Minutes of the 6thMeeting of
Finance Committee (2016-2017)
Central and Western District Council
Date / : / 24 November 2016 (Thursday)Time / : / 2:30 pm
Venue / : / Conference Room
14/F, Harbour Building
38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong
Present:
Chairman
Mr LEE Chi-hang, Sidney, MH*
Members
Mr CHAN Chit-kwai, Stephen, BBS, JP*
Mr CHAN Choi-hi, MH*
Mr CHAN Ho-lim, Joseph / (2:54 pm – end of the meeting)
Mr CHAN Hok-fung, MH*
Ms CHENG Lai-king / (2:47pm – end of the meeting)
Mr KAM Nai-wai, MH*
Miss LO Yee-hang / (2:34pm – end of the meeting)
Mr NG Siu-hong*
Miss SIU Ka-yi / (2:36pm – end of the meeting)
Mr YEUNG Hoi-wing*
Mr YEUNG Hok-ming*
Mr YIP Wing-shing, BBS, MH, JP / (start of the meeting – 2:47pm)
Remarks: / * Members who attended the whole meeting
( )Time of attendance of Members
In Attendance:
Mrs WONG HO Wing-sze, Susanne, JP / District Officer (Central and Western)
Ms LAM Bing-bing, Erica / Assistant District Officer (Central and Western)
Ms YEUNG Wing-shan, Grace / Senior ExecutiveOfficer (District Council), Central and Western District Office
Mr HAU Kwun-lam / Social Worker, Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian AssociationKwun Lung Lau Community Work Office
Mr TUNG Man-tai / Social Worker, Hong Kong Youth Women’s Christian Association Western District Integrated Social Service Centre
Ms YU Yan-yan, Rosanna / Senior ExecutiveOfficer (District Management), Central andWestern District Office
Mr MAN Chi-chiu, Eric / Executive Officer (District Management), Central and Western District Office
Mr CHIU Shun-ming / Chairman, Kennedy Town and Shek Tong Tsui Area Committee
Absent with Apologies:
Mr CHEUNG Kwok-kwan, JP
Mr HUI Chi-fung
Secretary:
Ms YIP Wing-yan, Sonia / Executive Officer (District Council) 1, Central and Western District Office
The Chairman welcomed all to the meeting.
Item 1: Adoption of the Agenda
- The Chairman said that the Secretariat had received a notification of absence from Mr CHEUNG Kowk-kwan before the meeting, and Mr CHEUNG had authorisedMr CHAN Hok-fung to vote on his behalf on all motions.
- The Chairman had received notifications from Members and officers in attendance before the meeting, indicating that they had to leave early due to official commitments. He thus suggested bringing forward the discussion on two of the fund applications of the Central and Western District Council (C&WDC) as well as committees and working groups under C&WDC, i.e. C&W FC Paper No. 237/2016 and No. 238/2016, to immediately after this agenda item.
- The revised agenda was adopted.
Item 2: Fund Applications of C&WDC as well as the Committees and Working Groups under C&WDC
(C&W FC Paper No.237/2016 to 238/2016)
(C&W FC Paper No. 237/2016)
- The Committee endorsed a district minor works (DMW) allocation of $320,000for implementing the “Provision of Planters to Owners’ Corporation (OC)/Mutual Aid Committees (MAC) (2016-2017)” project.
- Regarding the fund application of DMW project “Conversion of the harbourfront site near Fung Mat Road to open space”, the Chairmanpointed out that the paper was endorsed by the District Facilities Management Committee (DFMC) and the Working Group on District Minor Works (DMW Working Group). Mr CHAN Chit-kwaiwas supportiveof the project, and opined that developing the harbourfront site near Fung Mat Road could link up the harbourfront facilities along the eastern side of the district and formed a continuous promenade. In addition, since the site was rather exposed, Mr CHAN hoped that trees could be planted expeditiously after the conversion works to provide shade for the public. Mr KAM Nai-waialso expressed support for the application and his hope for an integrated promenade in the Central and Western District. Nevertheless, he considered the project costsrather expensive, especially the lighting system comprising 43 nos. of LED lights as its total costamounted to over $2 million, representing 50% of the overall cost. He asked whether the estimated cost could be reduced. Mr YIP Wing-shingindicated support for developing the site, and considered that the development was necessary becausethe harbourfront site near Fung Mat Road served as a connection point between the Sun YatSen Memorial Park and the Western Wholesale Food Market. Furthermore, Mr YIP suggested plantingvegetation suitable to grow in coastal areas when relevant department carried out greening works for the site. Mr CHAN Hok-fung pointed out that the Working Group on the Central & Western District Harbourfront fully supported this application; and said that he understood the concern over project costs as pointed out by Mr KAM Nai-wai, but believed the Central and Western District Office (C&WDO) had exercised utmost frugality in preparing the cost estimate for the development of the site. Mr CHAN added that the site originally belonged to the Drainage Services Department (DSD); and request had been made to the DSD for the provision of lawns and paving of eco-blocks at the said location, hence saved considerable development costs. Mr CHAN hoped that Members would support this application because this development project was crucial for connecting the Sun YatSen Memorial Park in the east and the Western Wholesale Food Market in the west in future. He also wished that, after linking up different sections of the promenade, members of the public could walk from Hill Road to Admiralty and even to Wan Chai. Mr YEUNG Hoi-wing said he supported this application. He understood that a large portion of the expenditure was for infrastructure works, and suggested the C&WDO to minimisethe cost where possible. In addition, Mr YEUNGmentioned that in other meetings, some Members had raised the issue of providing community garden in the site. He hoped that the department concerned would reserve space for this purpose during conversion; and would continue the efforts in improving and greening the site. Mr YEUNG Hok-ming also expressed support for this project. He pointed outthat solar lights used to be installedalong the road at the Sheung Wan waterfront,and suggested using solar lights instead of LED lights to save energy, if solar lights were effective and the maintenance costs were acceptable. Mr YEUNG also hoped that government departments would consider carefully the early construction of a road connecting the Sun YatSen Memorial Park. Miss SIU Ka-yi said she also supported the project because it could provide more open space for the public.
