Port Elizabeth: MyPE

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To see how Ward Councillors go about their jobs, see Ward 8's councillor, Gustav Rautenbach's newsletter below, and don't forget to see what Jeremy Davis has been up to in Ward 5; Andre Goosen in Ward 3; Retief Odendaal in Ward 6, Heinrich Muller in Ward 9, Gustav Rautenbach in Ward 8, Dean Biddulph in Ward 2 and Stanford Slabbert in Ward 1.

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From Councillor Gustav Rautenbach...

WARD 8 NEWS - August 2010

In This Edition:

AFRIKAANSE WEERGAWE

1. IEC Offices relocated

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) recently relocated their offices from Brister House to 122 Cape Road, Mill Park (on the corner of Cape and Way Road).

There is probably nothing worse than standing in a queue at a voting station only to find out that you are registered incorrectly and have to do it all over again.

If you are not registered or want to verify whether you are on the voters roll for the 2011 Local Municipal Election visit their new offices or you can use the following methods:

IEC offices: Tel. 041-373-8604 or 041-373-8611
Website: www.elections.org.za
SMS ID to 32810

2. By-law relating to prevention of public nuisances and public nuisances arising from the keeping of animals

I am receiving numerous reports from residents complaining regarding dogs roaming around the streets not being on a leash. The above by-law was promulgated on 31 March 2010 and part 19 of the said by-law stipulates the following:

Dogs in streets or public places
1. Subject to the provisions of the Public Amenities By-law, the owner or keeper of a dog may not bring or allow it in a street or public place unless the dog is on a leash.
2. Except in the event of a blind person being lead by a guide dog, a person in charge of a dog in a street or public place, must remove any faeces left by the dog by wrapping it in paper or plastic and disposing of it in a receptacle provided for litter or refuse.
3. A person who contravenes any of the provisions of subsection (1) or (2) commits an offence.

If you are interested, a copy of the said by-law can be collected at my office or e-mailed to yourself.

3. Overgrown grass around electrical sub-stations

The DA asked the question why there is such a long delay by the Municipality to cut the grass around sub-stations and received the following answer:

"There were a number of extenuating circumstances which contributed to the above-mentioned delay. They are as follows:

Although renewal of the sub-station lawn mowing contract within the Supply Chain Management process was underway, it was necessary for a quotation to be obtained due to the fact that the new contract had not been awarded yet. It is important to note that the above-mentioned sub-station is one of 377 sub-stations, which need to be moved;
On 28 May 2010 the required quotations were received;
On 2 June 2010 requisitions were submitted to the Purchasing Division (Budget & Treasury);
On 10 June 2010 orders were received from the Purchasing Division (Budget & Treasury) and were then given to the contractor;
On 15 June 2010, the cutting of all 377 sub-stations quoted for, commenced.
One of the main reasons for the delay was the fact that during that time, the Purchasing Division (Budget & Treasury) relocated their premises.
Cognisance must be taken of the fact that the average sub-station has 40 m² of grass surrounding it and major sub-stations have between 250 and 500m² of grass to be managed. These sub-stations are mowed on a rotational basis.
The Electricity & Energy Directorate is presently formulating a streamlined tender process in order to ensure that the service delivery is not hindered in the future."

4. Application for an old age pension/grant

I want to encourage all persons (men and women) who are 60 years and older and qualifies to apply for an old age pension according to the following criteria to apply therefore:

ASSETS THRESHOLD (property, investments, etc) - Single person: R 518 400, Married persons: R 1 036 800
INCOME THRESHOLD (pension, interest, help from children, etc) - Single person: R 31 296 per year (R 2 608 per month), Married persons: R 62 592 per year (R 5 216 per month).

You are welcome to contact my office if you need more information.

5. Application for pensioner's / disabled person’s property rates rebate

If you are the owner of a residential property, 60 years and older, or disabled and the total gross annual income from all persons normally residing on that property does not exceed R78 720 per annum (R6 560 pm) you can apply to receive a rebate on your property rates ranging from 10 % to 100%. Application forms are available at my office.

6. Application for assistance to the poor (ATTP)

If the total monthly household income of all residents on your property is less than 2 state pensions (R2 160 pm) you can apply for assistance to the poor (ATTP) to receive the following free basic services:

Free 8kl of water
Free basic sanitation
Free 75 kwh electricity
Free basic refuse removal
Property rates subsidy

For more information you are welcome to contact my office.

7. Stop streets

It is of great concern to see how many motorists in the Metro fail to stop at a stop sign. I urge motorists to stop at a stop sign. The fine for disobeying a stop sign is R 1000, 00. This is a lot of money to just throw in the water!

8. Extension of Romary Road and improvement to storm water infrastructure

The contractors, Mawethu Civils, set up camp on 6 August 2010. The project budget amounts to 2,4 million and the contract period is 4 months with an estimated completion date of 26 November 2010.

