STCA General Meeting
The mid-year STCA General Meeting will take place at 19h30 on Wednesday 19 August 2009 at the Phoenix Hall in Glencairn. There will be a report-back from Alderman Nicki Holderness, our Ward Councillor, and from members of the STCA Executive Committee. As promised we will also be reporting back on progress with the complex baboon issue, and the evening will start with an informative presentation by the researchers at the UCT Baboon Research Unit. As our experience with the Smits Troop has shown, making use of research findings can contribute significantly to successful management strategies. Please come and encourage neighbours and friends come along too.
STADCO AGM
The STADCO AGM will take place at the Phoenix Hall at 19h00 on Wednesday 19 August, immediately before the STCA General Meeting. The STADCO meeting will only last a short while and all are invited to attend.
Citizen of the Year
Nominations for Citizen of the Year should be sent to the Chair of the STCA, either by email, lysnew@iafrica.com, or by post (see address above) or in an envelope left at the STADCO office on Jubilee Square. Nominations must be received by the STCA by 11 August 2009.
In nominating a candidate for the award, please provide a motivation for your nomination.
The person(s) nominated should be a resident of or working in, greater Simon’s Town, or, if from outside Simon’s Town, have worked to the benefit of the greater Simon’s Town community.
1. The nominee(s) shall have performed a specific action during the past year (August – July) which has benefited the greater Simon’s Town community or a significant part of it.
2. In nominating the person(s) this specific action and its impact on Simon’s Town should be detailed.
3. The nominee’s contribution to the Simon’s Town community shall not result from remunerated activity.
4. There is no limit to the number of times a person may be nominated for or receive the Citizen of the Year Award, and the Award need not be given each year.
5. The STCA Exco will consider all nominations received and make the final decision. The Award(s) will be presented at the STCA Half-Yearly General Meeting in August.
The award of Citizen of the Year to an individual highlights a specific activity of that individual during the year and in no way detracts from the community’s appreciation for all the dedicated contributions made on an ongoing basis by many Simon’s Town residents and rate payers.
Membership
This will be the last newsletter that will be sent to those who have not yet paid their subscriptions for 2009. If you are unsure whether you have paid your 2009 subscription, please check with Martin Bramwell 021 786-5475, mbramwell@global.co.za, or at the STCA membership list at the STADCO office on Jubilee Square.
Baboons
Where to start? There has been an enormous amount of activity on the baboon-management front and the STCA would like to thank all of those who have contributed time and financial resources to this vexing issue. Your contributions have enabled us to keep the Smits troop out of Simon’s Town during this prolonged hiatus period while the City and the Baboon Management Team have been working out how to spend the promised R2 million.
The successful experiment run by the Rocklands team has shown that in the geophysical environment (long narrow coastal strip) inhabited by the Smits troop it has been possible to keep baboons out of urban areas for 100% of the time. A proposal for the Simon’s Town community (working through the STCA and STADCO) to manage our own baboon troops was submitted to the Baboon Management Team (BMT) in order to access a share of the R2 million made available by the City for the last 6 months of 2009. Our carefully-costed proposal was not accepted. This quote from the draft minutes of the BMT Management Committee meeting held on 14 July provides some explanation:
"The impressive success of the 1-month Pilot Project carried out at Rocklands Farm under the Simon’s Town Civic Association was noted with appreciation. It might be possible to utilize experience and methods from this project on other Peninsula troops both to improve effectiveness of monitoring and to cut costs.
"Having residents take responsibility for and run innovative baboon monitoring projects was an option which was extremely attractive to the BMT. The BMT was also loath to change a project which was running well. However, invasion by a dispersing male from elsewhere had already resulted in conflict. Divided control would make BMT supervision much more complicated. What the BMT needed was for thinking and methodology at Rocklands and the rest of the Peninsula to evolve together. The meeting therefore concluded unanimously that the Rocklands project needed to be integrated sensitively into the overall project, under the overall control of the main service provider, but that the drive, enthusiasm, local knowledge and sense of ownership must be retained”.
