City of Cape Town draft budget 2007/08
The STCA submitted comment to the City Manager on the City’s draft budget for 2007 / 2008. Whilst recognising the need for increased expenditure, our concern was that Simon’s Town, like other areas in the South, had received enormous increases in property valuations and would thus be contributing a disproportionate amount to the increased funds the required by the budget. The point was made that our area had a high proportion of pensioners on fixed income and that the resultant increased rates they would be expected to pay would be crippling. Additionally the letter stated that Simon’s Town people, despite the rates they were paying, were currently not being well served by the City (eg the lack of law enforcement, antiquated water supply and waste water systems) and thus objected to having to contribute more for inadequate services.

Following up on the lack of law enforcement, the STCA will be joining with other civic groups in signing a strongly worded letter to the Mayor urgently demanding a reasonable level of law enforcement in particular to curb the increase in anti-social behaviour and traffic infringements that are impacting on safety and law and order in Simon’s Town.

Property
The STCA attended a meeting of Interested and Affected Parties around the Marine Oil development. The property has a new owner who will be developing the site and is using the previous Environmental Consultants. Further work on Soil Remediation Proposal has been approved by the Department of Water Affairs, and work to remove contaminants will start in September, taking about 8 months. The members of the STCA attending the meeting were confident that the new developer would do a good, professional job. A further site meeting is to be held on 15 May for the general public and other Interested and Affected Parties.

Councillor Holderness had been appointed by the City to chair a committee looking into the future of all the City’s Architectural Advisory Committees.

Environment
The Simon’s Town Tree List has been circulated and updated and now includes trees which had been on Navy property and thus excluded. The Hospital Terrace Pepper tree which is threatened by proposed development in the area is one such, and is now catalogued on the list.

A further stretch of boardwalk is to be built at Glencairn Vlei, extending the new board walk as far as possible, hopefully to the corner, where it will end in a Y, the left fork forming an observation point and the right one sloped down for access.

Amenities
The STCA continues to try to find solutions around the wind-driven movement of sand from the beaches at Glencairn and Longbeach. GEESE is assisting with laying palm fronds on the Glencairn dunes and discussions are being held with the CSIR and UCT about Longbeach.

A copy of the repairs and maintenance schedule has been received from the City, and from this it is obvious that serious input is required from the STCA in order to prioritise work. Important items such as the repairs to the dangerously damaged concrete platform at Seaforth and the demolition of the derelict toilets at Longbeach are not on the current budget.

There seems to have been a significant improvement in the water supply since the repair of the major leak at the bottom of Dorries Drive. However, the STCA is still monitoring water supply to provide support for motivating for improvements to the system. Please continue reporting water supply problems (place, times, action taken) to those who volunteered from each area (see previous Newsletters for details). For the next few months, please could any reports from Glencairn Heights come directly to Lesley Shackleton (021-786-2308).

There have been requests to move the pedestrian traffic light at Seaforth, opposite the school, and replace it with a vehicular and pedestrian light, operated on a trip by vehicles coming up from Seaforth Beach into the Main Road. Much though we deplore installing more traffic lights on Main Road, the STCA will be approaching the City about this as the crossing is dangerous both to the many scholars who cross from the school to the Seven Eleven and to the traffic trying to exit on a blind corner.

Security
CCTV cameras have been installed in the centre of Simon’s Town and are working well, covering Main Road, Jubilee Square and Cole Point. The major security problem in Simon’s Town continues to be the anti-social and sometimes aggressive behaviour of vagrants and, as mentioned above, an urgent request is being sent to the Mayor for more law enforcement officials to be assigned to Simon’s Town. This is particularly important to protect our status as a tourist-friendly, safe destination for our many visitors.

The application for the cell phone mast at Teeberg to be operational 24/7 all year received overwhelming support and thus will go ahead, bringing much needed access to security and emergency services to the people in the Redhill settlements.

Subscriptions for 2007
Subscriptions of R50 for 2007 were due on the 1st January 2007. They may be paid at the Central Hotel Reception Desk, or by post to P O Box 47, Simon's Town, 7995, or directly to the STCA account with Nedbank, Fish Hoek, branch code 121121, account number 2211023762. . Please contact our treasurer, Ian Allan (see contact details above) if you are uncertain whether or not you have already paid for 2007.

Our thoughts are with you…
Fran Freeman, our Chair person, is currently receiving intensive chemotherapy at Groote Schuur Hospital. All at the STCA wish her well with her treatment and look forward to having her up and about again.