The activities entail:

The installation of a new 450mm diameter stormwater pipe along the new extension to Romary Road. This pipe will run adjacent to the western side of the road, from the existing catch pit to the southern side of Woodlands Avenue (approximately 80m).
The abovementioned pipe will feed into the new proposed stormwater pipe along Woodlands Drive. The pipe will be upgraded from 300mm diameter to 600mm diameter until approximately 100m before Bordeaux Avenue, where it will be 525mm diameter. The pipe will follow the existing stormwater pipe’s alignment until Weybridge Drive. From there onwards, in order to avoid the large trees on the verge, it will run under the northern side of the road parallel to the existing pipe.
A berm will be constructed along the northern side of Woodlands Drive, from opposite Romary Road to Weybridge, to prevent major flood water from flowing into low lying erven. The berm will initially be 300mm above edge of tar level and will then taper off over approximately 200m until reaching ground level. The berm will be landscaped and grassed according to the property owner’s requirements.
Romary Road will be extended from where it currently terminates, just after the intersection with Bayeux Road, to connect to Woodlands Drive.
The proposed construction will be black top and will be approximately 300 metres long. The NMBM standard road cross section will apply to the design, and a road width of 6,22 metres will be adopted as this is the current width of the existing potion of Romary Road.

9. Problem of long queues at Traffic Department

During a Council meeting held on 22 July 2010 I referred to a Key Performance Element (KPE) and stated that the problem of long queues at municipal offices and in particular those at the Traffic Department, was a result of staff shortages and that this problem should be addressed as a matter of priority to improve service delivery to the public. The Speaker stated that the Acting Municipal Manager should ensure that the turn-around time for serving members of the public at all municipal facilities was improved.

10. Outstanding Municipal account: Deduction of money when buying pre-paid electricity

My office is receiving many enquiries from residents whether the Municipality is permitted to deduct monies from persons with outstanding municipal accounts when they purchase pre-paid electricity. I received the following answer from the Chief Financial Officer:

Due to the huge amount of municipal accounts that must be processed by the Treasury Directorate, it is necessary that these accounts be spread out and delivered on a daily basis. For this purpose the Metro is divided into 21 zones and every zone has different dates when the metres are read , accounts are processed as well as due dates for the payment of accounts. Due dates are therefore stretched out from the 1st to the 30/31st day of the month and not just on the last day of the month.

According to Section 15(4) of the Income Management and Customer Services By-Law, Council has the authority to suspend the purchase of pre-paid electricity by an account holder if such account holder is in arrears with any other service. Council may also allocate a portion of the purchased pre-paid electricity to any other debt.

It must be taken into account that the municipality grants account holders a month to pay costs that was charged for the previous month. However, it seems as if clients are paying their municipal services of a certain month with their salary/pension of the following month. In stead of paying their June account with their June salary/pension, which would leave enough time for electronic payments, they pay it with their July salary/pension which in many instances does not allow the 4 days transfer period.

11. Dam levels

The levels of the major storage dams supplying the Metro as at 23 August 2010 are as follows:

Kouga: 36,2%
Churchill: 25,3%
Impofu: 35,7%
Loerie: 37,3%
Groendal: 32,9%
Average: 34,6% of total combined capacity

I again appeal to all residents to use our scarce water resource very sparingly!

SAVE IT, OR DO WITHOUT IT !

12. Speed law enforcement in Trevor Road, Lorraine

My office received the following law enforcement report regarding Trevor Road from the Traffic Department:

On Thursday, 12 August 2010 between the hours of 06:30 and 08:30, 210 vehicles were measured and no motorists were prosecuted – the highest 70 km/h.
On Friday, 20 August 2010 between the hours of 16:00 and 21:00, 170 vehicles were measured and no motorists were prosecuted – the highest 68 km/h.

13. Dirty street gutters, Lorraine

The Lorraine area is one of those areas where we have no dedicated street sweepers due to staff shortages. However, the Waste Management supervisor for the area has started sweeping , but it is going to take some time to finish all the gutters. Sweepers from other areas will also be taken in to assist in the maintenance of the cleanliness in Lorraine.

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From Councillor Gustav Rautenbach...

