2011 Midlands AGM - Minutes - Midrand Estates

AGM Minutes - 15 November 2011
Midstream College Auditorium
18:00
Agenda Point
Discussion / Comments
1 WELCOME The meeting’s chair, Gerhard de Coning welcomes all present.
This is the third Midlands Estate Annual General Meeting.
Questions and comments can be raised at point 7.c on the agenda.
2 ATTENDANCE As per signed register.
2.1. Confirmation of signing of
attendance register
Everyone present is reminded to sign the attendance register.
Red voting slips were handed out to all qualifying Owners on arrival.
2.2. Proxies Stand 2224 proxy received.
2.3. Apologies No apologies received.
3 APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS
MINUTES
The 2010 minutes were available at the HOA office and on the Midrand Estates
website (www.midrand-estates.co.za).
One spelling mistake should be corrected
The Previous Minutes was approved without any further changes.
No matters arising from pervious minutes
4 ANNUAL REPORT – 2009/2010 Pieter Engelbrecht reported on the financial affairs, while Willem Zeederberg
presented the Management report.
Pieter Engelbrecht presented the financial statements. The annual audit was
concluded and the financial statements were drafted and signed off.
4.1 Financial The Financial Statements were available at the HOA office and on the Midrand
Estates website.
Arrear levies improved – 2010 we had an average of outstanding on 88 days.
This has improved to 41 days.
Revenue increased from R 8,9 million to almost R 12,6 million.
The final position is that there was no surplus in 2010. Bondev made up the
shortfall in the previous financial year.
Although there was an overspend on Administration and management, this was
in line with the growth of the estate and budget expectations. Items such as the
legal proceedings against Checkers also had an impact.
Total overspend on Facilities and municipalities was 7%
Budget for 2011/2012 is posted on the website
Budget versus Actual graph was shown on screed and discussed

Agenda Point
Discussion / Comments
4.2 Election of New Directors 5 Nominations were received for the 4 vacancies available. The following
Applicants introduced themselves briefly to the meeting.
ST1912 – Jan Booysen
ST2979 – Thinus du Toit
ST3176 – Pieter Engelbrecht
ST2202 – Andre Oosthuizen
ST1868 – Petrus Theron
All homeowners were asked to vote for four of the candidates. Home owners
were also requested to leave their ballot papers with the Auditors upon the
conclusion of the meeting.
5 Estate Managers Report The Estate’s staff members are introduced by Willem Zeederberg.
Finance: Anna-Marie de Bruyn & Nadia Pretorius
Aesthetical: Yvonne Perregil, Ingrid Swart, Ettienne Rossouw and Juanita
Santos
Security: Corne Meyer resigned in October. Theuns Manning, has just been
appointed for the new Mount Cliff Gate and Freddy Slater from
Retire@Midstream will assist until the vacancy has been filled.
Payroll: Wendy van der Merwe
Park and Recreations: Cornelia Wessels, Arne Kat
Legal Advisor: Gert Janzen van Vuuren, also deals with traffic fines and Estate
Agents
5.2 Security Security services are not outsourced like other residential Estates. All our
security officers are PSIRA accredited and biometric criminal checks are done on
all staff. (including the administration staff)
The Estate is surrounded by two fences; an outside concrete palisade fence and
an inside hydro form brick wall with electric fence and razor wire.
Two separate energizer systems support the fencing system.
Clocking system for guards and biometric fingerprint readers.
Cameras that takes photo graphs of number plates and fingerprint.
Availability of a helicopter – air surveillance.
5.1 Incident Report April 2011: 3 Cases of dog/cat poisoning – SAPS were involved, was difficult to
trace the perpetrator.
July 2011 there were some constructions related issues.
August 2011 we had a trespassing and recovery of a stolen vehicle which was
stolen at the office park.
November 2011 another construction related crime – theft of a granite slab.
5.2 Opening of MT Cliff Gate The new Mt Cliff gate is nearing completion. Since this gate will operate on
improved technology, all residents will have to re-register.
New system facilitates better reporting. Access control and fingerprint reading
technology is also improved.
All data will be transferred from Mt Peak to Mt Cliff during December 2012.

