The newly elected executive committee (exco) of the Table View Ratepayers’ Association (TVRA) held its first information session last Thursday.
About 45 people attended the meeting at St Matthew’s Church in Janssens Avenue.
At the top of the agenda was a reconciliation between TVRA chairwoman Mandy Da Matta and ex-exco member Leon Alhadeff who were embroiled in several public spats in recent months. (“TVRA meeting: a miss,” August 17 2016).
Each read a statement to the audience saying they were in good standing with one another.
Ms Da Matta withdrew the letters of suspension handed out to Mr Alhadeff, Mike Channing and Alex Lepnik. Exco member Stefan Hippler said they had undergone an intense mediation session to end the “sad chapter”, and he thanked Ms Da Matta and Mr Alhadeff for “taking that step”.
“We can only work for the community if there is peace. Divided support served no purpose,” said Mr Hippler.
At the meeting, Colonel Dirk Vosloo discussed Table View crime statistics, saying theft out of motor vehicles had been a big problem for the last five months.
“The modus operandi was random and included forcing windows open, using bricks to smash windows and using master keys.
“If only five people don’t leave loose items in their cars this month, it will be five less cases for me to deal with. If you can’t see anything in the car, criminals won’t even bother,” he said.
Crime hot spots were Arum Road, Otto Du Plessis Drive, Parklands Main Road, Raats Drive and Sandown Road. Robberies were down by 20 percent. Colonel Vosloo said two thirds of these were residential and business. Ms Da Matta said Table View had the lowest crime rate since 2011 and she applauded the police for their hard work.
“We need to support our Table View and Parklands SAPS. I have never seen a more dedicated team than the staff at the Table View and Parklands SAPS.”
Ms Da Matta also discussed the City’s integrated development plan (IDP), which dictates how municipal funds will be allocated.
Ward 113 councillor Dr Joy McCarthy also spoke about future plans for her new ward and welcomed the community’s suggestions on how to spend her R700 000 budget.