Minutes of the Executive Committee of Bushman’s River Mouth Ratepayers Organisation meeting held on Tuesday 8 January 2018 at 16:00 at the Tennis Club Bushman’s River Mouth
Welcome Gerald Schmidt welcomed those present and opened the meeting.
Attendance Register and Apologies In attendance: Jack Dell, Gerald Schmidt (Treasurer), Lötter Wepener, Dalien Pachonick, Shelia Swanepoel, Corrie Swanepoel and Mike White. Apologies: Kevin Bates, Bill Northrop and Ference Toth.
Confirmation of previous Minutes Acceptance of the minutes of the previous meeting was proposed by Jack Dell and seconded by Mike White. Any matters arising from the previous meeting will be discussed under the relevant paragraphs below.
Correspondence Two emails regarding the proposal to use ADT as an alternative security provider were received. One commented that the service from ADT in Port Elizabeth was poor and the other suggested that we should engage with HiTec regarding any problems with their services.
Chair and Legal No outstanding legal matters. Matters dealt with in 2018 to be followed up where necessary.
Fiance – Gerald The proposed budget for 2019 was presented by Gerald and discussed. Gerald Schmidt will finalize the budget and prepare a responsibility handover check list before he hands over his responsibilities to the new treasurer. Paid up members for 2019 to date are Bushmans – 119 and Riversbend – 20. Dalien Pachonik was congratulated for her efforts to increase the Riversbend membership numbers.
Election of Office Bearers The following members of the committee resigned: John Wesley and Gerald Schmidt. The new office bearers for 2019 are: Chair – Mike White Vice-Chair – Sheila Swanepoel Treasurer – Gerald Schmidt until the end of February 2019. Vacancy to be filled before 01st March. The following Portfolio responsibilities were agreed upon:
Fundraising and newsletters – Jack Dell
Legal affairs – Lötter Wepener
Security and Camera Fund – Ference Toth (To be confirmed with Ference)
Bushmans village maintenance – Corrie Swanepoel
Riversbend village maintenance – Dalien Pachonik and Kevin Bates
Infrastructure maintenance – Mike White
Ward meetings and Ndlambe Ratepayers Forum – Sheila Swanepoel
Estuary Care and Firefighting – Bill Northrop
Security No incidents occurred during the Christmas period apart from one petty theft by teenagers who were identified from the security camera footage. The contributions for the security guards were just sufficient to cover the cost of the Christmas security arrangements. It was agreed that there would no longer be a separate security sub-committee and that security matters would be dealt with at this meeting. It was also agreed that the Chairman would invite the HiTec manager to attend the next meeting for a discussion regarding the level of service that they provide. All committee members were asked to submit their discussion items for this security discussion to the Chairman before the next meeting so that a discussion agenda could be prepared.
Website The Website needs to be updated and arrangements made to ensure that any web search for Bushmans directs people to the BRRAG website first if possible. Lötter Wepener will give Mike White a list of the required changes / updates and the contact details of the original webmaster in Johannesburg in case he needs to be consulted. A decision on the re-appointment of the current webmaster or the appointment of a new webmaster must be made. (If the webmaster is to be changed the access user name and password for the website must be obtained from the current webmaster.) Jack Dell will enquire if his son-in-law is in a position to assist BRRAG with their website. Mike White will also get information on the current status of the website from John Wesley so that the matter can be discussed and resolved at the next meeting.
Any other business More committee members are required, in particular a treasurer with bookkeeping experience. All committee members will have to assist to recruit additional members if possible. The letterhead and website will be updated with the names of the new 2019 committee by Mike White. Mike White will re-assess the condition of the manhole and drain covers in Bushmans and Riversbend and obtain a quote to replace all the damaged or missing covers.
Closure and Next Meeting The meeting was closed at 17h00. The next meeting will be held on Saturday 16th February 2019 at 09h00 at the tennis court clubhouse.
Future meeting dates The following 2019 meeting dates and times were confirmed – all meetings to be held at the tennis clubhouse: Saturday 16th February at 09h00 Saturday 30th March at 10h00 Saturday 27th April at 10h00 Thursday 9th May at 16h00 Saturday 15th June at 09h00 Thursday 11th July at 16h00 Saturday 31st August at 10h00 Saturday 28th September at 10h00 Saturday 26th October at 10h00 Saturday 30th November at 10h00 Saturday 14th December at 09h00
