The Přerov opposition proposes to decide the fate of the Strojař hotel in a referendum

Prerov – The fate of the abandoned hotel building Strojař in Prerov could be decided by the city's residents in a referendum. The Pirates, together with other opposition representatives, propose this. They will introduce the referendum proposal at the municipal council meeting on Monday, informed CTK representative of the Pirates Jaromír Horký. The current city leadership is aware of the opposition's proposal, said mayor Petr Vrána (ANO) today to CTK. The question of the use of Strojař has occupied three successive municipal administrations. The current coalition also has this issue in its program declaration. The city bought the building six years ago for 42 million crowns to prevent the establishment of another social housing facility.

The last time Strojař was discussed was in connection with its sale. The Pirates and the opposition, on the other hand, advocate for the city to remain the majority owner of the building, where affordable housing could be created. “If the city of Prerov is to have the opportunity to influence the housing situation, it must remain the majority owner of the Strojař hotel; otherwise, affordable housing will continue to be a distant dream,” stated Lenka Jüngling on behalf of the Pirates, who introduces the referendum proposal on behalf of the opposition. She added that if the council rejects the proposal on Monday, they are ready to gather sufficient signatures from residents.

The Pirates were also supported by representatives of Together for Prerov, who are in opposition with them. Together for Prerov was in coalition at the time when the city bought Strojař. “Prerov should invest where it will benefit the citizens,” said their leader Jan Horký. “I can state and express my sincere joy that we have found common ground with colleagues from the opposition groups and offer the possibility through a referendum for the citizens of Prerov to decide for themselves about its fate,” also supported the proposal Dan Chromec, chairman of the SPD club.

The Strojař issue is also included in the program declaration of the current coalition, which, like the previous electoral term, consists of ANO, ODS, and KDU-ČSL with TOP 09. According to mayor Petr Vrána (ANO), the matter will be discussed at the council meeting. “We have noted the opposition's proposal, and whether a referendum will be called will be shown by the vote of the councilors on December 5. We are happy to hear the arguments; we are also ready to explain our visions to the councilors and to the citizens in real time, not only regarding Strojař - we will also provide information on the current status of municipal apartments that are undergoing reconstruction. These are matters closely related,” the mayor stated.

The nine-story panel building that the city purchased in 2016 from the Ministry of Defense for 40.5 million crowns is abandoned. Among the plans were its renovation into apartments for young families or seniors, the exchange of properties, and even demolition and preparation of the area for a new investor, but all plans ended in failure, partly due to costs. The wording of the petition is available on the website http://zmenmeprerov.cz.