Agenda Point
Discussion / Comments
6 Parks and Recreation We received comments that Midstream’s parks are in a better condition than the
Midlands facilities. Midlands have scattered manicured gardens of 22 774 m² (4
½ rugby fields) as well as 34 170 m² of manicured lawns (7 rugby fields), in other
words as much manicured areas as Midstream.
Midstream Estate also has undeveloped areas; the river and the gas line area.
Certain areas were designed as veld to maintain a more natural feeling and to
lower maintenance costs.
6.1 Agenda Points Received
6.2 Parks & Recreation Stand 2157 – Are there rules to extend private gardens into open areas
The Public Open Areas have different designated purposes. You can contact the
Estate Office to obtain an application form and guidelines to develop into the
green area.
Please do not encroach onto the green areas without prior written approval.
Stand 2388 – Please plant some trees near the play area of the volleyball courts.
The Estate office undertakes to give attention to this request. Feedback is
encouraged throughout the year, and not just at the AGM.
Stand 2388 - Move office jungle gym to the parks of Mount Augusta
Can be considered in 2012/2013 as they are still being utilized this year
Stand 1912 – Upgrading of facilities in the green areas
Any suggestions and enquiries can be forwarded to the Estate office throughout
the year.
Stand 2190 - Maintenance of people’s gardens – private gardens
House Rules makes provision that the HOA can request Residents to maintain
their gardens. Some people like a green lawn without plants – if we have a
complaint – we will send somebody to investigate. We also clean sidewalks with
nominal fee – slightly more difficult to get access on private property – but we do
write a letter and ask them to clean up garden – or to repaint the house etc. We
also asked people to remove newspapers on their windows.
6.4 Estate Rules
Stand 1957: How can one apply for speed bumps.
A roll out for speed humps are being developed for implementation in 2012.
Please write to us at the HOA office at midlandshoa@midstream-estates.co.za;
and we will post your request to the right department.
Stand 2667: What is the Estate doing to control cats in the Estate
It is against the Estate rules to have cats in the estate – from time 2 time we
catch them and take them to the SPCA. If we have complaints we will put cat
trap in your garden. Please contact offices for cat traps.

Agenda Point
6.5 Finance & Administration
Discussion / Comments
Stand 2754: Is the glossy printed Midrand Estates Newsletter cost effective
This publication is fully paid for by the advertisers. It offers valuable information
for new and existing Residents.
Jan Zeedeberg, a Midlands Directors expands on the news letter topic. The
printed news letter is part of the promotion of the estates. It is only printed bimonthly
and each other month an electronic copy is sent out. At this stage we
are emailing 6000 people.
Another concern is the communication language. All estate related news is in
English. At this point it does not make financial sense to reprint the entire
newsletter in another language.
The Newsletter will also be available in electronic format from 2012.
Why are statements posted
Usually the occupied houses pay the levies more frequently than the vacant
stands. We post and email to everybody and it is a good reminder to reluctant
payers.
Why does the Estate charge double levies
The title conditions compel every stand owner to complete construction within a
certain time frame. Double levies are a penalty to encourage Owners to complete
their homes as quickly as possible.
This method ensures that most houses in the same extension are completed in
more or less the same time frame. This penalty is based on the stand and not the
Owner.
6.6 Other and Development
Accredited Estate Agents will make prospective Owners aware of this condition
before they buy a stand.
Development of K109 and road noise of new K220
Jan Zeederberg, also a Director of the Developer, Bondev, elaborates on the
development of roads.
Overview of where we stand today: it took 6 years to get the K109 built. A large
section of the land belongs to the agricultural council. The land is in the process
of being expropriated. Province does not have the money to develop the roads.
Roads being investigated at this stage: Road to Irene and the Olifantsfontein road
and the K 220 east up to the R 21.
The frustration with the circle in front of the school is created by the bottleneck on
Brakfontein road. Once the traffic light is operational this should improve.
Tshwane is also investigating an upgrade of the Brakfontein / Old Johannesburg
Road intersection.
Q:How far will the K109 go south
It will stop at Mount Cliff.
Q: Wat is die moontlikheid om Brakfontein te verbreed tot by Checkers
The responsibility to widen Brakfontein road lies with the Developer of Heritage
Hill. With the K 109 opened, Brakfontein should be able to carry the load for a few
years to come.
Will the K109 joint the R562 (Olifantsfontein Road)
This development will not be carried out by Bondev.

