Minutes of the 2Nd Meeting of Thefood, Environment, Hygiene & Works Committee (2014-2015)

Minutes of the 2nd Meeting of the

Food, Environment, Hygiene & Works Committee (2014-2015)

Central and Western District Council

Date: 27thMarch 2014

Time: 2:50 p.m.

Location: Conference Room

14/F, Harbour Building

38 Pier Road, Central, Hong Kong

Present:

Chairman

Mr LEE Chi-hang, Sidney*

Vice-chairman

Dr Malcolm LAM*

District Council Members

Mr CHAN Chit-kwai,BBS, JP(2:50 pm – 4:30 pm)

Mr CHAN Choi-hi*

Mr CHAN Ho-lim, Joseph(3:01 pm – 4:21 pm)

Mr CHAN Hok-fung*

Ms CHENG Lai-king*

Mr CHEUNG Kwok-kwan(2:57 pm – 3:37 pm)

Mr CHEUNG Yick-hung, Jackie*

Mr HUI Chi-fung(2:50 pm – 4:40pm)

Mr IP Kwok-him, GBS, JP(2:50 pm – 3:05 pm)

Miss LO Yee-hang(2:50 pm – 4:24 pm)

Mr KAM Nai-wai, MH*

Miss SIU Ka-yi*

Mr MAN Chi-wah, MH(3:40 pm – end of the meeting)

Mr NG Siu-keung, Thomas, MH, JP*

Mr WONG Kin-shing*

Mr YIP Wing-shing, BBS, MH, JP*

Co-opted Members

Mr CHAN Wing-hang*

Mr LI Po-ming(2:50 pm – 3:37 pm)

Mr LUI Hung-pan*

Ms NG Hoi-yan, Bonnie*

Mr YEUNG Ho-kei*

Mr YEUNG Hok-ming*

Guests

Item 5(i)

Item 5(ii)

Item 6

Item 7

Item 8

Item 9

In Attendance

Secretary

Opening Remarks

The Chairman welcomed Members and representatives from government departments to the 2ndmeeting of the Food, Environment, Hygiene & Works Committee (FEHWC) (2014-15). The Chairman also welcomed Mr TO Man-fai,Western District Assistant Police Community Relations Officerof the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), Mr Tsang Chi-bun, Central District Assistant Police Community Relations Officer of the HKPF, Mr Damien CHAN, Senior Estate Surveyor/Special Duties (District Lands Office, Hong Kong West and South) of the Lands Department (LandsD), Mr Harry TSANG, Engineer 16 (Hong KongIsland Division 1) of the Civil Engineering and Development Department and Mr Kenneth KO, Building Surveyor/A3-2 of the Buildings Department (BD) who attended the meeting on behalf of Mr CHING Chi-yan, Billy, Mr LAU Kar-ming, Mr LAM Chi-ming, Kempis,Ms YAU Man-shan, Doris and Mrs CHEUNG CHOY Suk-ling, Aka respectively.

2.As there were no comments from Members, the agenda was adopted.

3.The Chairman said that Mr Joseph CHAN had submitted the following amendment proposals to the Secretariat before the meeting:

(i)To amend paragraph 27(v) to: Mr Joseph CHANproposed that the WSD should notify Members of the district council concerned and strengthen communication with them in case of emergencies, so that Members could, during emergencies, help the Administration give an account of the situation to the building management companies and residents in the district, and provide information to the Administration for improvement of temporary traffic arrangement.

