Brno politicians agreed to sell the controversial passage Jalta

Brno - Brno city councilors have agreed to sell the Jalta passage. The dilapidated building on Dominikánské náměstí, the repair of which would cost hundreds of millions of crowns, is said to be unnecessary for the city. All parties in the council agree to the sale of the controversial building, except for the ODS, which acquired the building in the previous electoral term, as reported by today's edition of the Brno Daily.
    The purchase of the Jalta Passage, adjacent to the New Town Hall building, was approved three years ago by the previous council led by the ODS, which wanted to relocate municipal officials there. Entrepreneur Miroslav Lekeš obtained the property from the city in exchange for three houses in the city center and land in the desirable districts of Pisárky and Stránice. The total value of these properties is around 100 million crowns.
    Property Deputy Mayor Oliver Pospíšil sent a letter to all council members at the end of last year asking whether they agree with the sale of Jalta. "All representatives of political parties agree to sell Jalta this year under reasonable conditions," Pospíšil told the paper.
    The sale of Jalta is one of the most controversial actions approved by the previous council led by the ODS. Politicians decided on the transaction unusually through a secret ballot, making it impossible to determine who supported the deal. According to Jan Holík, head of the Brno Christian Democrats, who formed a coalition with the ODS, the Christian Democratic councilors voted against it at that time. The deal was prepared and pushed through by former Deputy Mayor Radomír Jonáš (ODS). For example, the politician initially claimed that the repair of the building would cost 20 million, later 50 million crowns. In autumn 2005, when the matter was discussed, he also stated that the officials would move into the new premises in September 2006.
    According to another study, however, the repair of the building could cost up to a quarter of a billion crowns. Some councilors have labeled the deal unfavorable from the start. The transaction was investigated by the police for suspected corruption, but the case was eventually shelved.