WARD 8 NEWS - June 2010

1. WARD BASED PRIORITIES: WARD 8

I have consulted with the community by e-mail and I wish to thank the 112 residents who responded to my request. A value was placed on each priority from 1 to 5 and the end-result as prioritised by the residents was as follows (the score in brackets: 5 highest, 1 lowest):

Priority 1 (276): Upgrading of Kabega Road between Kragga Kamma Road and Glenroy Avenue, upgrading of the low-water bridge in Kabega Road, sidewalk to be constructed on the western side of Kabega Road, two bus embayments on the western side of Kabega Road (before Walker Drive Shopping Centre at Midas & opposite the Total garage), the widening of Kabega Road on the eastern side at the Carstens Road intersection.
Priority 2 (269): Upgrading of storm water and sewerage infrastructure.
Priority 3 (198): Upgrading of Circular Drive, including a sidewalk on the west.
Priority 4 (191): Several bus embayments on bus route throughout the ward.
Priority 5 (160): Construction of traffic calming measures in Ward 8.
Priority 6 (126): Sidewalks (e.g. Verdun Avenue, Luneville Road) and additional streets to be considered.
Priority 7 (107): Customer Care Centre / Community Hall / Library
Priority 8 (76): Sport- and Recreation facility

* Please note that the list of traffic calming measures are ALL applications received from residents. All requests are investigated according to the policy and placed on a priority list for implementation as the budget permits. It is therefore obvious that not all requests will be adhered to.

2. TRAFFIC CIRCLE AT WALKER DRIVE / WIEHAHN AVENUE

The investigation into the proposed circle at the Ben Kamma entrance have been completed and the circle is now in the design- and planning stage.

This will make it easier for the Ben Kamma residents to exit safely from Wiehahn Avenue, especially in peak traffic hours.

3. SPEED HUMP PROFILES

After a resident enquired regarding the different heights of speed humps throughout the Metro my office received the following response from the Infrastructure and Engineering Directorate:

"First of all I want to comment on the speed hump profile. It must be noted that all speed humps are built according to the Municipality Standard Detail Document made available to all Contractors in the Metro Region.

However, within the Metro Region there are speed humps that were built by other Local Authorities like the old CPA, Western District Council which differ from those built by the NMBM. On the same note it must also be understood that when traffic calming was introduced in P.E the profile was 150mm high, which height became a problem for motorists especially those driving flat vehicles like your Mercs and BMW's. After receiving complaints the profile was then reduced by 50mm to the current height of 100mm and some of the built humps were trimmed down to 100mm height. Unfortunately, one cannot be certain that all were trimmed but if there are any on our roads such humps will be trimmed.

On the circles issues I want to state that raised pedestrian crossings, not speed humps, cater for the pedestrian who may find themselves in a position of wanting to cross the road at that particular intersection. This is relevant as in terms of traffic calming no speed humps should be built on any section of the road if there are side walks. Pedestrians are encouraged to utilize side-walks and then cross at the intersections (this of course an ideal situation).

Traffic calming in this Metro comes a long way, but I can assure you that it has shown a great improvement over the period. The Metro has now a comprehensive Policy on traffic calming but it is just not easy to implement given the high rate of lawlessness and lack of law enforcement."

4. SIDEWALKS

Kabega Road: A decision has been taken to extend the Kabega Road sidewalk from Avondale Road down to Frikkie Kotze Drive.
Circular Drive: A +- 150m pedestrian sidewalk with a width of 1,5m is in the process of being constructed on the western side along Circular Drive between Bordeaux Street and St Lo Streets, Woodlands. Due to the budget allocated for sidewalks this means that about 1 km of Circular Drive will still be without a sidewalk!

I have requested that funds also be allocated for the rest of Circular Drive to be provided with a sidewalk, but this request will only be looked at in next year's budget allocation. The Municipality is also in the process of developing a Sidewalk Policy that will aid the Municipality in future prioritization of provision of sidewalks.

5. WIDENING OF KABEGA ROAD ON THE EASTERN SIDE AT THE CARSTENS ROAD INTERSECTION

A slip lane will be constructed in Kabega Road on the eastern side at the Carstens Road intersection. As previously also reported I have been campaigning since March 2007 for this to happen. The project has commenced and high visibility warning signs will be installed to warn motorists.

Between 2006 and 2009 a total of 242 accidents occurred on the stretch of road between Walker Drive and Kragga Kamma Road in which 510 people were involved and resulted in one person's death, 20 people being seriously injured and 85 people being slightly injured. I urge residents to drive with caution at these road works.

6. LORRAINE STORMWATER CONTROL ON THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF THE RAILWAY LINE

During the heavy rains of August 2006 and October 2008 many residents on the northern side of the railway line experienced flooding on their properties due to the fact that there is not proper stormwater control system on the southern side of the railway line. A civil engineer was appointed by the Metro Municipality who undertook an investigation into all the complaints received by residents.

To address this situation I am pleased to report that Phase 1A of the installation of a new bulk stormwater pipeline along Macon Road has been approved. The budget for Phase 1A amounts to approximately R3,5 million and will commence Monday, 14 June 2010. The project will take 2 to 3 months to complete and it entails the installation of a 450m of a 1,5m diameter concrete stormwater pipeline from Mirecourt Avenue to just beyond Bergeus Street.