(ii)To amend paragraph 66 to: Mr Joseph CHAN indicated that under the existinglegislation,construction workswere permitted to be implemented between 7am and 7pm from Monday to Saturday. The noise had caused adverse impacts on residents’rest breaks as well as nuisance to their daily life. Moreover, residents reflected that the construction works had caused adverse impacts on the structure of surrounding buildings. But the Buildings Department (BD)did not entertainthe case as there was no imminent danger. He considered that there were inadequacies in the BD’s handling of the matter and it had failed to preventsurrounding buildings from being damaged. In addition, he requested the department to give an account of its requirements on specifications of construction sites which helped minimise the environmental pollution caused by construction works. Furthermore, he pointed out that many construction workersdined in and littered outside the construction sites. He proposed that the FEHD should strengthen the cleansing work and enforcement actions at the sites. Finally, he remarked that the construction works had causedadverse impacts on traffic. The roads inthe Central-Mid-Levels constituency were very narrow, but large construction vehicles had to run on those roads to implement the works. He said that residents had complained about vehicles of works staff occupying two lanes of a road, and thus causing danger. The staff even requested the residents to give way to their vehicles. He proposed that the department should monitor drivers in respect of their driving attitude and takestrict enforcement actions against illegal parking.

4.As Members had no comments on the amended minutes of the firstFEHWC meeting,the amended minutes were confirmed.

5.As Members had no comments on the minutes of the firstinformal meeting of FEHWC, the minutes were confirmed.

6.The Chairman said that the Secretariat had passed the following papers to Members through circulation:

7.The Chairman said that as there were quite a number of papers in the fourth batch of papers for the current meeting, the Secretariat had emailed the papers to Members on 26 March 2014 and had placed the papers on the table for Members’ perusal.

8.Miss Cheryl CHOW, District Officer (Central and Western), reported that various departments would continue with the repair, maintenance and clearance of drainage as well as the follow-up work of misconnection of drainage systems in private buildings. The relevant information had been explained in the discussion paper in detail.

9.Mr CHEUNG Hoi-yin, Engineer/Project Management of the Drainage Services Department (DSD),reported to the Committee that since the last report, five projects were completed, four projects were in progress and due for completion in April,and one projectwas expected to commence in April and due for completion in a month’s time.

10.Mr CHAN Chit-kwaisupplemented the contents of the paper and said that refuse was found accumulatedin the nullah at Lyttelton Road and Oaklands Avenue. There were also dog excreta and sewage on the slope. As the road was used by residents as a short cut to Robinson Road and Kotewall Road,he proposed the departments concerned to improve the environment and beautify the area. The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) mentioned a seepage case on a slope at Robinson Roadin the reply, saying that sewageseeping out from the slope might somehow find its wayflowing into the storm channel at the subject ramp near 7 Lyttelton Road through the drainage system. He suggested the department follow up the case. He also proposed to provide iron railings in the area while implementing short-term and long-term beautification plans.

11.The Chairmaninvited Members to raise questions and express their views. The main points of their comments were as follows:

(i)Mr CHAN Chit-kwaisaid that the department concerned should promptly handle the malodorous problem. He proposed to enclose the nullahs to prevent accumulation of refuse,and to build parapet walls and railings to prevent loose fill near the nullah from washing away into the nullah. Moreover, he proposed to urge the owners of the buildings at 111 to 113 Robinson Road to inspect and repair the private retaining walls. He suggested the C&W District Council(DC) carry out landscaping and greening works by the funding for district minor works (DMW),and provide a footpath from LytteltonRoad to Robinson Road with a view to increasing the sitting-out area in the district.

(ii)MsCHENG Lai-kingasked about the stormwater collection time of the open nullah. She also asked whether littering could be prevented by converting the open nullah into a covered one,besides carrying out regular cleansing.

(iii)Mr Joseph CHANsaidthat there were many hillsides and slopes in the C&W District andmany open nullahs beside trees would be easily blocked. He opined that the incident in question served as a warning and suggested the department concerned keep an eye on the problem. He also said that the rainy season was approaching and was conducive to mosquito breeding. He suggested the department concerned promptly remove the refuse in nullahs to protect the public health.

12.In response to Mr CHAN Chit-kwai’s remarks, Mr Kent CHOI, Deputy District Leisure Manager(Central and Western)2 of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD),said that the LCSD would step up cleansing on the slope of Oaklands Avenue to improve the environmental hygiene. He indicated that the LCSD noted thedog fouling problem on the slope and the use of the slope as a shortcut by the public. Given the uneven surface of the slope, the LCSD planned to erect fencing at the access point of the slope in consultation with the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD) to prevent public access for the sake of safety. He agreed to carry out landscaping and greening works at the location. In addition, he proposed to consider using DMW funds for slope formation or stabilisation works.

