Carpets of leaves cover the Estate everywhere. Although signs of winter approaching are all around us, we still experience all the seasons in a single day. It is cool in the mornings and late afternoons, hot during the day, and you never really
know what to wear. We remain grateful for every promise of a bit of rain. Maintenance was our top priority last month. We upgraded the Blue Gill cottage after 17 years, and the area around the Clubhouse boardroom was repaved to promote unity and laid with tiles to meet our Safety, Health, and Environmental requirements. The bricks lifted from the Clubhouse area were used to repave a footpath at the back of the Clubhouse. We also purchased many new and second-hand bricks to repave the parking area in front of the Clubhouse
or to install a brick-paved road at the dam area for the Fidelity Security vehicle’s daily use.
Two of our guards prevented a house across from the Blue Gill guardhouse from being burgled by two criminals. We have installed new cameras on Veld Street, and maintenance was performed on the electrical fence at the back of the Estate. Read more about this in the Security Section on page 8. Members of the Environmental Committee organised a Community Day on 18 May 2024 to raise awareness among Estate residents about invasive plants at the dam and to get
them involved in environmental care. Read more about this on page 11.
Read more about two of our up-and-coming resident’s achievements on pages 12 and 13. We are nearing the end of our financial year. We will compile the new financial year budget beginning in July 2024. The annual levy increase will be communicated to you as soon as it is confirmed and will be implemented from 1 July 2024.
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Refuse collection is every Monday including public holidays, except for Christmas Day.
Please note that Ekurhuleni will only service bins that belong to them and will not remove extra bags placed next to the bin. If you need a second bin or to replace a broken bin, please obtain one from the Ekurhuleni Waste Management Department. Their offices are next to Festival Mall in Kempton Park.
Mother’s Day was on Sunday, 12 May, and we hope all the mothers were pampered and spoiled abundantly. Mothers, we appreciate and love you!
On Tuesday, 14 May 2024, in the early morning hours, two of our guards, Stephen Phale and Petrus Aphane, noticed two unknown suspects attempting to climb over the wall of the property opposite the Blue Gill Guardhouse. They alerted Mpho Marumule, our Fidelity Armed Response officer, who chased the two suspects down Veld Street towards Quinine Road. Mpho alerted all the other security services in the area to search for the suspects. He arrested one of the suspects after finding him hiding in a tree. Mpho also recovered various housebreaking tools. The suspect and exhibits were handed to the police for processing. We thanked our Blue Gill and Fidelity guards for their vigilance and commitment to keeping our Estate and Glen Marais safe.
The Directors appointed Illumico as our camera monitoring service provider to install additional cameras to cover the front perimeter of the Estate. Thermal cameras were installed on the outside pavement, and the trees were pruned back to ensure clear visibility of all the boundary walls.
Maintenance was carried out on the electrical fence at the back of the Estate after grazing cows damaged the game fence. Other maintenance was also done on the top inner fence on the Waterfront side. All our security equipment is in working order.
PETRUS APHANE
G uard of the Month
April 2024
ABlue Gill employee since March 2010, is the Guard of the Month for April 2024. He is also one of the guards who noticed the two intruders attempting to climb over the wall of the property opposite the Blue Gill guardhouse. Thank you for your loyal service, Petrus. We appreciate you!
Staff Matters
BLUE
GILL BIDS FAREWELL TO
DEDICATED GUARD RODGERS
BALOYI:
We would like to take a moment to honour our dedicated guard, Rodgers Baloyi, who recently retired. Rodgers served our community for an impressive 23 years and eight months, having been permanently appointed by Blue Gill HOA on 1 August 2001. Prior to his permanent appointment, Rodgers worked for Prisma Security, which was contracted to Blue Gill Estate for three years. Married
with two children, Rodgers has been an integral part of the Blue Gill community, and we are immensely grateful for his unwavering loyalty and commitment over the years. We wish him all the best in his retirement, which he plans to spend in Gauteng.
Rodgers, you truly have been a star, and your presence will be sorely missed. Thank you for your hard work and dedication to Blue Gill.
Environmental Matters
COMMUNITY DAY UNITES RESIDENTS TO CLEAR INVASIVE PLANTS FROM DAM WALL
The Environmental Committee organised a Community Day on 18 May 2024 to raise awareness among Estate residents about the invasive plants growing at the dam. A request was sent to the residents to assist with clearing invasive plants from the bottom dam wall, pruning the willow trees, weeding the grass areas along the dam wall, and painting the bird hide.
We called, and the community came. We all worked hard to make a difference to our environment. After the morning’s activities, residents were invited to bring their meat and drinks to the Clubhouse. We
wish to thank all who participated in making this a successful event.
Our Estate’s Eve Vasiliades Excels as Two-Time Graduate and Top Achiever
Evlouyiea Vasiliades, known as Eve, is now a two-time graduate in Multidisciplinary Drawing Office Practice (N4-N5) and Civil Engineering (N4N6). Her graduation ceremonies for these qualifications were on 26 April 2024 and 10 May 2024, respectively. She excelled so well in Multi-disciplinary Drawing Office Practice that she graduated cum laude, receiving six out of eight
distinctions. She also received a trophy for being one of the top achievers of the year. Eve’s hard work and determination drove her to achieve excellence, leading to a job at DRA Global. She is now making waves in the mining industry and is enjoying every bit of it. Congratulations, Eve! We are very proud of you!
Max Merritt Does It Again!
Max Merritt of Cormorant Drive qualified to represent the Northern Division Junior Bass Angling Association, covering Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo, at the National Junior Bass Angling Competition 2024. The competition took place at Rust de Winter Dam in Limpopo from 21 to 24 March 2024. For the second time, he has qualified to represent South Africa as a Junior Protea Bass Angler. Well done, Max! We are extremely proud of you!
We have noticed various dogs roaming the Estate and request residents to keep their animals secure in their premises. Please remember your animal is your responsibility, dogs and cats alike! We thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.
• Adhere to the speed limit, a maximum of 40 kilometres per hour.
• Stop at stop streets! We are watching and taking random videos.
• Secure your animals in your property.
• Walk your dog on a leash. Pick up excrement as per Estate rules, nobody wants to step in or have to clean up your animal’s parcels, which is solely your responsibility.
• Please attend to your dog’s constant barking and ensure they have a nametag.
• The use of lawnmowers and machinery on a Sunday is between 09:00 and 13:00, as well as between 16:00 and 18:00. No exceptions!
