In Velké Meziříčí, the decision on the referendum regarding the shape of the square has been postponed

Velké Meziříčí - The representatives of Velké Meziříčí today postponed the decision to announce a local referendum regarding the proposed changes to the square and its surroundings. They also do not want to continue negotiations with the winner of last year's architectural competition concerning the center's design, but with the second place. A total of 16 studios entered the competition, with the team of Brno architect David Mikulášek winning. According to information on the city’s website, the second place was taken by MCA Atelier with architects Miroslav Cikán and Radek Novotný.

The option for citizens to vote on the variant for the modification of the center was advocated by Mayor Radovan Necid (The True Meziříčí). "It is a stalemate. Both sides of the representatives comment that they represent the majority of citizens..., the referendum will prove who is right," he said. The council postponed the decision on the referendum at the proposal of Marie Ripperová, elected for KDU-ČSL.

At the suggestion of the Christian Democratic representative Stanislav Rosa, the representatives then instructed the city administration to conclude negotiations with architect Mikulášek by the end of the month and to initiate proceedings with architect Cikán.

Opponents of the winning proposal indicated that they were bothered by the traffic solution in one part of the center. Among them was Jiří Kaše (ČSSD), who claimed that the representatives had the right to choose from the three best proposals. Councilor Libor Beneš (The True Meziříčí) stated that the city had allowed the experts to choose the best one.

The results of the architectural competition were announced last summer, and in November all proposals were exhibited. David Vávra was the chairman of the jury. Discussion with objections against the winning proposal only gained momentum in the spring when the city was preparing to sign a contract with the competition winner for the creation of project documentation. The representatives also addressed the situation in the last two meetings. The judges of the architectural competition confirmed their professional opinion on the result and the ranking of the award winners in a letter sent to the city hall last week.

According to previous information from the city hall, the costs for the new modification of the central part of Velké Meziříčí, namely the square and five adjacent streets, were not to exceed 50 million crowns. It was to be accompanied by the replacement of old networks, especially water and sewage.