The gravel portion of Mirecourt Avenue and Macon Road up to Bergeus Street will be closed for traffic during the construction of the said Phase 1A pipeline, but the tar section of the road leading up to Kastello Estate will remain open for the use of residents staying there. The Contractor's working hours will be from 07:00 to 17:00 on week days and from 7:30 to 13:00 on Saturdays.

Phase 1B & 2 of the new bulk stormwater pipeline is in planning and design stage, and its construction cost is estimated at approximately R10,5 million. Phase 1B entails the completion of the 1.5m diameter phase 1A pipeline from Bergeus Street up to Carrington Road, whereas Phase 2 entails the installation of a 1,35m diameter pipeline between Chalons Avenue and Mirecourt Avenue.

7. SEWERAGE PROBLEMS

Residents have indicated that the upgrading of the sewerage infrastructure of our ward needs to be highly prioritised (priority 2). I appeal to residents to please identify problem areas that they are aware of where ongoing sewerage blockages take place. It would be appreciated if you could please notify my office as soon as possible to enable me to draw up a list.

8. TRAFFIC LAW ENFORCEMENT

My office received the following law enforcement reports from the Traffic Department:

Lancing Street, Brentwood Park: On Saturday, 22 May 2010 between the hours 15:30 and 21:00, 90 vehicles were measured and no motorists were prosecuted - the highest 66 km/h.
Macon Road (Between Vitry- and Verdun Road), Lorraine: On Tuesday, 11 May 2010 between the hours 06:00 and 08:30, 140 vehicles were measured and no motorists were prosecuted - the highest 64 km/h. On Thursday, 20 May 2010 between the hours 15:30 and 21:00, 140 vehicles were measured and no motorists were prosecuted - the highest 67 km/h.
Walker Drive: On Monday, 14 December 2009 between the hours 06:00 and 10:00, 1 800 vehicles were measured and eight (8) motorists were prosecuted for disregarding the 70 km/h speed limit - the highest 90 km/h. Walker Drive between Caledon and Montrose. On Friday, 08 January 2010 between the hours 06:00 and 14:00, 1 700 vehicles were measured and eight (8) motorists were prosecuted for disregarding the 80 km/h speed limit - the highest 96 km/h. Walker Drive between Lancing – Komga. On Saturday, 16 January 2010 between the hours 07:00 and 15:00, 2 900 vehicles were measured and eleven (11) motorists were prosecuted for disregarding the 70 km/h speed limit - the highest 89 km/h. Walker Drive between Caledon and Montrose. On Friday, 07 May 2010 between the hours 09:00 and 17:00, 2 300 vehicles was measured and eleven (11) motorists were prosecuted for disregarding the 70 km/h speed limit - the highest 98 km/h. Walker Drive between Lancing – Komga. On Saturday, 22 May 2010 between the hours 13:00 and 15:30, 1 240 vehicles was measured and nine (9) motorists were prosecuted for disregarding the 70 km/h speed limit - the highest 89 km/h. Walker Drive between Lancing – Komga.
Walker Drive / Karlene Aveue, Brymore: On 14 December 2009 between the hours 06:00 and 10:00, 1 800 vehicles were measured. The highest speed of 90 km/h was recorded. Eight (8) motorists were prosecuted for exceeding the speed limit of 60 km/h. On 25 February 2010 between the hours 13:00 and 21:00, 1 890 vehicles were measured. The highest speed of 99 km/h was recorded. Eight (8) motorists were prosecuted for exceeding the speed limit of 60 km/h.

9. HOLIDAY PROGRAMMES FOR KIDS DURING SCHOOL HOLIDAY

The following churches in our ward will be hosting World Cup Soccer holiday entertainment programmes/clubs during the June/July school holidays:

Doxa Deo, Kabega Road, Brymore: 14 – 18 June 2010, R20 per child per day, contact Adeel van den Bergh at 082 7131 744.
The Storehouse New Covenant Church, Vitry Avenue, Lorraine: 28 June – 2 July 2010, for ages 5-12 years, R5 per child per day, contact Glenn Weiss at 082 320 5259.
Lorraine Methodist Church, Luneville Road, Lorraine: 5 – 9 July 2010, free service to the community which is open to children of all ages and cultures, contact Rev. Ken Carr at (041) 367 1148.
Emmanuel Church, Macon Road, Lorraine: 14 – 18 June 2010, for ages 4-15 years, contact the church office at (041) 379 2950 or the Clinic Director, Natalie, at 073 553 5113.

Above programmes will provide a safe venue for children during the holidays (especially those with working parents) and will provide a healthy environment conducive to forming healthy friendships through games, music and other entertainment. You are welcome to contact the above churches to enroll your children.

The 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup is here! I urge every resident to make our Metro proud with our friendliness and helpfulness towards the many foreign visitors to our city.

To Councillor Rautenbach's newsletter in Afrikaans, follow the 'Read More' link below