Agenda Point
7 Adopt a Granny
Questions and Answers
Discussion / Comments
Carols by Candle light will be held on 30 November 2012 with guest artist, Danie
Botha.
Our charity this year is called “Adopt a granny” The HOA’s with the support of
SPAR will aim to collect food parcels for the elderly in Centurion. Our aim is to
provide 100 families with food parcels for 6 months. This project is monitored by
the Centurion Council for the aged.
Parks and Recreation:
Q: Just on security – at the circle of Midlands there is a wall running down the
middle of the Estate. It feels like it splits the estate in half What is purpose of
that
A: It is defined as Mountain Peak Boulevard – the people living on eastern side
–will not have access to road – and instead of having a back wall – we have a
uniform Mountain Peak drive.
Q: Will there be a second swimming pool for Midlands
A: Extension 44 was launched about 2 weeks ago and 80 stands sold out in one
afternoon. There is a 4000 square meter park – it will be developed and there will
be another outdoor pool there.
Q: What about some lights next to the walkways
A: That is very expensive but in certain areas we can do that for short distances
Q: Some dustbins in the parks
A: We ordered a few – will start with that soon
Q: A the swimming pool the outdoor swimming pool what are those dams there
A: Those are storm water retention dams – they must never be filled up – there
will however be trees planted and it will become softer in time
Q: On the open stands – are there a policy to protect natural trees
A: Yes – new builders cannot remove trees – on the building plans all existing
trees must be shown. There are very little indigenous trees left.
Security:
Q: As ek in die oggend uitgaan in Midlands –is daar ‘n lang tou by die hek en die
kontrakteurshek staan onbenut. Kan jul nie iemand daar sit dat ons dit as ‘n 2de
kanaal kan gebruik nie
A: A reader costs about R20 000, 00 – once the Mount Cliff gate opens – the
traffic will half.
Q: In terms of contractors entering – are you checking that they indeed cleared
the estate at night
A: On the new system it is possible – we can also punish contractors who leave
estate after 6 (in the week). If there are 20 people coming in – 20 will have to go
out. We have the builder’s co-operation with that. At the end of the day their
hands are dirty and the reader cannot read dirty hands. So we request them to
wash their hands.
Q: With the contractor’s entrance, will you keep the gate open for extended
hours for residents
A: The Mount Cliff gate will alleviate the problem. If we close the gate, we
cannot deliver any concrete any more. The boom gate closes at 6 – is there no
sufficient time to enter
Q: Is it possible with Mount Cliff and Mount Peak to allow contractors or will you
split them up
A: Unfortunately they are currently developing ext 21 to 26 at Retire@Midstream
and it will affect the people in that area.
Q: What do you do where they pay R5 to get into the estate The Contractors
that does not have id documents – can they access the estate if they are not
registered Secondly – with regards to the security guards – how do you time the
security guards patrolling in the estate –because some of them actually go into
houses for longer periods
A: If you have a domestic registered – you only need the id the first time when

