July 2017

Dear Residents/Homeowners
Given our recent AGM most members will be well informed so this edition will emphasise and
expand, where possible, on some issues.

General progress:
It was good to note from our Chairman’s report that 64 units have been sold, 47 are built and
occupied, and 15 are currently under construction.
The Tennis court and an adjacent Boules court are currently under construction and will be
completed well before Christmas.
Walking trails are also currently being laid out so get your hiking boots on!
We are “on hold” with further landscaping efforts in the common areas at this stage given the
precarious water situation prevalent.

Committee news:
Thanks are more than due to Lester Coelen who has Chaired our Homeowners Committee and been
responsible for the financial management of the Homeowners Association since its inception. Lester
is standing down as Chairman and the Committee has held a subsequent meeting confirming the
following appointments:
David Bath Chairperson
Alan Cameron Vice chairperson
Ray Cooper Gardens
Mike Griffiths Security and Safety
Lynne Lawson Finance and ensuring all residents and homeowners are
considered
Lester Coelen Developer/Finance
Ian Raubenheimer Developer
Grant van Staden Attendee
Kirstie Schmidt Attendee – administration and secretarial
Lester and Ian are developer appointments. The portfolios shown are those existing, but may change
as we develop more formal structures going forward. Mike also has an additional brief to work with
Grant on the Fibre Optic option.
Grant attends by invitation and is a very important contributor being the proxy for an Estate
Manager which position he fills “on loan” from the Developer where he is Project Manager.

Kirstie is a KLEHO employee and is responsible for estate administration. She is the first port of call for all communications with Homeowners Committee and is currently investigating setting up a communication portal that will improve our ability to communicate readily and effectively.
As mentioned at the AGM we plan to form functional sub committees with the requisite subject expertise and knowledge to ensure optimum management of KLE. If you would like to participate in any of these sub-committees, please communicate your willingness to do so with Kirstie. Some of the areas of contribution include:
Finance
Security
Safety (including emergency situations, fire-fighting team, Block Captains, First aid,)
Healthcare management
Social and Clubs
Insurance
Admin and IT
Gardens
Maintenance
Governance
Communication (including newsletter, portals, social media, smartphone linkages, apps etc.)
Think on these things and any other contribution that you could make and either let Kirstie or a Committee member know or follow up on a questionnaire that we will distribute soon!!!
We as your committee have drawn up a mission statement as we endeavour to “Establish, Maintain and Enhance the Value of KLE Properties as well as the Lifestyles of our Residents”

Gardens:
As you all know we render a basic garden service to individual units. Many members take this further and thankfully produce beautiful additional gardening. Ray Cooper has arranged a meeting with Grant and the service provider and is working hard to maximise the level of service within the current agreement levels and costs. Any suggestions, contributions should be directed to Kirstie copy Ray.
Apologies to all for the less than regular collection of garden waste experienced recently. Joseph’s trusty (?)” run- about” was burnt in the fire. Problem being solved and Joseph has been provided with a bakkie to assist his team with their duties.

Safety and Security:
Our recent close call alerted us to the need for emergency protocols and teams to address various threats and risks. We have already called the acting Block Captains and others involved in the fire and recorded what we “learned” from the experience and Mike Griffiths has taken those notes away and will lead a team to further develop formal procedures. Again please feel free to submit written comment, suggestions or offers of assistance to Kirstie, copy Mike.

Given that a section of our electric fence was fire damaged extra security personnel were brought in while we attend to the fence for which an insurance claim has been submitted.
Your incoming committee will conduct a security audit soon, as raised at the AGM, and take appropriate action if required. Grant reported that in addition to the security check point procedure, beams have already been installed for night coverage at the gate.

Wildlife:
This is not a report about any late night behaviour by residents after the evening socials! Just to delight in the fact that the bird list has reached 71 species, and there is a pair of mongeese (large grey) observed periodically in the area around the bottom dam east of the main gate. You may also have seen the small antelope (Cape Grysbok) that has taken refuge around the clubhouse and was grazing happily on the lawn early this morning (5th July). It is red brown in colour with prominent white flecks on the body and the “grys” refers to the colour of the inner ear! Any other sightings? Our resident owls seem to thrive on the increased mice population as they escape fire damage but have not to date accepted Arthur and Pauline’s invitation to the breeding box!
Have you noticed the increase in the sun bird population after the fires? Our gardens are clearly providing scarce nectar for these little fellas!
Clubhouse Gym and children:
The gym was found one recent morning with muddy footmarks all over the floor and equipment. We remind residents that children are not allowed in the gym. Perhaps young folk could use the facility strictly only accompanied by an adult resident and provided that no other adult is using the gym at that time.

