The outdoor pool will not be built in Česká Lípa, the competition has been canceled

Česká Lípa - The outdoor pool at the Sports complex in Česká Lípa will not be built this year. The city excluded the only bidder for the contract and canceled the competition. The reason was the excessively high bid price. "We do not want construction at any cost," said Deputy Mayor Juraj Raninec (ODS) today to ČTK. According to him, the city will not announce a new competition. The municipal elections are approaching, and the leadership of Česká Lípa wants to leave the decision about the pool construction to the newly elected council.

The leadership of the Česká Lípa city hall still counted last year on the possibility that the outdoor pool could welcome its first visitors this summer. The budget for this year also included the pool, which was to be one of the largest investments. The city hall planned events this year totaling a record 423 million crowns. “However, the bid price significantly exceeded the designer's anticipated price of 90 million crowns including VAT. That is unacceptable for us as responsible managers,” noted Raninec.

With 37,000 inhabitants, Česká Lípa is the third largest city in the Liberec region, but it lacks summer swimming. People have to travel ten kilometers to Nový Bor, Sloup in Bohemia, or even to Lake Máchovo. In the past, the city hall focused primarily on improving the water quality in the natural reservoir Dubice, but all measures proved ineffective. Therefore, the city wanted to build an artificial pool next to it for 60 million crowns. However, the weakness of the location is its position in a flood zone and the considerable distance from the town center.

The city hall was therefore looking for additional options. It had six variants to choose from, of which the Sports complex is considered the most advantageous by the city. According to Raninec, the main advantage is that the facilities of the Sports complex can be utilized, especially the cogeneration unit. This way, the water can be heated at the beginning and end of the season, according to him. A pool of approximately 860 square meters with a slide, water attractions, and a wading pool is planned to be built in the area of the current parking lot. The facility should have a capacity of 1,000 people. However, its construction will depend on the election results. The opposition parties, including Starostové pro Liberecký kraj, ANO, and the Communists, reject the project.

The pool construction was also one of the questions in a referendum on investments that took place in Česká Lípa after the second round of the presidential elections. The city's residents answered five questions, with the renovation of the Jirásek Theatre and the purchase of the Kounický House receiving majority support. In contrast, most participants were against the construction of the outdoor pool and the acquisition of the lookout tower on Špičák. The establishment of a new library in Jeřábkov's square did not have a definitive outcome. However, the referendum was invalid, as only 15.45 percent of the eligible voters participated. A 35 percent turnout was required.