Vel. Meziříčí wants to contact the authors of three studies from the competition due to the repairs of the square.

Velké Meziříčí – Velké Meziříčí will invite three authors, who were rated the best in a competition five years ago, to finalize the architectural study for the reconstruction of the square and surrounding streets. The proposal by the city council's opposition was approved by the city councilors today. In previous years, preparations for the repairs of the center were halted due to disagreements among the city leadership regarding the selection of one of two proposed modifications that finished first and second in the competition.

Mayor Alexandros Kaminaras (for Together VM) proposed today that the city should continue negotiations only with the authors of the study who finished third, which he believes could be a compromise solution in the long-standing dispute. He informed the councilors about this possibility last month at a closed meeting. During today's debate, he pointed out that the square is in poor condition and its repairs are only stalled at the council. "It has rather become a kind of political dispute, rather than truly being about the quality of the proposals themselves," he stated.

Kaminaras, who is also an architect, has led the city since last February. He replaced Social Democrat Josef Komínek, who is now in opposition.

"The square needs to be (done) urgently, we all agree on that," said Komínek today, who presented an opposing proposal. He stated that the renovated square should serve for over a hundred years, and therefore a selection should be made from multiple proposals. "We are aware that this will be more expensive, but we still believe that the square deserves it," he mentioned. His proposal received support from 12 out of 23 councilors, including two coalition members.

However, some council members previously spoke during the debate about how bringing back the two proposals, which previously divided the council, would also revive old disputes at the town hall.

"Most members of the city leadership were against this proposal, which may represent a step towards the reconstruction of the square, but at a much higher cost and longer time," stated the mayor on the website after today's meeting.

In Velké Meziříčí, there are 11,500 residents. Sixteen proposals were submitted to the architectural competition organized by the city five years ago concerning the repairs of the center. However, a larger portion of the council rejected proceeding with the winning proposal by David Mikulášek. The then-mayor Radovan Necid (The Right Meziříčí) resigned due to disputes.

In a local referendum in 2017, a larger portion of voters requested negotiations with the competition winner, but the results were not binding for the councilors. They chose a proposal from MCA atelier, which finished second in the competition. However, the city did not sign a contract with them for the preparation of project documentation. According to data on the city's website, the third proposal was from Tomáš Kopecký, Richard Ott, Anita Prokešová, and Lucie Kadrmanová Chytilová.

According to a later statement from the Office for the Protection of Economic Competition, the competition was not legally initiated due to procedural errors.