We have subsequently heard from the Baboon Management Team that an organisation called Nature Conservation Corporation will receive the contract to manage all the baboon troops in the Peninsula. We have been told that ‘NatConCorp’ have agreed to interview all existing monitors and appoint those who fulfil their selection criteria. We will do everything possible to ensure that this will include our excellently trained and highly successful team.
Meanwhile, the Baboon Research Unit at UCT have agreed to undertake another experiment with the Simon’s Town community, this time with the Waterfall Troop, using a completely different approach (provisioning) which they believe is appropriate to this very urbanised troop. Anyone living near the Waterfall area who is interested in assisting with this experiment should contact Geoff Brundrit on 021-786-2308 or preferably by email: oceangeoff@iafrica.com.
Safety and Security
As a result of continuous pressure the head of Law Enforcement has finally offered to send special patrols to Simon’s Town. Also, the Ward Councillors in our area have each requested funding for additional Metro cops and we should shortly have at least one additional person, hopefully two over the Christmas holiday period, working in the greater Fish Hoek / Simon’s Town areas.
Under the leadership of Alderman Holderness, the STCA is participating with other Civic organisations to put together a Disaster Management plan for the Far South Peninsula. The approach focuses on the ability to respond quickly using trained volunteers as well as regular resources to stabilize the crisis in the first instance, thereafter to work with other agencies to provide refuge and rectification over the long term.
Property Issues
The STCA Property Team continues to investigate the many requests received to allow departures from building and zoning legislation. The STCA tries to be fair both to the property owner, and the affected neighbours, whilst upholding the zoning and planning legislation designed to protect our built and natural environments. Currently under investigation are proposed developments in Hopkirk Way, Glencairn (Erf 5005), St Georges Street (Erven 923, 902, 928), and Cornwall Street (Erf 858) among others. Discussions are continuing around the development of the area behind Old Hospital Terrace following the meeting with the Provincial Department of Environmental and Development Planning. The STCA hopes to persuade the City to pull together all the property owners in this area to draw up an appropriate, coordinated development plan for the area as a whole.
There is considerable concern around the infestation of alien vegetation on Erf 60, Glencairn, the large property owned by the Gordons charity group. As well as being illegal, the aliens are a considerable fire threat. Our Ward Councillor and City officials have exhausted all other routes to get action from the Gordons’ Trustees and are now following the necessary processes to take legal action to get the site cleared.
Red Hill
Recent floods and a fire in two of the homes have resulted in damage to several buildings in the Red Hill informal settlement. Thanks to those who have provided materials for repairs and rebuilding. A source of continuous frustration is the fact that there are still 16 residents who were each promised the R500 fire grant from the Provincial Administration after the February 2008 fires who have not yet received any funds nor any reason why they might not qualify for this assistance.
Navy News
The Aegis class destroyer, USS Arleigh Burke entered Simon’s Town from Durban on 18 July where she had been carrying out shore and at-sea activities with the SA Navy in Durban. The USS Arleigh Burke is a guided missile destroyer, one the first of the most powerful and sophisticated destroyers ever put to sea.
Subscriptions
STCA membership fees (R50 per annum per household) became due on 1 January 2009. Please pay membership fees at the STADCO office on Jubilee Square during office hours, or post a cheque made out to ‘STCA’, clearly stating who it is from, to P O Box 47, Simon’s Town, 7995.
For internet banking : BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS:
Bank: Standard Bank, Branch: Fish Hoek
Branch code: 036009 Account number: 073815209
Account name: Simons Town Civic Association (Market link savings account)
Please say "Subs and your name" as the sender. Please also notify the STCA that you have paid.
New members must give the STCA contact details so as to be put onto the Newsletter mailing list.
Emergency numbers:
· Simon’s Town Police: 021 786-8646 or 8647
· Fish Hoek Emergency Control Centre: 021 782 0333, 782-0444
· Metro Police (Law Enforcement): 021 799 5105
· Fire and Emergency: 107 from Telkom phones
· Roads, potholes and stormwater: 0860 103 054 (24 Hours)
· Water/Sewage Emergencies: 0860 103 054 (24 hours)
· To report people tossing burning cigarette butts into vegetation: 021 424 7715
· To report people feeding baboons: 021 957-5937or 959-5900
STCA Web Page: http://www.stcivic.info/