- Mrs WONG HO Wing-sze, District Officer (Central and Western), remarked that construct costs recorded an overall increase in recent years; and the C&WDO had explored the utilisation of non-LED lights in the said site, but past experience in using non-LED lights in the district had shown that the result was not satisfactory, and the maintenance costs were high. At the same time, Mrs WONGpointed out that the site occupied an area of over 60 000 sqft, if the number of LED lights installed was less than the proposed 43 nos, the light level might not be sufficient when members of the public conducted night-time activities at the waterfront. Furthermore, Mrs WONG explained that after numerous discussions between the C&WDO and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD),the estimated cost for the LED lighting system had been lowered from over $300 million in the beginning to $260 million, while the unit cost of other facilities was more or less the same as that of common minor works. As such, there was limited room for reduction in overall cost. It was hoped that by maintaining the quality of the works, future maintenance expenses could be reduced. Mrs WONG stressed that this project was crucial to linking up the Central and Western District Promenade; and she understood Members’ concern about whether the area around the carpark at Eastern Street north could be linked with the Sun YatSen Memorial Park. As for the carpark operator’s recent decision to cease operation, the C&WDO had consulted the Harbourfront Commission and commenced discussions with other government departments, in order to tackle the impact of the sudden termination of service on the industry and the public, and to study the feasibility of long-term relocation of the carpark. Although it was impossible to move the entire carpark from the said location within a short period of time, the C&WDO was currently studyingtogether with other departments the feasibility of connecting the eastern and western side of the waterfront site. Mrs WONG said the C&WDO would continue to report the progress of this issue to the C&WDC.
- Regardingthe provision of lights, Ms YU Yan-yan, Senior Executive Officer (District Management) of the C&WDO, added that the EMSD suggested installing the traditional LED lights instead ofsolar lights because using solar lights entailed paying additional cost for the provision of redundant system, and thus there would not be much saving in terms of overall cost. As for enhancing greening efforts, Ms YU pointed out that at the current stage, this project mainly aimed at conducting minor improvement works for the said site,in order to open it to the public as soon as possible. The greening works that Members suggested at the meeting could be added later where appropriate. In respect of the establishment of community garden atthe harbourfront site near Fung Mat Road, which was suggested earlier by Ms CHENG lai-king at the DMW Working Group, the C&WDO was currently seeking expert advice from the Leisure and Cultural Services Department regarding the improvement works required for the site, and afterwards would consider adding the works concerned at later stage of the project.
- The Chairmansaid that as he understood, Miss SIU Ka-yi also made the suggestion of establishing community garden at the DMW Working Group. In addition, the Chairman hoped that the site could be developed in stages, with this project completed first and then considered the idea of community garden later.
- The Committee endorsed a DMW allocation of $5,900,000 for implementing the “Conversion of the harbourfront site near Fung Mat Road to open space” project.
- The Chairman indicated that there were six fund applications for Community Involvement (CI) Projects for consideration at the meeting, involving an allocation of $6,385,475, of which $75,475 was funding for the CI Projects of the C&WDC; and the other $6,310,000 was funding for DMW. If all the applications for CI Projects were endorsed, the total amount of funds allocated by the C&WDC Finance Committee (FC)in 2016/17 would be amounted to $17,602,093.95, representing 110.70% of the allocated funding.
- The Chairman invited Members to refer to C&W FC Paper No. 234/2016 for four fund applications from the C&WDC, its committees and working groups; and remarked that discussions on Paper No. 237/2016 to 238/2016 had concluded. The Chairmanreminded Members to declare interest prior to the discussions of relevant applications if they had an interest in the organisations making the applications.
- The Committee endorsed an allocation of $10,000 to the Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association Kwun Lung Lau Community Work Office for organising the “Video-making Course and Visit to Elderly with Limited Mobility”.
- The Committee endorsed an allocation of $10,000 to the Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association Western District Integrated Social Service Centre for organising the “ ‘Future Leader’ Community Service Training Scheme for Young People”.
