The councilors did not revoke the notice from our passage and the bank of the Vltava to a private person
The discussed wharf on the right bank of the Vltava is in the neighborhood of the Charles Bridge. Photo: Koko C. / Wikimedia Commons – CC BY 3.0
The Prague councilors have not yet canceled their October resolution, which initially terminated the lease agreement with the company Pražské Venátky for the passage and bank near the Charles Bridge at the mouth of Platnéřská Street. The council, as a superior authority, ordered them to cancel the notice. The councilors interrupted the discussion of the document about their meeting today, councilor Jan Chabr (TOP 09) confirmed to ČTK. The incumbent council terminated the contract due to its alleged disadvantages for the city. However, the newly elected council did not agree with the procedure and, as a superior body, ordered the original resolution to be revoked.
“I tried to fulfill the will of the council by presenting the press. In a rather long debate today, councilors felt obliged by a resolution, as they insist on parts of the (original) print, which is why there was an interruption. My position is the same, I am of the opinion that more money can be obtained for the city from the contract, but not by terminating the contract, we will not get even the little we have so far,” said Chabr.
According to outgoing councilor Adam Zábranský (Pirates), some of the councilors refused to approve the revocation due to the fact that they thwarted the tendering of the concept of Prague’s banks. I suppose the place should be a publicly accessible platform for boats and small concessions.
“So we wanted Mr. Chabr to redesign the press so that it would at least fulfill the more general tasks approved by the council,” said Zábranský. According to him, Prague also repaired and built a new pier and staircase for about 2.5 million.
The outgoing city management argued the low price the company pays for rent, namely 17,500 crowns per year, which is less than in other places. It also stated that the lease contradicts the concept of Prague’s banks. Instead of a private company, according to the October resolution, the municipal management company Trade Center Prague (TCP) was to subsequently take care of the wharf.
However, not only some of the serving councilors from the United Forces for Prague coalition (TOP 09, STAN and KDU-ČSL) opposed the plan, but also the newly elected Spolu representatives (ODS, TOP 09 and KDU-ČSL) and representatives from other parties. One of the main arguments was that the outgoing council has no mandate from the voters to make such decisions after the election.
According to Chabra, the plan to build a public wharf has several flaws. “It is not quantifiable how much it will cost to build such a port, nor how much it will cost to operate,” Chabr said. In the same way, it is said that it is not clear from the original document whether it would be publicly accessible for free or for a fee.
The council, as the highest body of the capital, at its constituent meeting on November 3, ordered the councilors to withdraw their resolution, which was originally supposed to stand today.
If it ends up happening in the coming weeks, the future of the wharf will probably be decided by the new city council. However, even after more than two months, a new coalition has not yet been agreed upon in Prague.
In recent weeks, representatives of Prague Venice have stated in the media that behind the original decision of the council, according to them, is the effort of the rival company Presidential Cruises to get a lucrative place for itself. Councilors rejected all suspicions of favoritism.