Healthcare:
Thanks to the Sister and staff for accommodating various visitors during the fire. What a fantastic facility this is. Please remember that the Centre has two beds reserved for members at all times. That generally means that we can accommodate 6 “outside” residents in this top rated caring environment. We are currently down to two such folk and we urge our members to be proactive in recommending the facility to contacts who may need such post- operative care for short term care, or even long term for chronic conditions. The operating costs for such a unit are quite high and occupation levels are critical to ensure economic sustainability. Please contact the Sister if you could point her to any worthy cases and certainly be confident to recommend the service.
Remember also that services are available to members in their unit for many situations from medical, to meals, to laundry, to assistance with dressing and showering. A price list is available.
Following a recommendation made at the AGM we are looking at providing wheelchair hire from the Centre too.

Storage:
Many Homeowners have already expressed an interest in securing storage garages in the vicinity. There is a proposal before the municipality by Bertie Greeff to build such garages on his own land in Welbedacht Lane (below where the temporary road from the Estate joins the Lane). There is the Sanral servitude between this plot and our Estate. Ray Cooper has plans and should be contacted direct if you have an interest. We, as KLEHO, have not objected as we know of more than 20 units sought after by Homeowners. We have checked the plans for aesthetic architectural acceptability and would like to report that they closely match our own architectural style we believe are acceptable. Individual members may object in their personal capacities to the Municipality or indeed also indicate support for the project by giving your name and detail to Ray.

Fibre Optic cable:
We have two quotes and are awaiting a third after which a judgement call will be made. The cable comes to the Estate “gate” and is distributed within the Estate at no cost after which we wire the cables using existing conduits to individual buildings on the Estate and connect. This will have some cost but also benefits to the Estate as a whole, such as provision for intercom telephones, water meter reading, and providing much faster connection to the internet etc for our offices. At this stage we can gauge the benefits and make a decision at the Estate level. Importantly, we will also then have full list of services available to our individual homeowners and the costs associated. The availability of this technology enhances the value of our properties and is clearly “the future”. Benefits are mainly speed and ability to download lots of data quickly. The more movies you watch the more attractive for instance. Note that there need be no anxiety for anyone not wanting connection or being forced to change service provider. Every Homeowner will have a choice.

Finance:
There is little to report on further to the AGM reports. Our last quarter results are satisfactory and generally in line with budget. Your committee will develop simple and meaningful reporting as one priority over the next few months for inclusion in the newsletter. To this end we could really benefit from a volunteer or two with strong financial backgrounds (we envisage CA level) to assist our very competent, but geographically distant, Lester Coelen.

Blinds:
For anyone not at the AGM we can advise that the Constitution was duly amended to allow the installation of two approved blinds on patios that have, or have not been enclosed with the folding stacking glass. The architectural manual will contain full details and is currently being amended to reflect these details, to those interested please contact Kirstie for further details.
Please note that the Plantation Shutters are also acceptable within the glass enclosed patios.

Your committee has noted comments from some members requesting we look at a more affordable option. We will take architectural advice and have another look in committee as to whether such accommodation can be made and will advise accordingly as soon as possible.

Water:
Knysna relies largely on the river flows for water and these rivers have small catchment areas. We do have dams and reservoirs but these are fairly limited. Rain is therefore critical. The municipality has advised that water supply, without rain, is now down to under 20 days. This could be our next severe emergency situation. We will do all we can to alleviate any hardship should it happen soon, but do not have enough time to act within the next weeks on substantial projects. Longer term your committee will seek to find solutions and our Safety and Security folk are already at work.
Please be reminded that we are currently on Level 3 water restrictions and teetering on the brink of Level 4 restrictions. We urge you to please use water sparingly. Restrictions already in place prohibit use for anything other than domestic use. No watering of gardens, especially using the sprinkler system or hoses and even by bucket. No washing of cars, boats etc.

To give an idea of our current usage the following table is of interest:
Water usage No of homes
0 to 3 Kl 10 homes
4 to 10 Kl 29 homes
11 to 15 Kl 6 homes
15 to 20 Kl 0 homes
20plus Kl 0 homes
Given that 20 plus is punitive we are actually not doing too badly. Thanks for the co-operation to the really careful users but perhaps some could improve????
Be happy!
This newsletter is compiled and edited by various members of your committee and vetted by all members and issued on their behalf with warmest regards.
……………………………
David Bath