extremely dangerous and inconsiderate to say the least. Speed humps are not the answer, we are. Speed humps just slow emergency services vehicles down to a crawl. I am convinced we are mature enough and responsible enough to make this slight adjustment to the way we drive for the sake of us all.
We still have a few people that leave bright lights on all night. The lights I am referring to are the lights that irritate neighbours and make the lives of others unpleasant. My plea to these people is to apply common sense and respect our nature and all the people that live in Betty’s Bay.
I must thank and commend all those that have embraced the principals of walking their dogs on a lead and using poo bags to clean up after them.
Barking dogs. Please go and see why your dog is barking. It is very unpleasant to listen to a dog barking continuously for no reason. Dogs bark – we all get that and that is not the problem. It is the continuous barking for long periods. The new policy on pets has been finalised and is now law. Please go onto the municipal website and make sure you are all aware of what it stipuates.
Poaching. This remains the single biggest criminal activity in Betty’s Bay. Sea Watch is providing good intelligence and physical evidence to the anti-poaching agencies to help them in counteracting this activity. We are nowhere near where we want to be. However, a slow positive trend is developing.
Elections. In the lead up to the election we can expect sabotage and vandalism, land invasions and protesting to take an upward turn. We need to be mindful on this side of the Palmiet that any hint of a shack being built or material for building a shack being transported must be reported immediately. The time can vary, but we must be more attuned to this late at night.
Erf 4030 is the property next to the Crassula Hall which borders Diastella Road. We have submitted our intention to develop the Crassula Gardens here and have completed the application, with motivations, to the Municipality for approval. Once our application is approved, we will commence with developing the gardens.
WHEN REPORTING A FIRE,
PHONE THE FIRE CONTROL ROOM FIRST 028 312 2400
THEN, AND ONLY THEN, CAN YOU INFORM
JORIKA RABE OR 072 616 8418
LIZ BUNCKER OR 074 141 7600
WAYNE JACKSON 082 928 1260
When to phone the fire control room:
Report smoke, fire, missing persons, persons stuck on mountains, information about potential arson, fireworks of any kind, dangerous open fires, spillage of hazardous materials, motor vehicle accidents, or any other disastrous and dangerous situations.
Please also note that when you phone the control room or any number at our municipality the phone might ring continuously. This does not mean that the phone is not being answered, it means that the line is busy. Our municipal phones do not have engaged signals. So do not give up, give it a minute, and try again.
Creating and maintaining Fire Wise Erven in Urban and Suburban Areas of the Overstrand Municipality is the single most important aspect of reducing excess fuel in our village. We must play our part and more to be safe.
Thank you to those who have adopted a fire hydrant space. These spaces are looking good and much more accessible. Nic Green has recently adopted the fire hydrant in Aulax Road, and his hydrant space is looking nice.
Kind regards
Wayne Jackson
Chairman