Council meeting details disclosed
DA councillor, Gillian Noyce, reports on issues discussed in council.
DESPITE the debacle surrounding the closing of City Hall to the public at the beginning of the council meeting on Thursday, 25 February, Democratic Alliance councillor, Gillian Noyce, enlightened the public on a number of items which were dealt with at the meeting.
· The decision was taken for the city to raise a further R1-billion for capital projects, despite some persuasive arguments warning the city of the difficulty it might face in servicing this loan in the future.
· A major development in the Cato Ridge area was turned down for a number of reasons. One of the reasons given was the problem of sewage, which would need to be tankered away to Southern Works. The Department of Waste Water acknowledged that amounts of sewage were being deposited straight into small local rivers and felt the line had to be drawn somewhere, which is good news for the environment.
· The proposed upgrade of the 132Kv Klaarwater/Hillcrest Overhead Transmission Line was passed by council. This is being done to meet the forecasted increase in electricity demand in the Hillcrest and Waterfall areas. The cost of the project is R100 000 in 2014, R13-million in 2014/2015, R41,006-million in 2016/17 and R18,183-million in 2017/18.
· The council took the decision not to support an application that permission to sell liquor during events at the City Hall be granted. The application was brought by the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra.
· After much discussion, council, by a majority vote, approved an amount of R17.5-million for professional and design fees to be paid towards the Durban bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
· Compelling arguments were made to have a notice of motion put forward by the councillors representing Morningside and Durban North accepted. It related to the enforcement of by-laws governing the levels of noise allowed as well as the time that disturbances are allowed, namely not after 12am in the morning. Sadly, it was not accepted by council.
· In answer to a question relating to the removal of posters, the council was informed that new contractors would be in place by March 2015, and no reason was given as to why the contracts were suspended from July 2014 until March 2015.
Should anyone need any further information relating to the above items please call Gillian Noyce on 031 765 1533 or 082 800 0943.