Item 3: Confirmation of the Minutes of the Fifth FC meeting in 2016-17
- The Chairman said that the Secretariat had not received any proposed amendments before the meeting. The minutes of the 5th FC meeting in 2016-17 were confirmed by the Committee.
Item 4: DC Funds Financial Report (2016-17)
(C&W FC Paper No.230/2016 to 231/2016)
- The Home Affairs Department (HAD) had allocated $15,900,000 to the C&WDC in the year 2016/17 for organising CI Projects, of which not less than $2,000,000 must be reserved for the promotionof arts and cultural activities in the Central and Western District. As at 14November 2016, after deductinga total of $701,184.50 to be carried forward to the year 2017/18, the C&WDC had endorsed $17,526,618.95 for CI Projects, which accounted for 110.23% of the $15,900,000allocated by the HAD. The actual expenditure amounted to$7,408,993.5, accounting for 46.60% of the allocated funding.
- The Chairman reported that since the last meeting, the FC had endorsed four fund applications for CI Projects by circulation of papers, namely:
- An allocation of $4097.5 to the Council of the Central and Western District School Heads for organising the “Seminar of the Council of the Central and Western District School Heads”;
- An allocation of $40,000 to the Working Group on Central & Western District Council Affairs for the “Production of C&WDC Calendar 2017”;
- An allocation of $4,500 to the Working Group on Central & Western District Council Affairs for the “Provision of sport wear for the C&WDC Football Team Members for participating in the friendly match with the Hong Kong Women Football Team”;
- An allocation of $68,532 to the Central & Western Mid-Levels Owners Association for implementing the “Recycling of Environmental-friendly Wood Pallets” programme. Funds allocated by the Environmental Protection Department would be employed for this application.
Item 5: Fund Applications of the Local Organisationsin the Central & Western District
(C&W FC Paper No. 239/2016 to 241/2016)
- The Chairman invited Members to refer to C&W FC Paper No. 239/2016 for two fund applications from local organisationsin the Central and Western District. The Chairman reminded Members to declare interest prior to the discussions of relevant applications if they had an interest in the organisations making the applications.
- Regarding the fund application of “Spring Fun Walk to the Victoria Peak 2017”, Mr CHAN Chit-kwai declared that he was the President of the University of Hong Kong Staff Association; Mr CHAN Hok-fung, Mr CHAN Choi-hi and Mr YEUNG Hoi-wing declared that they were members of the Kennedy Town and Shek Tong Tsui Area Committee. The Chairman considered that they could continue to ask questions. Mr CHAN Choi-hi opined that each certificate of participant cost $5 was rather expensive and asked whether there was a cheaper alternative. Mr CHAN Chit-kwai noted that the application form contained an item “souvenir redemption coupon” but without the item “souvenir”, and asked whether the souvenir expenses wereincluded in the remaining expenditure of $6,000. The Chairmanremarkedthat full colour printing costs were usually more expensive. Mr CHIU Shun-ming, Chairman of the Kennedy Town and Shek Tong Tsui Area Committee, replied that the souvenirs would be sponsored by the co-organisers of the activity.
- The Committee endorsed an allocation of $45,000 to the Kennedy Town and Shek Tong Tsui Area Committee for organising the “Spring Fun Walk to the Victoria Peak 2017”.
- Regarding the fund application of “Spring Caring Activities in Kwun Lung”, Mr CHAN Ho-lim asked how the applicant estimated the number of participants and achievedeffective publicity and promotion. Mr HAU Kwun-lam, Social Worker of the Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association Kwun Lung Lau Community Work Office, replied that they would rent the rooftop hall of Kwun Lung Lau for holding the activity. As the hall could accommodate a maximum of 120 persons, it was estimated that about 100 residents would be invited to participate in the activity. For publicity, Mr HAU said posters would be posted at the office entrance and all the lift lobbies of Kwun Lung Lau; and tickets would be distributed to residents.
- The Committee endorsed an allocation of $10,475 to the Hong Kong Young Women’s Christian Association Kwun Lung Lau Community Work Office for organising the “Spring Caring Activities in Kwun Lung”.
Item 6: Inspection of DC-funded Activities
(C&W FC Paper No. 232/2016 to 233/2016)
- The Committee noted that two activities to be conducted by district organisationswereconsideredat this meeting. Out of those two activities, the Chairman was required to draw outone activity on the spot for inspection.
- The Chairman drew out one activity on the spot for inspection. The activity drawn was “Spring Fun Walk to the Victoria Peak 2017”in C&W FC Paper No. 241/2016.
Item 7: Any Other Business
- There was no other business.
Item 8: Date of the Next Meeting
- The next meeting would be held on 9 March 2017. The deadline for fund applications would be 16February 2017.
- The meeting was adjourned at 3:01 pm.
The minutes were confirmed on 9 March 2017
Chariman: Mr LEE Chi-hang, Sidney
Secretary: Ms YIP Wing-yan, Sonia
Central and Western District Council Secretariat
January 2017
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