Hall Costs Discussed

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30452, 28 May 1964, Page 1

Hall Costs Discussed

The town hall project was taken a stage further last evening when a meeting of representatives of all but one of the. local bodies in the metropolitan area agreed to recommend councils to adopt in principle the first stage development, which was estimated to cost £l.lm.

While the meeting also recommended that costs be shared on a metropolitan basis related to the mean of population and capital value figures, only three councils were fully in favour of a proportionate division.

A £lm interest-free loan was among the suggestions, and several urged that the scheme proposed by the town hall committee should be modified and no provisions made for a conference room and meeting rooms, leaving the first stage at the town hall

itself and a concert chamber.

The City Council, the Riccarton Borough Council and the Waimairi County Council were in favour of a fair proportion of the costs, although Waimairi representatives said this depended on all councils agreeing. The Paparua County Council supported the sharing of costs, but said it would decide for itself what was equitable, and wanted the rural areas of the county I excluded. The Halswel.l County Council, which recently said it could not afford to pay a share was represented, but its representatives were silent. Lyttelton borough representatives had no instructions and did not speak. The Heathcote County Council, which had a special meeting last evening, was not represented. Proposals Reviewed The principle of metropolitan sharing of the cost had been, established at previous meetings, although he regretted that one or two councils had since had second thoughts, said Cr. H. G. Hay, chairman of the council’s town hall committee. While there had been no i decision, it was proposed that 'the first stage should cOn- ! sist of a town hall seating 2750 and costing £750,000; a concert chamber-theatre seating 1000 costing £250,000; I conference room, £50,000; supper room, restaurant, toilets, £80,000: meeting rooms and rehearsal room, £25,000; car park, £20.000: and miscellaneous, £25,000. This £1.2 million excluded land already bought by the council for £156,000 and professional fees. Town Hall Promotion had raised approximately £115,000 in cash and investments and promises to be redeemed were expected to yield £4OOO, Cr. Hay said. £72.688 A Year Assuming that most of the finance had to be raised by loan, the charge for servicing a £l.2m loan for 35 years would be £72,688. On that basis, contributions would be as follows, the first

figure being on population and the second on capital value:—

. Christchurch city, £47,807, £46,638; Halswell, £lOO3, £1541; Heathcote, £2012, £2275; Lyttelton, £1054, £1039; Paparua, £5139, £5633; Riccarton, £2282, £2573 Waimairi, £13,390, £12,989. In addition, the City Council .would expect, to be reimbursed for the proportion of. the £156,000 spent on land which the town hall would occupy.

“Naturally, any of the land which is used for exclusively City Council activities such as a mayoral suite or council chamber , would not be included in the amount to be shared among local bodies,” Cr. Hay said.-

If the whole of the ' land was required for the town hall and essential buildings, the apportionment, on a population basis, would be: city, £102,602; Halswell, £2153; Heathcote, £4321; Lyttelton, £2262; Paparua, £11,029: Riccarton, £4898; Waimairi, £28,735. When the town hall was operating and revenue-earn-ing, the City Council would offset against the various local bodies’ share of the loan charges any revenue derived from the town hall, concert chamber, and car parks over the operating costs directly associated with the town hall. “As soon as other local authorities meet their share of. the cost of the land . already purchased they will be entitled to a proportionate allowance for their share of the net rentals at present being derived from the buildings on the site,” Cr. Hay said. “This is at present estimated at £7500 a year.” Start In 1966 If the architectural competition was completed by early 1965 and the architect chosen, the earliest date at which a start could be made on the actual building would probably not be before late 1966, he said. This assumed that, it would be possible to obtain possession of all the buildings on the site, some of which were held under leases which did not expire until after that date. In the interests of economy, it might be considered desirable to cut back, initially at least, on the conference rooms and facilities, but he strongly urged that the concert chamber be included in the scheme, Cr. Hay said. The possibility of making the hall divisible into a smaller theatre of 500 to 600 was envisaged by the committee. The proposed conference room and smaller meeting rooms might be considered an extravagance, he said. “But surely the city should endeavour to provide facilities for conferences and meetings which will help to attract more people to the city. New Zealand seems to revel in conferences and there is an increasing desire on the part of many organisations to prefer centres rather than holiday resorts. Let us make Christchurch the ‘conference citv’.”

The town hall concept called for big thinking to provide for inevitable growth of the city, Cr. Hay continued “We do not want to build an extravagant building which will become an undue burden on ratepayers. We want a hall which will be capable of serving many purposes and used by all the community;

not just those interested in classical music. “We want the Beatles and Bob Hope to perform in it, or our young people to have dances in it, pur children to use it for their school festivals.”

