In Velké Meziříčí, the collection of signatures for a referendum on the square has begun

Velké Meziříčí - In Velké Meziříčí, a civic initiative has begun collecting signatures to call for a local referendum on the design of the center. This is in response to disagreements within the city council, which ultimately decided a week ago to terminate cooperation with the winner of the architectural competition, stating that it would negotiate with the second-placed entry. The preparatory committee for the referendum aims to gather the necessary 2,350 signatures as soon as possible so that the referendum can take place alongside the parliamentary elections in the fall. Tomáš Bílek, the representative of the committee, told ČTK this today.

11,600 people live in Velké Meziříčí. According to Bílek, the preparatory committee is apolitical and its members are not in the city's leadership. "Our main goal is to defend the expertise of the architectural competition," he said. In the referendum, people will be asked whether they agree that the city should take all steps necessary to initiate the project preparation for the renovation of the square and the adjacent streets according to the winning design of the architectural competition.

A total of 16 studios entered the competition, with the team of Brno architect David Mikulášek winning. The second place was taken by MCA Atelier with architects Miroslav Cikán and Radek Novotný.

Some opponents of the winning design expressed concerns last week during the council meeting regarding the transportation solution in one part of the center. Others stated that they wanted to choose from the three best designs themselves. The possibility for people to resolve the dispute by voting in a referendum was already proposed by the mayor Radovan Necid (To pravé Meziříčí).

A week ago, the councilors postponed the decision on the referendum, stating that all options from the architectural competition had not yet been exhausted. The city leadership, upon suggestion from the Christian Democratic councilor Stanislav Rosa, then instructed to terminate negotiations with architect Mikulášek and begin negotiations with the architect who finished second in the competition.

"It is a spontaneous initiative by citizens who have the right to express their opinion. But we believe that it is necessary to exhaust all steps that the competition requires first," Rosa told ČTK today.

The results of the architectural competition were announced last summer, and all entries were displayed in November. David Vávra was the chairman of the jury. Discussions about objections to the winning design only heated up in the spring when the city was preparing to sign a contract with its author for the preparation of the project documentation.