The opposition in Prague 7 has gathered signatures for the call of a local referendum

author: CMC architects

Prague - Civic associations and opposition parties in Prague 7 have collected enough signatures to call for a local referendum. In this referendum, residents of the district will express their opinions on the planned purchase of a new town hall for nearly one billion crowns. The organizers informed about this today in a joint press release. The tender for the acquisition of the town hall has raised doubts from the outset. It is also being investigated by the Office for the Protection of Competition (ÚOHS).
    The city council will decide on calling the referendum. According to the spokesman for Prague 7, Martin Vokuš, no official request has been submitted yet. Therefore, the councilors are unlikely to address the referendum at the Monday meeting. "If the legal conditions are met, then we have no problem with calling the referendum," stated the spokesman. He added that the referendum would cost nearly two million crowns.
    Under the call for the referendum, representatives of the Letná Sobě association and Praguewatch, as well as the opposition Green Party, TOP 09, and KDU-ČSL, which did not make it into the city council in the last elections in Prague 7, have signed. "The citizens of Prague 7 gathered over 3,600 signatures amidst record frosts, heavy snowfall, and spring vacations," said Jan Čižinský (KDU-ČSL) on behalf of the organizers.
    The aim of the referendum is to limit expenditures on the new town hall to 500 million crowns, to announce a new tender, and to hold a proper architectural competition. The acquisition of a new building is being advocated by the coalition of ODS and ČSSD. They are concerned about the expiration of the lease in the current building on the Captain Jaroš waterfront in 2015. However, the opposition disagrees, arguing that the purchase would burden the district with debt for twenty to thirty years.