A million pounds was not a big sum for a once-in-100* years project, he said. Auckland and Wellington planned to spend a great deal more on their new civic centre schemes. No-Interest Loan The floating of a £lm in-terest-free loan was proposed by Cr. N. G. Pickering. This could be spread over a term of one to 10 years so that subscribers could select a term I within that time. The loan would stay open for five years or until it was fully subscribed. The commitment of local bodies within the metropolitan area should be limited to the capital sum of £lm. It should be shared and payable annually into a sinking fund which would be allowed to accumulate and would be the main security for debenture holders.

This would mean that the local bodies would have to find approximately £lOO,OOO a year, but it would not necessarily mean that would have to be paid out every year for 10 years. Money which did not have to be repaid in one year would be invested. More Land Money for the final completion of the project could come from all available sources other than rates. Cr. Pickering proposed a Government subsidy, and substantial grant from the Golden Kiwi lottery profits. The sale of redundant City Council properties was another possibility. It would be a gross breach Of faith with the community not to acquire the full amount of land for the town hall and civic centre outlined in the recommendations of Professor Gordon Stephenson, who was brought to Christchurch to choose a site.

Cr. Pickering said that if local bodies now started funding at a rate of £72.000 a year and construction of the town hall did not begin until 1969, the people of Christchurch and Canterbury could be asked for an interest-free sum of £200,000 in that year. There would be finance available for repayment to debenture holders,

By 1980 the town hall would not have a penny owing on it, he said. The saving to the community would be £l.sm for under orthodox methods a loan of £lm would cost £2.5m. Cr. G. D. Griffiths said a concert chamber should not exceed 800 seats or organisations would be encouraged to use it in preference to the town hall itself.

Of Cr. Pickering’s scheme, he said he was extremely doubtful if it would work. It would mean going to the same people who had already contributed.

Cr. H. E. Denton saw the concert chamber as the major revenue-producing sector and was against any reduction in the 1000 seats. But the conference hall was something where there could be economy, he said. There were already sufficient halls in the city to cater for the conferences which wanted to come here.

“I have had five telephone calls tonight asking what I am going to do to keep down the rates,” he said. "If a city

is worth living in it is worth some sacrifice for the amenities a city needs. Whatever scheme we embark on someone has to pay the piper. We should touch everyone.” It was typical of Christchurch to argue, and the meeting should get away from discussing details, said Mr J. I. Colligan (Waimairi). The people of greater Christchurch had been clamouring for a town hall for a long time, he said. Everyone should pay a just share. Waimairi had agreed to pay its just share, he said, but that meant that every local body had to meet its share.

One local body had said it could not pay as it had more important projects, but it had reduced its rates, Cr. Colligan said. Waimairi had heavy commitments and it was no secret that the rate would probably have to go up in practically every riding. It would cost Waimairi £13,390 a year, and a special town hall rate would have to be struck. Paparua’s Case The Paparua County Council had agreed in principle to support the town hall, and while it would contribute an equitable share, it would decide itself what was equitable, said Mr R. J. Roberts. In deciding that, his council would have to consider whether the inner area of the city should first meet the cost of the land; whether the met-i ropolitan district should ex-! elude the rural area of Papa-! rua; and whether the council could reasonably be expected to share in any part of the building other than the town hall itself; and that the needs for finance in the rapidly-developing districts were much greater than in the older settled areas. Mr Roberts added that so everyone would contribute to a worth while project a citizens’ tax should be devised.

Some Waimairi ratepayers were asking whether they would be called on to pay twice, said Cr. W. T. Rice. Approximately 98 per cent of Waimairi ratepayers were consumers of power from the Municipal Electricity Department, and his council was concerned that M.E.D. stirplus funds had been used for the benefit of city ratepayers.

He said the owner of a house with a capital value of £3OOO would have to pay a rate of 15s to £1 for a town hall.

Ratepayers gener a 11 y thought this . generation should not pay too much too quickly, said the DeputyMayor (Cr. H. P. Smith). “1 don’t think the ratepayers are ready to have a town hall with all the trimmings,” he said. “My view is to have your town hall and concert chamber and leave everything else that can be added to a later generation.” Of Cr. Pickering’s suggestion, he said he would be delighted to lave an interestfree loan for the town hall or any. other city work. “But 1 don’t think you can justifiably ask Joe Brown for his money interest-free when the City Treasurer is taking money for loans over the counter and paying Joe Smith 5} per cent.” To Paparua’s representations, the Mayor (Mr G. Manning) saif all the councils had rural areas, “and we in the city have a rural part too.”