TOWN HALL SITE.

Press, Volume LVI, Issue 16857, 10 June 1920, Page 7

TOWN HALL SITE.

to Tint editor or "th* rRXia."

Sir, —Had .you been nblo to fully report the proceedings at the City Council last Mond.iv, there v.-ould be no occasion for me to troublo you m , this matt or. It is quito evident that 3lr ii. ±101-

land has not read tho valuation report obtained by tho City Councd on the sites suggested for tho Town Hall ver\ closely, otherwise he would have found that the total valuation put on the properties in question was £49,605. lo this sum has to bo added stamp duty and other expenses, which would bring tho cost to about £50,600.. The owners of the properties in question havo orforcd to sell at £60,500. Assuming that the matter of price would havo to bo settled by a Compensation Court, it> •scums onlv" reasonable to think that, alter nay men t of assessors' fees and other expenses involved, tho final cost would at least reach £50,000. It must bo remembered that quite a largo proportion of the buildings aro used ?o r revdential purposes, and it is most dimcult in fact, almost impossible, to obtain' anv increaso in rents of residences nt. the present time, if tho tenants avail themselves of tho protection afforded by Hu. According to tho information available, tho rents now paid for tiio properties involved amount to about £1 per cent, on the value of £ do,ooo. It is well known that to-day it is lmnnssiblo tor largo si<ms of money tor public undertakings to bo obtained under per cent. To this amountwould h-ivo to bo added a sinking fund of aC least 1 per cent. If tho properties suggested are acquired as a Town Hall site, Ihere would be an annual deficiency ot £-2k per cent, on cost, amounting to to be made up by the city. The mvseut rates on tho properties total k'2-27. These two items would > total £1600 per annum. Thon there is the question of insurance, repairs, etc., for which provision would liavo to be ma.de. \v there is not much prospect of the. Town Hall project being carried into effect for tho next ten years, tho .annual deficiency would have to Be capitalised for that period, thus adding at least another £20,000 to the total cost, bringing it up to £75,000 tho amount I mentioned at the Council meeting on M As d tho of the buildings would have to bo demolished to mako way for the Town Hall, the practical result would be the bare site would involve a cost of at least £75,000. Tho sife m question oontains about acres, and - only 165 feet deep. When the triangular pieces at the eastern and wester ends of the block, which would bo of no use for building purposes, are converted iuto open spaces, there would only about 11 acres suitable for the Town Hall Buildings. , ~ Mr Holland says tho question should not be looked at merely from the £ 8. d. point of view. Unfortunately this view cannot be ignored. It is proverbial that Town Halls everywhere are white elephants. I venture to suggest that if the scheme proposed is carried out, and a Town Hall Dentting the dignity of Chnstchurch erected it will involve the city m a total expenditure of £250,000. . As Town Halls, generally speaking, do not earn more than sufficient to keep them clean and in order, the annual oost for interest and standing charges in Christchurch would, have to be raised by a special rate upon the ratepayers of the city. That rate would be equal to 20 per cent, of the general rates* now levied. To put Ij simply, for every pound now paid in general rates, each ratepayer would have to pay four shillings more to provido for nis share of the annual loss on the Town Hall. , If the city can afford this for what, after all, is a luxury and not a necessity, it can afford to make a present of an equal amount to ratepayers m various parts of the city who are crying out for sewers and other necessary conveniences, but aro unable to Dear the prohibitive cost involved. The health of the community is of far more importance than any Town Hall. _ So long as the position is put fairlv and clearly before the ratepayers with whom the final decision rests in these matters, no one can complain. Youip, etc- ' J. A. FLESHIER. Christchurch, June 9th, 1920. > _ r^^=^===;= '2 -h ■