August 2023 Pringle Messenger

Pringle Messenger

August 2023

BABOON MANAGEMENT - latest from Overstrand

On the 25th August 2023 the Overstrand Municipal Manager published the following:

“Update on the Pringle Bay baboons

Overstrand Municipality received numerous complaints about rogue baboons in Pringle Bay.

According to residents, there is one male baboon in particular, called Blue Tag, that has been habituated to such an extent that he no longer displays any fear of humans. Residents are “robbed” of their shopping as they exit shops, and some have experienced minor injuries after tussles with Blue Tag.

It has been established earlier in the year that Blue Tag is not a native of the Pringle Bay troop and migrated from its natal troop in Gordon’s Bay earlier in this year.

The Municipality is currently liaising with the relevant officials at the City of Cape Town to capture Blue Tag and to return him to his natal troop, in accordance with the G04 – Guidelines for Dispersing/Displaced male baboon(s) in Urban Areas.

At this time, we would also like to report that HKM1 has moved to Silversands troop on 9 August, and we have had no interaction with this male since it has moved. It was originally from the larger Hangklip troop, but we have no evidence of current raiding behaviour from it in the towns of Bettys Bay or Pringle Bay.

REM1 has become the Alpha male of the PB troop and although it is raiding in the CBD and residential areas and is teaching the juveniles these raiding traits, it will be very unwise to remove the Alpha male from the troop. This will disrupt the social structure of the troop and there is no known male at this point that can take over from REM1 in the position of Alpha male. The Municipality will keep a watchful eye on it, but not remove the baboon at this stage.

Residents in towns where baboons are known to be present are once again reminded that it is an offence to feed baboons. Also do not interfere with our staff working with the baboons and refrain from treating these wild animals as pets or family members.

SNAKES AND EDUCATION

It won’t be too long before summer is here and we head into snake season again. Although snakes are with us all year round, typically we have more interaction with them in the warmer months. Snake related topics always receive a lot of interest so we thought we’d make the community aware of an educational workshop which is run by local resident, herpetologist and snake remover, Francois van Zyl.

The “Snake ID and Snakebite Treatment Course” covers snake awareness, snake handling, first aid for snakebite and medical treatment.

If you’d like to be better informed regarding our resident snakes and perhaps feel a little more prepared should you (or your dog) come across one, you can reach Francois on: 083 422 3858 or Zenobia on: 063 787 4925 for workshop details.

As we live in the Transition Zone of the Kogelberg Biosphere it means that we all have a responsibility to protect the fauna and flora which surround us, which includes our snakes. In future Pringle Messengers we’ll share further educational info on this topic.

Refer to our General Numbers for more local snake removers.

(Photos: Francois van Zyl)

Harlequin – homorosolaps lacteus

Berg Adder – Bitis atropos

PRINGLE BAY VOLUNTEER FIRE FIGHTERS

The leadership of our volunteer fire fighting team is looking to boost the team’s numbers. As a village we benefit greatly by having trained individuals who can quickly respond to fires or fire danger and also assist with other emergency situations. If you’re a resident looking to make your community contribution, this may be the team for you!

MUNICIPAL SERVICES

STREETS AND STORMWATER: A PRO-ACTIVE INITIATIVE

In the July 2023 issue of the Messenger, we reported that residents offered to assist the Overstrand Municipality (OM) with the planning/design/implementation and maintenance of our streets in Rooi Els, Pringle Bay and Betty’s Bay.

We are happy to report that our Vice Chairman convened the first meeting of those that came forward to offer their time, expertise, and experience on the subject matter. It was unanimously agreed that the purpose of the work group is:

To explore alternative street and stormwater construction technologies/methods and designs to enable a more appropriate, affordable maintenance regime and to optimize the long term operational and maintenance cost without degrading the quality of living in the villages.
Within the known set of constraints, to devise plan(s)/solution(s) for the cost optimized medium to long-term horizons to address the current state of stormwater drainage and street geometry. This includes the following:
appropriate manpower structure(s) which includes partnerships with industry, OM and civic organisations
technology including appropriate standards and specifications
financial model(s) both OPEX and CAPEX.
To foster a mutually beneficial relationship with OM and industry, both from a technical as well as a political perspective.

The members continued to discuss the subject matter and came to, amongst others, the following conclusions:

Becoming self-supporting in maintaining infrastructure such as stormwater drainage and streets is becoming more and more of an inevitable alternative. This will go hand-in-hand with a clear responsibility matrix (roles and responsibility) between whoever the parties are that will be performing the tasks, especially clearly understanding and defining risks, liabilities and indemnities.
It became evident that we are faced with a complex and substantial problem (in many ways) … It is apparent that we need to think big but start small!
It was unanimously concluded that addressing the lack of appropriate stormwater drainage and the associated maintenance thereof is paramount, prior to establishing gravel streets with acceptable quality and rideability. Without appropriately addressing stormwater drainage first, the expenditure on importing gravel and grading streets is a waste of scarce resources (material and financial). (The same applies to surfaced roads).
Engage with OM to determine what the budgets are, what the constraints are and hopefully be able to devise a plan to allocate financial resources in a more appropriate and logical way.

An immediate next step is to engage with the industry to explore options surrounding materials.

