Annex 3 Matters on the SDC Notice Boards Reply from the Southern District Office The consolidated reply from the Southern District Office (SDO) is as follows: Current Position 2. Currently, there are 23 notice boards for the Southern District Council (SDC). Setting aside South Horizons East and South Horizons West where there are no notice boards, the number of notice boards in each constituency ranges from one to five. The distribution and design of the notice boards are given at Appendix. 3. The notice boards measure approximately 105 centimetres (cm) in width by 77 cm in height and can at most accommodate about four sheets of A3 paper. Currently, the notice boards are primarily used for displaying the list of SDC members with contact details, the meeting agenda of the Full Council and its committees, as well as publicity materials of district activities of SDO or the Leisure and Cultural Services Department put up by SDO based on the actual situation. The relevant work is arranged by SDO and the information displayed on the notice boards is standardised across all the boards. The repair and maintenance of notice boards is within the ambit of the District Minor Works projects under the items of “Safety inspection, cleansing and related repair to minor works facilities in the Southern District” and the “Minor improvement works”. SDO will clean the notice boards and update their content six times a year, i.e. about once every two months. As the SDC Secretariat does not have specific resources to carry out the routine work for the notice boards, the notice boards are currently used under the established principles of simplicity and consistency so as to meet the basic needs. 1 Comments raised in Past Discussion 4. SDC has had discussions on the notice boards and different views had been raised in the past, including the following: (a) some members were of the view that the SDC notice boards had been used for many years. As the online publication of information was sufficient for providing all kinds of information and it had become more convenient to contact the District Councillors, the notice boards were of little use nowadays. It was proposed that infrequently patronised notice boards should be gradually removed so as to save the resources for repair and maintenance; (b) some members suggested continuing to display the meeting agenda of the Full Council and its committees on the notice boards as SDC meetings were open to the public. To facilitate communication between the public and the District Councillors, it was also suggested that the list of SDC members with contact details be retained. Some members pointed out that it would be difficult to reinstall a notice board once it had been removed; (c) some members suggested inviting non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to use the notice boards, or even handing over the management of the notice boards to district NGOs. Some members pointed out that the purpose of the notice boards was to display information relating to SDC and the Government, and personal and commercial information should not be displayed; and (d) some members suggested that the notice boards should be kept clean and improvements should be made to the content being displayed in order to attract the attention of the residents. Some members also suggested making reference to the practice in other districts and posting maps on the notice boards. 2 Drawing Public Attention to the Notice Boards 5. The Secretariat has used fonts that are as large as possible on the usable area of the paper and colours with sharp contrast wherever possible, so that members of the public can easily read the information on the notice boards. 6. Members are welcome to give views on how to further enhance the attractiveness of the notice boards. Use of Notice Boards for Expression of Views by the Public 7. When discussing whether the notice boards can be used for expression of views by the public, members may consider the following points: (a) the purpose of setting up notice boards is to disseminate information about SDC meetings and programmes to the local communities. Expression and collation of public views on different issues have all along been done through other means; (b) to protect the information posted on the notice boards, the notice boards are currently designed to have frame doors with locking device; (c) given the limited space of the notice boards, there may not be sufficient space for other purposes after the notice boards have been used for displaying information of SDC meetings and programmes; (d) how to properly manage the notice boards if they are open for the public to express their views? Should there be any restrictions on the content? Would there be difficulties in enforcement? (e) can the initiative be supported by the existing manpower and resources? Will there be any unexpected legal liability? 3 8. Having regard to the above factors, it appears that using the notice boards for expression of views by the public may not be the most desirable arrangement. Southern District Office February 2020 4 Appendix Southern District Council Notice Boards Areas Locations Constituencies 1 Nam Long Shan Road near Wong Chuk Hang Cooked Food Market 2 Repulse Bay Road Bays Area 3 Chung Hom Kok Road Stanley & Shek O 4 Ma Hang Estate near Chun Ma Stanley & Shek O House East Area 5 Ma Hang Estate near Koon Ma Stanley & Shek O House 6 Stanley Village Road Bus Stanley & Shek O Terminus 7 Tai Tam Road Stanley & Shek O 8 Shek O Bus Terminus Stanley & Shek O 9 Lei Tung Commercial Centre Lei Tung II 10 Yue On Court Lei Tung I South Area 11 Ap Lei Chau Estate Ap Lei Chau Estate 12 Ping Lan Street Ap Lei Chau North 13 Chi Fu Fa Yuen Chi Fu 14 Pokfulam Gardens Chi Fu 15 Pok Fu Lam Village Chi Fu 16 Wah Kwai Estate Bus Wah Kwai Terminus 17 West Area Wah Fu Estate near Wah Fu Wah Fu South Centre 18 Wah Fu Estate near Wah Fu (2) Wah Fu North Commercial Complex and Car Park 19 Victoria Road Pokfulam 20 Tin Wan Street Tin Wan 21 Nam Ning Street Aberdeen North Area 22 Yue Kwong Road Shek Yue 23 Yue Fai Court Aberdeen 5 Dimension of Southern District Council Notice Board: 105 x 77 (centimetres) 6 .