Citizens in Velké Meziříčí collected signatures for a referendum on the center

Velké Meziříčí - In Velké Meziříčí, a civic initiative handed over signatures needed to the town hall for initiating a local referendum regarding the planned modifications of the historical center. The documents containing 1926 names will now be verified by the office. The initiative responds to disagreements in the city council regarding the results of last year's architectural competition. The referendum is proposed to be held alongside the October elections to the Parliament. Tomáš Bílek, the representative of the referendum preparation committee, said this today to ČTK.

The secretary of the city office, Marek Švaříček, confirmed to ČTK the acceptance of the proposal from the preparation committee along with the signature sheets. He stated that the office will check the signatures and also whether all documents meet the legal requirements. If everything is in order, the council of Velké Meziříčí could discuss the referendum on September 5.

Out of the 16 studios that participated in the architectural competition for the modification of the square and adjacent streets, the team of architect David Mikulášek won. The second place was taken by MCA Atelier with architects Miroslav Cikán and Radek Novotný. In June, city councilors narrowly decided to terminate the collaboration with Mikulášek, stating that the city would negotiate with the second place contender.

According to representatives of the initiative, citizens should also express their views on the matter. In the referendum, they should answer the question of whether they agree with the city taking all steps to initiate project preparation for the renewal of the square and adjacent streets according to the winning design of the competition. Valid signatures from one-fifth of the voters are needed to initiate the referendum, of which there were 9430 registered in Velké Meziříčí according to statisticians in the autumn regional elections.

The possibility for people to decide this dispute by voting in a referendum was already proposed by Mayor Radovan Necid (To pravé Meziříčí). The June council postponed the proposal, reasoning that not all options arising from the conditions of the architectural competition and valid legislation had been exhausted yet. The civic initiative for the referendum is, according to Bílek, apolitical.