We extend a sincere invitation to residents and property owners to contact our Vice Chairman if you have any positive suggestions or innovative solutions to contribute to this complex problem: vicechair@pringlebayratepayers.co.za

WASTE MANAGEMENT

We want to again remind residents how critical it is to manage their waste in the proper manner, which includes using only baboon proof bins and not leaving black bags on the road.

Overstrand Municipality (OM) can and will fine people who don’t adhere to the regulations, as per one of their press releases:

“Given that failure to comply with stipulations regarding the collection of household refuse is a punishable offence in terms of Overstrand Municipality’s Integrated Waste Management By-law, the municipality will have no option but to impose fines on offenders in future.”

Please familiarise yourself with the rules around waste management and if you host visitors or guests, ensure that they too adhere to the regulations.

Read more from OM on the subject of acquiring Baboon Proof Bins.

GIVING BACK

Pringle Bay is fortunate to have many community-minded, selfless individuals who serve the interests of the village. Consider the Street Watch patrollers, the Hackers, the Medical Emergency responders, the people who pick up litter, the Beach Rescuers, the Volunteer Fire Fighters, the beach clean up team. All of these volunteers make a positive difference, enhancing our village life.

Sometimes overlooked but equally appreciated are the businesses who support some of these volunteer groups by providing “lifesaving” refreshments during work breaks. If you’ve ever participated in one of these groups, you’ll know exactly how much those simple snacks can resuscitate and spur one on to finish the job!

Ilse and Adriaan Halgryn (Mini Mart) support the hackers by funding the sandwiches, tea and coffee.

Roline Campher (Meridian Realty) provides snacks for the volunteers who clean up litter in the CBD and at the village entrance.

Cornel Janse van Vuuren (Chas Everett) supplies the biscuits, tea and coffee to the beach rescue team.

Gemma Johnson (RE/MAX) provides water and biscuits to the beach cleanup crew. (Little Amsterdam also supported the group in the past)

Thank you for supporting our community volunteers!

Should you want to make your community contribution and join one of these groups, here are the group conveners:

Hacking: Chris Geldenhuys – 082 900 8299

Litter cleanup: Roline Campher – 083 459 5934

Beach Rescue: Carel Laubscher – 079 524 4334

Beach Clean Up: Robert Kyzer – 079 625 8438

If you’re aware of others providing volunteer services in the village, please let us know so that we can recognise them on our platforms. Details to secretary@pringlebayratepayers.co.za.

THE ORIGIN OF OUR LOGO

Pringle Bay lost a longstanding resident and well-known personality when Barry Crystal sadly passed away recently. The PBRA extends our sincerest condolences to his wife, Tania, and to all of Barry’s family and friends.

Barry was the driving force behind the PBRA logo which is used in all of our marketing and communications today. In 2014 Barry suggested to the then PBRA Chairman that a community competition be initiated to come up with a design for a logo for Pringle Bay. Both Barry and Martin Edding submitted designs, one more traditional and one more contemporary, and after a community vote it was a draw. The designs were then given to marketing professionals for their recommendation and after declaring that both were excellent, the decision was that the more classical design would be better suited to Pringle and be more enduring. Interestingly, Barry came up with his submission by looking at the mountain from his home and then tracing the outline on his kitchen window, which eventually formed the basis of his design.

Barry also supported the PBRA by being a regular contributor to our Pringle Post magazine, submitting numerous and much enjoyed articles over the years.

(We thought you may enjoy seeing the 2014 communication regarding the 2 logo submissions and the suggested slogans)

COMMUNICATION IN TIMES OF DISASTER
Have you joined?

In the event of a major disaster in our area, such as fire or flooding or any other significant incident threatening the safety of Pringle residents and properties, the Disaster Management Telegram network will be the primary means for the Disaster Management Team (DMT) to communicate with the town. This platform will be used to provide accurate updates as well as to provide instructions, for example to evacuate.

We strongly encourage all residents and property owners to join the Disaster Management Telegram network. Install the Telegram app on your phone, search for “Pringle Bay Disaster Management” and press the “Join” tab.

Please note that it’s a one-way channel to receive instructions only, “chats” or replies are not possible.

The establishment of the Pringle Bay DMT was a joint initiative between the PBRA and the Pringle Bay Street Watch after our last serious fire. The team is made up of representatives from our PB Community Volunteer Fire Fighters, the PBSW, the PBRA, the Medical Emergency Responders team, as well as other volunteers who have made themselves available to assist when the need arises.

MAIL BOX

“Thank you very much for a great newsletter. Really good to see Pringle Bay keeping up with our changing times, this format is really great. Easy to open, responsive and as usual full of good info on our town. Well done to your two IT boffins, they’ve done a great job. Thanks and keep up the good work!”

”fantastic new format! thank you and well done!”

PRINGLE BAY VILLAGE STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK - UPDATE

As communicated in our most recent update (refer July 2023 Pringle Messenger) the first report from the external service providers (urban planning consultants) was delivered, this being “Part 1: Current realities in Pringle Bay”. Their second report “Part 2: Strategy for Pringle Bay” has since been presented to the Steering Committee and it was well received by the members. The consultants are now busy finalising their work.

As stated in our ongoing communications on this initiative, public participation is critical; an important next step is to hold community meetings to share the Framework and to encourage broad engagement. We anticipate that these sessions will be convened for the October and November timeframe. Dates and details will follow.

Thank you to everyone who has come forward thus far and expressed an interest in the work being done. We appreciate your involvement and we will be communicating directly in the near future.