Agenda Point
Discussion / Comments
Estate Rules:
Q: For the alarms in estate – are the owners obliged to connect the alarms to
security estate cause of the alarms goes off – nobody reacts to them
A: We have alarm monitoring system in Mount Peak gate – please contact
Freddy to find out with regards to the alarm and radio transmitter etc. A lot of
people buy a house with an alarm, but never bother to update the system.
Please connect the alarm to our control room – but we cannot switch alarm off if it
goes off. We phone and send out somebody to monitor. In Christmas – we have
people leaving front doors open and windows.
Q: On speeding –I can identify somebody speeding – but I don’t know where he
lives. If I give you a registration number, can you trace him
A: Yes
Q: When we build our houses in estate – does the color need to be approved by
aesthetics committee – if you re-painted Who approves that
A: The estate does need to pre-approve the painting of houses – we will take the
issue up with the owners – and if the taste differs a lot – send a request to
Yvonne and she will investigate.
Q: With regard to the swimming pool – the indoor one – when you are not a
resident – can they just let somebody in without showing their id document
A: After coming in from the Boom gate On the new system – and we are
running on this already – we have pre-approve mothers in Midstream to bring
their children through.
Q: Will the aesthetical committee approve your stuff if it is against the rules, but
if it is something that you want
A: They will not look at the inside of your house – tiles etc.
Q: How do you define complete
A: If your approved plan says tiles – then it needs to be tiles. Contact Yvonne
pleases – she will assist you.
Q: Is it possible to phone somebody to remove Black Wattle on an open stand –
that is on the other side of wall of my stand.
A: You need the stand Owners approval – please send email to Yvonne – inform
there is a wattle on stand xyz – and we can ask owner to remove
Q: Comment tied to what was said earlier – if we are the biggest estate in the
country – why can we not be the biggest green estate What do we do about
waste management Is recycling a part of the estate– nothing has happened yet
How much water are we using – do we have water management and waste
management etc – and what about alien vegetation etc
A: We have quite a few negotiations with some companies with regards to the
recycling – the most companies offer recycling services up to R100 per month.
Ekurhuleni can give a rebate on rates and taxes – and in the past week or 2
Ekurhuleni made some progress in the process of recycling. It still looks however
that the quickest and easiest will be a central point in the state. Ekurhuleni is
slowing the process down . With water management = this is a keen aspect – we
make sure that we indigenous and we do splurge every now and then.

Agenda Point
Discussion / Comments
Q: In term of aesthetical rules – can they not come up to speed in terms of what
is happening environmentally – my concern is the installation of devices and
equipment to reduce energy consumption – the rules should be relaxed in terms
of installing these devices. For instance a solar panel on roof
A: 2 years ago the rules changed to allow the installation of solar – heaters.
Geysers may not be visible – this is still a rule – and all mechanical equipment
must be integrated in the design of house. Make sure that you can hide the
equipent.
Yvonne – please give us some feedback: we come in contact with a lot of
installers of units – any mechanical item of a heat pump must be low on your
house. Before it is implemented in the estate – we make sure that the
requirements would meet on a specific house. The distance between the heat
pump and the geyser is 5 meters. Go to closest wall and go down – 5 meters –
down from that wall to reach the limit height from natural ground level. It is legal
to still apply this rule Not to say that we did not have a look at this – we had to
take into consideration the requirements from the installing company. Before you
install any equipment – please talk to Yvonne and she will give you advice.
Q: Many satellite dishes can be seen from street level
A: We relaxed the rule slightly – but they are still installed as unobtrusively as
possible – why we ask people having planned to show where dish will come. We
are enforcing this only on the main road. But the majority of people are trying to
hide it away. If it is a real problem – please drop us an email and we will
investigate.
Q: Do you have a policy on water tanks
A: It is in the rules – you get some that is modern and looks like modern farms
style a house which complements the house – it is thus allowed.
Q: The issue of people at the Midlands gates – they are speeding across the
Midlands gates and entering at the Midlands gates
A: It is difficult to have traffic cops there – if we can just ask the people to adhere
to speed limited