1983 — Page 96

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a rule that if the Yau Yat Chuen Recreation Club wants to continue with the lease, then it will have to agree to the building of a permanent R.C.P.

DR. HUANG (in Cantonese):-Yes, Mr. YOUNG, that is the case. In fact, the lease will expire very soon. Please correct me if I am wrong. I think it will be easier for us to raise this matter again when the lease is due and I don't think that we will have any problem concerning that.

5. MR. HOWARD H. W. YOUNG asked the following question (in English): What has been the result of the testing of ice-producing mechanism in the arena of the Hong Kong Coliseum?

Are plans for the first public use of the skating rink on schedule?

MR. KENNETH T. C. Lo, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English):-This question concerns the ice-skating facilities at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

Following the installation of the dasher board system, the ice-skating rink at the Hong Kong Coliseum was commissioned between 7 and 16 November 1983. The commissioning process was smooth and satisfactory although a true load test was not possible because of the absence of a large group of spectators and skaters. The plant was able to achieve the designed rate of cooling, formation, and defrosting. While the ice surface was considered rather too hard for recreational skating because of over-chilling of the concrete slab beneath the ice surface, this can be remedied by adjusting the level of temperature.

There are certainly plans to use the rink facilities for public recreation skating whenever the arena of the Hong Kong Coliseum has no confirmed bookings for a reasonable continuous period of time, but no dates have yet been fixed yet pending a true load test of the rink during the 'Holiday on Ice' show which is to be held from 27 January to 19 February 1984. The test is necessary to ascertain, among other things, whether there will be an excessive build-up of condensation, and if so, how it can be overcome.

MR. YOUNG (in English):-Mr. Chairman, although there are no plans to use the rink for public recreation skating, are there any indications that the 'Holiday on Ice' show itself will not or will be on the schedule?

MR. LO (in English): Mr. Chairman, the facility had been hired for the show and it will take place on the dates as mentioned in my answer.

MR. HU (in English):— Mr. Chairman, can Mr. Lo advise the Council the time required for ice formation and ice defrosting and whether these times are in accordance with the original specification?

MR. Lo (in English):—I have to ask the department, then I'll tell Mr. Hu in due course.

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

MISS CECILIA L. Y. YEUNG, asked the following question (in Cantonese):— Could I know the cost of electricity consumed in Urban Council parks? Also, could I be informed of the system adopted in switching on and off lighting to meet seasonal variations in daylight hours?

MR. KENNETH T. C. LO, CHAIRMAN OF THE RECREATION SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows (in English): This question concerns the cost of electricity consumed in Urban Council parks and the system adopted in switching on and off lighting to meet seasonal variations in daylight hours.

Last financial year, the Council spent some $2.45 million on electricity used at its parks and playgrounds. For the first six months of this financial year, $1.44 million has been spent.

There are two basic kinds of lighting at Urban Council parks—namely, park lights and floodlights. The former provide general lighting for the pathways within parks and are controlled automatically by an adjustable time-clock mechanism. They are generally switched on between the hours of 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. during the summer, and 6 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. in the winter, though staff have the discretion to adjust these hours should the need arise. Floodlights, on the other hand, are to provide lighting in support of specific sporting activities, such as tennis, mini-soccer, and so on. These are controlled manually and are generally available for outdoor activities between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m. in the summer and 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. in the winter. Where practical, floodlighting is only used when users are present, but common sense has to guide the judgment of the staff in charge when adjacent facilities would be affected by the premature turning off of lights.

MISS YEUNG (in Cantonese):--Mr. Chairman, I want to know about this mechanism controlling the lighting, I wonder whether Mr. Lo has checked about this and whether any mishaps happened in the past?

MR. Lo (in English):-Mr. Chairman, of course, these things do break down from time to time, but I have not heard of any particular problem.

MR. JOSEPH Y. S. CHAN asked the following question (in Cantonese):- How is the computerization system for the Libraries progressing?

Mrs. E. ELLIOTT, CHAIRMAN OF THE LIBRARIES Select Committee, replied as follows (in English):—This question concerns the progress of the computerization system for the Council's libraries.

The Libraries Select Committee approved an implementation plan for a computerized system for the Council's libraries last year. A feasibility study was then conducted by the department, and on the basis of the feasibility report, a pre-qualification exercise was carried out leading to requests for proposals from a number of firms.

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