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by me before the press. I presume that he is referring to certain information which I gave to the press yesterday and which I obtained from the Assistant Director of the Urban Services Department, and which I understand he requested the press not to publish.
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, you realize, of course, that the request is out of order.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN : It is not. It is a perfectly valid request, Mr. Chairman.
MR. SALES: Could I suggest, Sir, that on a point of clarification the proper procedure would be for my colleague to attend the next meeting, or the first convenient meeting, of the Select Committee so that the whole matter might be clarified to his satisfaction.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: -It would have been much more preferable in the first instance if the Chairman of the Urban Amenities Select Committee had raised point No. 2 within the Standing Committee of the Whole, or invited me to attend a meeting of the Urban Amenities Select Committee.
MR. SALES: Sir, I suggest that the correct procedure would have been for any Urban Councillor to consult the appropriate Select Committee on a matter which pertained to that committee before going public on any issue. That has been made clear in the past. Whenever a member of this Council has asked for an invitation to attend a Select Committee's meeting, that member has been invited to do so. I suggest that mutual confidence would be maintained in this Council if members observed the proprieties.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: -On a point of clarification, Mr. Chairman. I have never refused any request by the Urban Amenities Select Committee to attend any meeting of that Committee and when it comes to making responsible statements, I would draw the attention of my colleague that in the instance which he has in mind I took the proper measure of consulting a senior officer of your Department, Sir, who was the Assistant Director of Urban Services.
QUESTIONS.
(1) DR. R. H. S. LEE asked the following question:-
Will the Chairman intimate the number of water closet doors without locks and the number of toilet-paper holders that are out of order in the high block of the City Hall? Is there a responsible officer to make periodic inspection of these facilities to make sure that they are always in a good state of repair? How long will it take to put these faults right?
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:-
Since the opening of the City Hall, the doors of 25 water-closet cubicles have lost their indicator-bolts; of these 12 were in the High Block. A total of 49 toilet-paper holders has also been found missing or out of order and of these 24 were in the High Block. All missing indicator-bolts have now been replaced and additional locks, to be operated by the attendants, have been fixed to all the male water-closet cubicles. The 49 missing toilet-paper holders have been replaced with standard holders which are in stock. An order has been placed for 300 special vandal-proof toilet-roll-holders. Delivery is expected to take 3 months and on arrival they will replace the standard type throughout the City Hall.
Regular and comprehensive inspections of the building including the lavatories are made by the Supervisor and Assistant Supervisors of the City Hall, and all items requiring repair or replacement are promptly reported to the Public Works Department, which maintains the City Hall buildings.
DR. LEE: -Mr. Chairman, I refer to the 9th floor lavatory. I had to obtain the senior officers' own key in order to get into the lavatory. Am I to assume that this act of vandalism is done by the members of the staff?
CHAIRMAN: -No, I certainly expect that that was not the case.
DR. LEE: -Could you explain how the key was left with the staff?
CHAIRMAN: -I cannot, Sir, but I am prepared to take up the point with the Manager of the City Hall and give you a reply later.
(2) DR. R. H. S. LEE asked the following question:-
Is the Chairman aware that the brush type of street sweeping vehicle has not been ordered in spite of the fact that approval for its purchase was given many months ago? Can he give the reason for this long delay and indicate the delivery date of this vehicle?
THE CHAIRMAN replied as follows:
Funds for this sweeper—a Wayne 980—were approved on 26th March, 1965. Some delay was subsequently caused in
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