Issue 22 | October 2014 www.kelderhof.co.za

Hark! Summer Cometh!

“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.”

- Albert Camus

One of the many wonders of living in the Cape is the transition from season to season although the lines for me are Summer to Winter then Winter to Summer. Autumn and Spring don’t seem to exist although the expression that in the Cape you can experience four seasons in one day is absolutely true. And have you noticed how characters change with the seasons so that at some stage during the summer you cannot imagine winter and during the winter, you cannot imagine jumping into your pool let alone braving the sea without a wet suit? And as winter passes, so the anticipation of summer brings us out of hibenation and brings out of us excitement and panic. Excitement that the climate is improving every week and panic that we are closer to the end of the year and haven’t made enough money! Country living in Kelderhof has to be at it’s height at this time of the year. Your flower beds are bursting with colour, trees are sprouting their shoots and the parks are looking really very good. Add to that the return of the swallows and the jackal buzzards venturing to soaring heights again and surely these are sights for sore eyes.

FROM THE ESTATE MANAGER’S DESK

SALES UPDATE

Sales June to Sept 21

Completed Houses 193

Under Construction 40

Levy payers 345

So, we have plenty to be enthused about and that feeling of invincibility which the season’s metamorphosis brings to our characters are reasons to be cheerful indeed. Sadly however, most of us do not change into butterflies! Enough creativity, lets get to the nub! I reported to the Board at the beginning of September on the whole gambit of managing Kelderhof Country Village and my report which I had delivered two days before the meeting started with Security and “We have had no security incidents…..” Talk about tempting fate because two nights before the meeting we had an intruder who was apprehended by Xone and later arrested by the Police for trespassing. He was not armed and did not steal anything and thanks to an observant Home Owner combined with a rapid reaction by security guards no harm was done. The chap was 28 and lives at Meerlust and appeared to be high as a kite. Xone have increased patrols and we are working on a long term solution to better defend Kelderhof but of course the message which has been highlighted or proven by recent crime statistics is that crime is on the rise and so with Christmas coming, be extra wary and continue to report anything out of the ordinary to Security. I also reported on our three Estate Maintenance people; Norman, Lennox and Frans who have now been trained in specialised skills which will fare us well when we have to maintain the Lifestyle Centre. I’ve already mentioned Landscaping and how neat,tidy and colourful the Estate is looking and talking of neat and tidy, whilst we have some way to go, there are marked signs of improvement to the builders’ on-site discipline. For those of you who weren’t there, we held a well attended Informal Meeting at Croydon Vineyard where I explained “What’s not so good” and the “What’s not so bad” on the estate. Without going into the nitty gritty, I listed the “What’s not so good” as Building Site Discipline, The Weather, Electricity, and Cell Phone Reception and IT. On the other hand, the “What’s not so bad” comprised Security, Landscaping, Lifestyle Centre, Communication with Residents, Sales and Residents themselves. If you would like to know more, drop me a line. We’ll have a final informal meeting of the year at the end of November and let you know the details closer to the date. On the PR front, we organised another Community Forum meeting at Croydon Vineyard, sponsored by Securerite, and had a excellent turnout of 20 people including Councillor Heuval and Colonel Mary Williams, Head of the Somerset West Police. These meetings are social occasions but with the purpose of getting to know the principle characters in the whole community in order to find out how we can help each other. As luck would have it, Councillor Heuval talked about the huge danger which children at St Paul’s Primary School in Old Faure face each day when they have to cross the R102. Kelderhof just happened to have 50 spare reflective safety bibs which we were able to donate and we handed them over with much fanfare on Tuesday 26th August. Here’s a few photo’s:

Before  Bibs

The  handing  over  –  Dianne  Volmink  (Headmistress),  Roddy  Wakeford  

(Kelderhof  Estate  Manager),  Councillor  John  Heuval  

Handing  out  the  bibs Happier,  Safer  Children.  We  hope  it  makes  a  difference  

A couple of Reminders ………. please take note! I’ve probably banged on about this subject enough but I have to reiterate that as the Estate Manager, I have several important duties to perform but in a nutshell, I am tasked with:

• Ensuring that the lifestyle which every Home Owner “signed up” for remains intact,harmonious and preferably enhanced. • Interpreting the Constitution and Codes of Conduct correctly, and consistently apply them. • Communicating regularly, transparently and comprehensively with Home Owners, Residents and the Board

Why am I telling you this? They say that you should never mess with a person’s family, children, animals and castle which I think we would all go along with. But much of what the Estate Manager has to do involves exactly that. Not that it is prevalent; quite the opposite but I want to get the message across that in the democratic world which Kelderhof Country Village certainly is, any decision I make as the Estate Manager is a “global” one based on what I have outlined above and never personal. The beauty of the system is that you have the right to appeal and I am very happy to take those appeals to the Board.

Security. We had an incident with an intruder which was communicated via the portal and the police charged him with tresspassing. Crime trends seem to be very localised in Somerset West and we are fortunate in having the likes of Xone and Securerite who between them cover a vast area of differing clientele and who report on the latest to me, monthly. In our case, and we cannot be complacent we are lucky enough to have low incidents of crime and petty theft seems to be about the worst of it. For instance, a resident recently had her Grandfather’s wheelbarrow full of plants stolen from her front garden. It was obviously of huge sentimental and aesthetic value to them but has no practical use whatsoever. The security companies’ current warning to Kelderhof’s residents are to be especially careful and vigilant during this period leading up to Christmas. Please don’t hold back on reporting anything suspicious but equally be extra inquisitive as far as contractors, casual workers and service providers are concerned. The complaints about drivers’ licences and access controls have largely abated thanks to your getting the message over to visitors that they must comply. As you are aware, the Board of Trustees has altered the Code of Conduct and I think that it is worth repeating here:

6.3 The following procedure (or any others from time to time imposed by the Estate Manager or trustees) must be observed by all members/residents in regard to access to the estate:

6.3.1 A resident may authorise access to a visitor on receipt of a telephone call from the guard, but if the resident is not available to answer the call, the visitor at the gatehouse will not be permitted entry.

6.3.2 Visitors must be informed in advance that they are required to comply with the Kelderhof Country Village Code of Conduct.

6.3.3 All visitors will be required to positively identify themselves either by showing a valid Driver’s Licence, Identification Document, Passport, Temporary Driver’s Licence, Temporary Identification Document, Temporary Passport or an affidavit or certified copy relating to any of the aforementioned.

6.3.4 If they are unable to produce any of the above, then the resident may collect and escort them from the main entrance on signing a document which will be provided, accepting full responsibility for the actions of that person whilst on the estate.

6.4 All contractors, workmen, delivery men, employees and anybody who visits the estate in the course of their work will be required to positively identify themselves either by showing a valid Driver’s Licence, Identification Document, Passport, Work Permit, Temporary Driver’s Licence, Temporary Identification Document, Temporary Passport, Temporary Work Permit or an affidavit or certified copy relating to any of the aforementioned.

6.4.1 Short-term contractors, workmen, delivery men, employees and anybody who visits the estate in the course of their work will be supplied by the guard with a permit which must be displayed on their person at all times when they are in the estate. Failure to display this permit may result in the person being banned from the estate.

6.4.2 Long-term contractors, workmen, delivery men, employees and anybody who visits the estate in the course of their work will be pre-registered by the guard and required to enter and exit the estate using a biometric system.

6.4.3 Long-term Domestic Workers including gardeners will be pre-registered by the guard and required to enter and exit the estate using a biometric system.

Domestic Workers. There is one area which I have been asked to highlight by Xone and that is the access arrangements for your domestic workers. What should be happening to avoid any delays or awkwardness is that they should be registered with the HOA – a simple process which Xone carries out. What has been happening is that some people collect their domestic from outside the estate but cannot collect in the evening. They then walk to the gate and security have no record of them having entered. Combine that with no ID on some occasions and this gives cause for concern and a breach of security.

Securerite. We would encourage you to regularly review your own security arrangements and so that you have a sense of what the estate provides if you don’t already know, have a word with Noel Hans, our Xone Supervisor. Then you will be in a good position to decide what you should do with Securerite. They in turn will be conducting house calls either in person or by phone in the not too distant future and weneed to get thenumbersd of subscribers up to the magic number of 100 so that we can get a dedicated vehicle.

