[Evergreen Broadacres] FW: Clarification on the rates rebate petition

Fri Jun 3 16:20:52 SAST 2016

Roy Martin (Village Manager)

Tel: +27 11 467 7509 Fax: +27 21 702 3201Cell: +27 82 495 8193

Postal: Private Bag X 5, Dainfern 2055 South Africa

Email: roym at evergreenlifestyle.co.za Web: www.evergreenlifestyle.co.za

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From: Graham Langmead [mailto:graleen at icon.co.za]
Sent: Friday, June 03, 2016 3:51 PM
To: Roy Martin
Subject: FW: Clarification on the rates rebate petition
Importance: High

Dear Jac and all other recipients,
Regrettably I have to send this broadcast mail via the Evergreen Broadacres office as my computer has a restricted distribution.

I do not like e-mail to and fro especially when it is widely broadcast. In my experience face to face is always a better more amicable solution.

As Chairman of ResCom I note your mail content and need to make some misconceptions right…

1.       At ResCom yesterday it was noted that only 2 members actually received the initial mail directly. I certainly was not one of them.

2.       Yes you were invited to many ResCom meetings to give us expert advice on the specific electricity matters under discussion. Your contributions were welcomed and we heartedly thanked you for all of your contributions as an invited guest. You chose to remain at the ResCom meetings and were therefore privy to confidential discussions.

3.       You were also privy to an off the record chat about the meeting with James and his team. No decisions were made of the way forward only possible options were raised in the conversation.

4.       At the actual meeting (and subsequently also at the Feedback meeting to Residents on 19th May) the Evergreen business model was presented and it was followed by proposals on CPI calculation; on CoJ application of the 50%; on healthcare. ResCom, in your presence, heard these proposals and we agreed individually and collectively to the proposals. The minutes of the meeting reflect such.

5.       And when Arthur Case presented the detail to residents at the feedback meeting he invited anyone not happy with the outcomes to contact him personally for further individual discussion.

6.       It puzzles all of ResCom as to why the ‘whereismyrebate’ e-mail and attached letter was sent out unsigned and therefore led to understandably questionable intentions so we have been told by many.

7.       The outcome has certainly created much dismay and concern in the village and has also had very many approach members of ResCom distancing themselves from the motion.

The upcoming meeting on next Tuesday will give anyone unhappy with ResCom actions to speak openly to the gathered residents in the hopes to clear the air.

Arthur Case remains steadfast in the resolution to meet in confidence with anyone who requires further discussion with him on any of those matters.

ResCom stands by its decisions to support the 3 proposals as we view  it as a further step in the development of our lovely village. Having sat in many of our meetings you are well aware that we mostly take a midterm and long term view on all matters. All 3 of these matters (including the CoJ rebate) fall in to that category.

Personally I am saddened and disappointed that this has occurred. I have always enjoyed your level headed input and appreciate your business acumen and knowledge brought to bear on our village matters especially on the electricity front..

I (as do other ResCom members) do what we do in the honest interests of the whole village. We give up our time, council and energy in the interests of all. It is a thankless task when such action occurs and I too do hope we can put this to bed so we can move forward once again in unison, harmony and with a mutual spirit of neighbourliness.  We live in a confined area and we live closely together (physically) lets live closely together (practically & emotionally) with a mutually open, beneficial to all attitude. Let’s keep the end clearly in sight and avoid the immediate potholes on the road ahead.

In closing I reiterate that all of ResCom are open to discussion  with any residents on any matter at virtually any time.

My best regards to you all.
Graham Langmead
Chairman for and behalf od ResCom

From: Jac Messerschmidt [mailto:gis1 at icon.co.za]
Sent: 03 June 2016 09:50 AM
To: Edited
Subject: Clarification on the rates rebate petition

Dear fellow residents

I am dismayed at the reaction to an email that was distributed to all residents (including Rescom members), asking them to consider signing a petition to James Wilson of Amdec in connection with our rates rebate. It was never the intention that this was to be an anonymous or secretive process.

The backers of this initiative, of which I am one, have been most vociferously attacked, insulted, vilified and threatened. Some of the allegations were incorrect, untrue and very hurtful towards those who stood up for their fellow resident’s rights.

Nevertheless, I would like to take this opportunity to apologize for my part in the process in as far as it may have upset or confused people or make them unhappy. It was certainly never my intention or that of the others involved to mislead fellow residents in any way or interfere in their affairs.

Over the past year or so I have been asked by Rescom to assist in various projects such as the determination of the CPI for levy calculations, the rates rebate and the prepayment electricity tariff. I have always responded with a willingness to help in any cause that was to the benefit of all residents.

You may recall that I was instrumental in achieving a reduction in the prepaid electricity tariff, to the delight of many residents. After a few more loose ends are tied up, amongst others metering issues and compensation for past overpayment, this long-standing issue can then finally be put to bed.

My intention with the rates rebate issue was to help residents who wished to exercise their rights to resolve the matter internally, especially after Rescom, which had initially expressed an intention to approach a third party, failed to pursue or discuss the matter further.

It was agreed at the Rescom meeting of the 4th May that any resident who remained unhappy with the agreement struck with James Wilson had the option of taking it up with Evergreen Management. Everyone therefore has a right to take up this option, individually or as a group.

The text of the petition was distributed as an open unsigned draft letter to James Wilson, the ultimate decision maker in the Amdec/Evergreen structure, to be signed and dated by petitioners. It seems a copy of this was leaked to him. He has to my knowledge not received any signed copies.

It is therefore a great pity that the furore over the process of distributing the petition obscured the importance of the message itself. I am sorry that many people who might otherwise have liked to press their case are now hesitant to do so.

I would like to suggest that a way forward to find an legitimate solution is through an impartial third party, as Rescom itself initially resolved. This exists in the form of the Community Services Ombud Services (CSOS), which handles handles cases like this. I would be interested in hearing from residents willing to support such a fair and open-handed approach. I also appeal to Rescom to support this initiative as a gesture of conciliation.

I hope this helps to rebuild the trust that we seem to have lost in one another.

Groete

Jac Messerschmidt

Unit 60

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