Town Hall fees too high?

Press, 24 April 1980, Page 6

Town Hall fees too high?

Some members of the Christchurch Town Hall board of management are concerned that the board is “profiteering.” Both the Town Clerk (Mr J. H.‘ Gray) and the Mayor of Christchurch (Mr Hamish Hay) said that they thought charges for the use of publicaddress systems for concerts and conferences were excessive. .

The town hall’s manager (Mr B. P. Connell) had proposed that $9OO a performance be charged for a full concert rig and $5OO for a middle-range rig. For the first day of a conference using a full rig $5OO would be charged and $250 for the first day of a conference using a standard system. Mr Gray wanted justification for charging $250 a day for a “microphone hanging

down from the roof, a couple of speakers, and a lecturn.”

The senior committee, clerk (Mr J. C. McTeigue) said the Town Hall had just bought $150,000 worth of equipment and had to recoup some of the outlayMr Gray said, “It’s a bit like using a. sledgehammer to crack a nut if we have to have $150,000 for a simple conference.” It was not the customers’ fault if the board had bought expensive equipment and they should not be expected to pay for it. Mr Hay said the charges would probably deter people when the board was trying to promote the Town Hail as a conference centre.

The meeting agreed to refer the charges back to Mr Connell.