Remember also that they have offered residents of Kelderhof Country Village a good deal. Please get hold of Piet van Rensburg (0860103099) or Cell: 082 575 4831

Dogs. Obviously the people who walk their dogs and allow them to defecate in the parks do not read this! In any case, if you walk your dogs, they must be on a lead and if along the way, they decide to drop a log or two, then you must pick it up and dispose of it at home. I have asked our patrols to keep an eye out because it is causing a certain amount of disquiet and they will fine without warning and by the way the new fine is R200 for each.

Estate Agents We need your help with registering Estate Agents. You can choose whichever qualified agent you like to sell your property but they must be registered with the HOA. It is important for a number of reasons; security, mis-representation, checking qualifications and their knowledge of our Constitution and Code of Conduct which must be explained to a potential buyer. The process is not onerous nor expensive and all the appropriate dcumentation is on our website. If they are not registered, we will not allow them onto the Estate.

The Portal Please keep going with the portal; we will be using it more regularly and it is important that you populate your details so that you don’t miss anything and more importantly that no confusion arises from a security point of view. The tool is both private and public in that you will be able to continually update your contact details, view your invoices and statements and have private “conversations” with the estate office. Moreover, we will be able to communicate generally using the portal and this newsletter can be sent out to all the right people not just a select few! But the message is that it is very much up to you to keep your details, car registration numbers, e-mail addresses phone numbers etc up to date.

The Lifestyle Centre Thanks to all of you who completed the survey, we now have a pretty good idea of what Home Owners want to use the Lifestyle Centre for. I will be costing the various items which will be funded largely out of our reserves but of course the Board of Trustees will have to ultimately approve the spending. As for the building, you can see the progress for yourselves. I am hoping to be able to take it over on your behalf from the Developer at the beginning of next year but as the building progresses so we will get a more accurate date. That’s quite enough from me; if you have anything you would like to talk about, please drop me a line or organize a meeting through Claudine, the keeper of the diary!

Roddy Wakeford Estate Manager

DEVELOPER’S CORNER

Central Circle and Lifestyle Centre Update Construction of the Lifestyle Centre is continuing well, despite and amidst the wet and unforgiving weather of the Cape. At just over a third complete, as soon as the weather clears the roof will be erected and you will soon see the plasterwork underway. Then it’s on to the fitting of the doors and windows and the internal works beginning within the buildings. Keep your eyes peeled too for the construction of the swimming pool and tennis court in the not too distant future. As we head towards the end of the year, Roddy will keep you informed as to the completion dates, and final decisions relating to the HOA Survey that has been reviewed by the HOA Trustees.

Bianca Solz pictured left (021 700 5444 - bianca@percipient.co.za) and Sandy Fourie (021 700 5445 - sandy@percipient.co.za) are the Managing Agents’ team responsible for the accounts and statutory administration for The Kelderhof Country Village OA. So, for accounts queries, please talk to them; they are very amenable and happy to help.

Hornette Botha: 021 843 3163 / 082 820 4845 Alistair Ormerod: 083  431  9013  Nicki Piek: 084 962 8234  E-mail: harcourts@kelderhof.co.za  With the arrival of spring we have seen new heights scaled at Kelderhof. Whilst there is still a substantial demand for the BH2’s, Bh5’s, CH3’s and the Row Houses that are familiar to many of us, their larger cousins have been selling and achieving higher figures. Fuelled by these sales and continued interest in Kelderhof as a premium estate, the sales team have been working closely with Michael Kornmuller Architects to develop a fantastic new turnkey home. When released in the next few weeks this property could be touching R3m. We are busy with the final design elements and costings but if you are curious you are very welcome to pop into the sales office and take a look at the proposed floor plans and elevations. Rentals continue to be in high demand and yield a good return for the Cape. With the progress of the Lifestyle Centre we foresee this trend continuing and Kelderhof is starting to blossom as an investment opportunity as well as a great choice for everyday living. Regards to one and all,

Hornette and Alistair and Nicki at Harcourts Platinum.

021 843 3163 | www.kelderhof.co.za

NOTES FROM THE MANAGING AGENT