13.The Chairman asked if the slope at Oaklands Avenue would be repaired and maintained by the BD.

14.Mr Kent CHOI replied that the ArchSD was responsible for slope repair and maintenance.

15.Ms CHAN Lai-hung, Property Services Manager/Peak and Mid Levels of the ArchSD,said that Mr Kent CHOI’s reply was the joint reply of the LCSD and ArchSD. She agreed with Mr CHAN Chit-kwai that installing railings and parapet walls beside the nullah near footpath could discourage the public from dumping refuse in the open nullah and thus prevent blocking the water flow. The ArchSD would study the feasibility of the proposal with the LCSD as soon as possible.

16.The Chairman asked which department was responsible for removing refuse in nullahs. Ms CHAN Lai-hung replied that refuse removal was not under the purview of the ArchSD. The ArchSD was mainly responsible for repairing and maintaining two of the slopes and regular grass cutting on the slopes.

17.The Chairman asked Mr Kent CHOI how the refuse on the slope would be removed. Mr Kent CHOI replied that as the slope of Oaklands Avenue was quite steep, the LCSD would entrust the work to cleansing contractors and ask the ArchSD for assistance if necessary.

18.The Chairman asked if the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) would assist in removing refuse. Mr YIP Ming-bor, District Environmental Hygiene Superintendent (Central/Western) of the FEHD said that the slope at Oaklands Avenue was under the purview of the LCSD, butsome other slopes were unattended. The FEHD would follow up the hygiene condition of the site in question and would try its best to remove the refuse on the slope.

19.The Chairman asked whether the LCSD would arrange for contractors to regularly clean the slope and asked about the timetable and scope of cleaning. Mr Kent CHOI replied that the slope in question was within the Oaklands Avenue Sitting-out Area under the management of the LCSD. The LCSD’s contractor was mainly responsible for the cleaning of sitting-out areas. Since the slope at Oaklands Avenue was steep and the surface was uneven, it was difficult for the contractor to reach the slope and the ArchSD would be asked to help in the cleaning work. Because of the rugged topography, cleaning could be done only once every three to four months.

20.The Chairmansaid the EPD mentioned in the written response that it had carried out a number of inspections in the vicinity of the slope and was aware of the littering problem. He would like to know how the EPD would follow on the issue. Mr Sean LAW, Senior Environmental Protection Officer (Regional South) 1 of the EPD,said that the EPD had inspected the site a number of times. The site was found to be in poor hygienic condition in the beginning and there was disposal of refuse such as dog waste. As the EPD was not responsible for removing refuse,it would generally refer the case to the relevant departments for follow-up. He inspected the site again with other departments on 16 March and noted improvements to the hygienic condition. He advised that the EPD would mainly follow up the sewage problem. In respect of the suspected seepage at Richmond Court on upstream Robinson Road,the EPD had contacted the building managementand learned that the owner concerned had performedthe repair works to solve the seepage problem. No seepage was found on the stone wall of Robinson Road anymore during inspection.

21.The Chairmaninvited Members to raise questions and express their views. The main points of their comments were as follows:

(i)Mr CHAN Chit-kwaiagreed to enclose the stormwater drains near the slope to minimise littering. He pointed out that he had seen departmentalstaff members disposing of cut trees into nullahs and therefore suggested the departments concerned monitor their contractors more closely. He also suggested stabilising the soil near nullahs to prevent loose fill and pollutants from washing away into or blocking nullahs. In addition, he suggested installing railings on the slope to safeguard the safety of pedestrians. He considered that the departments concerned should improve the drainage system and to study the safety issues of slope in the long run. He suggested paying a site visit to the slope and carry out slope improvement works by the DMW funds.