There are 4 posts, including this one:
Click on the title of each of them below and it will open in a new tab. Or click on them on the right.Thank you.
The Latest Absurdity – Trustees ban holiday rentals
Pour a stiff drink or a large glass of wine before reading this. A worthwhile use of your stash of booze. My suspicion of government paid off. I always suspected that alcohol could be banned again and laid in a big stockpile. I was "Customer of the Month" at the "Wine of the Month Club"! Problem is with an open-ended ban you don’t know how “lavish” you can be.
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“I don’t know who reads his blog." - Notes from the AGM 9 January 2020. And a breath of fresh air...
A few comments on the last AGM. An announcement of the formation of the new grouping of members and how to join.
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A Vision for Thesen Islands - Members uniting for a Better Way forward – Members unite for a better way forward.
The introductory newsletter from this new group, A breath of fresh air badly needed
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After 29 blog posts over the 13 months of the FAR/Bulk fiasco, it doesn't need saying that I am happy that FAR/Bulk issue was soundly defeated with 71% of members voting NO at the AGM.
Despite the huge advantages the trustees had with being able to use the staff of the HOA , the finances of the HOA and the mailing lists of all the members, a majority of members saw through their self-serving misinformation.
Now with the forming of this new group (Read – A Vision for Thesen Islands), which already has more members on the mailing list they I have, these 3 posts are my last on current issues on Thesen Islands. With the Fisch Group offices in Belvidere being sold (Now the "Oak Leaf Brunch Café") we were forced to clear out the Thesen Islands files, documents, etc. I have some interesting pictures that I will be posting over time. But that is all I am going to be posting. I hope.
Thank you for the posts in the comments that became more as time went on. Supportive or not. Like those telling me I am old and should to leave Thesen Islands. Please comment on these 3 posts. Good or bad, I can take it. You can post anonymously.
Sorting through my notes I came across points and thoughts that never made it into a post. So to finish off, I am sharing them here.
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If the purpose of the electronic notice board is to get messages across, it is a failure. How often to you catch a glimpse of something that you think “mmmm.. what’s that?” But it disappears before you can read it. Never to be seen again. If you are a contractor waiting for the next “Contractor Induction” date, you will see a flash of it, but not catch the detail. Your only option is to park your bakkie, take out your fishing stool, your flask and your sandwiches and go sit yourself on the side of the road and wait, who knows how long, for the message to reappear briefly between the “Welcome to Thesen Islands”,” Pick up after your dog”, “No drones”, “No fireworks”, “Honk if you want videos.” Showing fewer message for a longer time would be a big step forward.
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Talking about the Contractor Inductions. I had to beg my tree trimmer to attend one with his helper. 2 x R100. He did a head count. I think he said there were about 35 people there, each paying R100. Total R3,500. “Not bad for an hour’s work” was his comment.
Our HOA is like any government. Create a layer of user unfriendly, expensive bureaucracy and charge to pass through it. What about recording a video once, playing it once a week, and charging R25 each? If you don’t think that R100 a worker charge doesn’t end up coming out a member’s pocket, you are naive. Likewise if you don't think it is a discouragement to contractors to offer their services to members, which then has the effect of limiting competition with resultant higher prices to members, think again.
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How come you have to pay to register your worker at the HOA but if you register a paying guest for your flat it is free? What happened to the “User Pay” policy the HOA talked about years ago? But then if virtually everything is user pay, how come the levies are what they are? Now if legal fees were made "User Pay" as well, they'd be less.
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The best predictor of future behaviour is past behavior.
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If a KM Councillor resigns, there is a by-election. Councillors don’t get to pick their buddy to take the place.
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Do you find the trustee's apparent lack of interest in reviving the bird ponds puzzling? Every and all suggestions from members, or offers of help, are dismissed out of hand.
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Given the COVID-19 pandemic and the devastation to the economy, almost all members who are running a business or working in a business have seen their income cut. Will the HOA staff get their usual increase? And 13th cheque? Has it become a government job insulated from the reality of the economy? If so, why?
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I have noticed that there is obvious damage to the brick speed bumps and brick paving on our roads. Almost certainly caused and aggravated by large, heavy trucks. Yet our trustees wanted to turn Thesen Islands into a never-ending building site. That would have benefited the service providers and the few owners who wanted bigger house or are in the construction business. The damage to the roads? That we ALL pay for. No “user pay” here. Why isn’t there a charge for big trucks to use our roads? User Pay!
