Estate Manager Article, May 2024
The changing leaves tell us that autumn is well and truly here, and the late rains only added to the chill in the air in the first weeks of April. It is around this time of the year that we start clearing annuals and getting our gardens ready for winter. In the same way that beautiful spring gardens will benefit from the preparations we make now, so will our Estate see the benefits of many ongoing projects undertaken to uplift our facilities and be future-ready.
Ensuring Fourways Gardens remains relevant and continuously strives to improve on systems and processes, the HOA focused on technological advancement during the first few months of the year. This included the rollout of the VBX system with improved call recording and voice call quality for the HOA office and Security Control Room. In addition, the HOA is excited to introduce members to WeconnectU, a property-management-based software solution for financial management, replacing Pastel as the full accounting function. Members will now receive their monthly statements via e-mail or effortlessly log into their property account at any time. WeconnectU offers HOA management and the Board of Directors unlimited user access to real-time, transparent financial, operational and compliance management and reporting. By combining efficiency and manageability, we enable sustainable growth.
In March, the Easter Bunny made an ever-popular return to provide a fun-filled Easter egg hunt. April saw Ramadan and Eid-al-Fitr celebrated, with another significant meaningful marker, and Pesach for our Jewish community. Our first Eid-al-Fitr community event was held in April, and we have events and activities planned in the upcoming calendar to further our efforts to be a Secure Family Lifestyle Estate marked by community spirit and inclusivity.
The Phase 1 park has been re-turfed and was the perfect venue for our first Movie Night of 2024 – a well-attended screening of Encanto. While the adults may have thought it was too chilly for slushies, the children certainly didn’t and our slushie stockpile was all but depleted! Our second Movie Night is scheduled for September, but we have a lot to look forward to in the months in between!
May will see us holding a Junior Entrepreneurs’ Market Day and The Gardens Bistro is offering a superb Mother’s Day menu, so make sure you book a lunch to give mom the day off! A survey in April gave valuable insight into how The Gardens Bistro is serving the community and how it can be even better. Watch this space as The Gardens Bistro team has taken your feedback to heart and is determined to provide a restaurant that exceeds expectations.
As the cooler weather sets in, we urge residents to ensure that your beloved pets are safely secured inside your property and that they do not succeed in their efforts to explore the Estate. All too often we find a lost dog in the streets of our Estate and, while we have been fortunate that there have not been frequent vehicular accidents involving pets, there are unfortunate and avoidable cases where a dog that is not normally vicious or prone to attacking other dogs does so in their confusion and fear. While we can all stress the importance of securely closing gates to our families and domestic staff, please also alert your neighbours if you see a gate ajar to prevent such avoidable accidents.
May will be a significant month for our country, and we hope that everyone who can, participates in the elections. This is our way of showing our hope for our country and making our voices heard in a meaningful way. Nelson Mandela shared the following wisdom, which rings as true for us today as it did at the dawn of our democracy: “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.” Let us help each other to continue climbing hills to bring the hope-filled vision of the new South Africa to fruition.
And finally, in just a few months, we will mark the 40th birthday of this beautiful estate, and we are convinced that Fourways Gardens’ best years are still to come!
69 Camdeboo Rd Fourways Sandton 2055
info@fwg.co.za
011 465 7731