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The borehole.
My email to the HOA in late August 2017:
A guy called Roger Parsons operates a specialist groundwater consultancy. A friend who has used him ran by the plan of drilling on Thesen Islands. This was the feedback:
"... he does not think this is the view of an experienced groundwater specialist. If indeed there is an aquifer he believes differential pressure will cause the ingress of saltwater. He suggests obtaining supporting opinions from specialists before throwing money at this scheme."
His website is:
http://www.pasgc.co.za/
From the website:
Parsons & Associates Specialist Groundwater Consultants CC is a focussed company promoting sustainable use of South Africa's precious underground water resources by all its people. The company was formed in 1996 to meet a growing demand for specialist geohydrological services, particularly with respect to water supply, groundwater contamination, environmental impact assessments and waste disposal. The consultancy provides skills and support in all facets of groundwater.
Part of the HOA reply:
Firstly, the only true authority on the presence of a viable water supply is the borehole itself. Until this is done, it remains opinion and this is only buttressed by the experience of the specialist.
Parsons view about underground water being present, "is not the view of an experienced groundwater specialist", but I am sure he is not aware that this is the opinion of Willo, one of the most experienced geologists in the country.
SCORE: The “experienced groundwater specialist": 1
The” experienced geologist”: 0
The biggest losers: The members who picked up the tab.
No one wants to talk about exactly how much, but I hear over R200,000. That’s the “personal information” that the HOA doesn’t like to share.
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But the HOA doesn’t want to install water harvesting tanks at Red Square. It is too expensive, they say. And because the gutters drain to the inside courtyard! Yes, but from there must be some modern technology like a pipe that drains the water under the building to the outside, surely? The HOA should be setting the example to members with water harvesting. Yes, it will not amortize itself. But is gives you independence from the KM for most of the time. And perhaps it could help the feed the ponds. I have 2 x 5,000L tanks which keep me in water almost year-round.
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Given that the Design Guidelines have effectively been tossed out the window, what does the Building Control Officer actually control?
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I was amazed to read that a trustee can serve 9, yes NINE, years. That needs to change. Being a trustee should not be a career. And if you want to make it a career, you need to rethink your life choices. Do you think the HOA will tell us who is up for re-election or resigning before the AGM? Or will it be a “get back to you” reply.
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I notice a pattern here in Thesen Harbour Town with our HOA. Legal action over THI with, I think, 9 proposed rental units, HOA asking KM questions about the Boatshed, main occupant The Lofts Boutique Hotel. (See post – The Latest Absurdity). Do you think that the owner of the Turbine Hotel is wondering if he’s next in the firing line?
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The trustees never put their name to any communication. It is always “the Board” or they make Burchell put his name to it. Yet they constantly whine about personal attacks. How can you attack someone if you don’t know who they are? Memo to self: Get my worker to put his name on my blog.
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To the people who say "Stop the arguing. Why can't you sit down and come to an agreement. If you all be nice..." There was no middle meeting ground about building houses in the Parkland or increasing bulk. Nor was there any about the cellphone towers.
Build in only half the house in the Parkland ? So only half of the affected members lose their view? Do we have them draw straws? Draw straws as to who gets a cellphone tower outside their house, too? Likewise with the Bulk increase. The choice was basically between keeping Thesen Islands as it is or turning it into a never ending building site that slowly became to resemble Knysna Quays in density.
Rather than whine about those who stood up against the trustees, look at the actions of the trustees. Yes, it was unpleasant. Yes, it still is unpleasant. But a fight is never pleasant. Most people avoid them. But sometimes there is no choice.
Unfortunately there are some trustees to whom the best interests of the members and living in harmony are alien concepts. Bit harsh, you say? You obviously were not at the AGM where this was on display for the whole meeting.
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But what this has shown is that the good people of Thesen Islands can and will stand together as a united force. Not afraid and not intimidated. I salute and thank those members. Being in the thick of it, what I did notice that it was the women of Thesen Islands, maybe even more than the men, who would not allow themselves to be bullied.
Thank you and goodnight.
Ken Rutherford
And another thing. When they start telling you "You still have it", you don't.
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