Councilors of the Democrats, the Europe Now Movement (PES), the Socialist People's Party (SNP) and the New Serbian Democracy (Nova), which make up the ruling majority, and the opposition Movement Together We Build Kolašin (DPS, SDP, SD and non-party personalities) gave their consent to the President of the Municipality Petko Bakić to sign a contract with investors on the mountain centers Kolašin 1450 and Kolašin 1600 on the regulation of mutual obligations. Councilors of the Democratic People's Party and URA, which are part of the Kolašin government, abstained, as well as councilor Gospava Vujisić from the opposition Group of Voters.
The contract, the essence of which is that the investors who build tourist facilities within the planning centers in Bjelasica will also build the missing communal infrastructure, because the amount of compensation for equipping the construction land, which should be paid to the Municipality, is not sufficient for that. The construction of communal infrastructure is, by the way, the responsibility of the local government.
Bakić, explaining the need to sign the contract, said that "the Municipality did well in that business". Although, as he claims, the law does not oblige him to seek the consent of the local parliament to sign the contract, he did so, he explained, due to the need for transparency in the work of the local administration.
"The signing of this type of contract on the regulation of mutual rights and obligations in connection with the communal equipment of construction land at the location Kolašin 1450 and 1600 is extremely important in order to create, in the shortest possible time, the conditions for the location to be fully equipped with infrastructure, to enable with access to the ski resorts via well-maintained roads. This is a key prerequisite for creating adequate conditions for the opening and functioning of the hotel, as befits luxury tourist facilities," said Bakić.
During the negotiations, which, he claims, lasted several months, the Municipality, according to Bakić, took into account the public interest in everything, and it was achieved that the costs of communal equipment, which exceed the amount of the communal fee, are borne by the investor. The contract, he said, is similar to those signed by local governments on the coast with investors, but with one important difference.
"In other municipalities, when it comes to contracts like this, the amount through communal equipment in the construction of public infrastructure was borne exclusively by the municipalities, and some borrowed for that amount from investors. We managed to negotiate that this amount should be borne exclusively by the investor", he said.
Bakić explained that for the buildings built on the site of 1450 su, the investor has so far paid fees for the communal equipment of the construction land in the total amount of 84.594 euros. It has been estimated that the payment obligations for the buildings that are yet to be built are around 1,9 million euros.
"The difference in the value of the fee for communal equipment and the value of the planned works falls on the investor, and the Municipality of Kolašin has no obligation to refund additional construction costs, the estimated value of which is 924.261 euros. 1600 million is needed to equip the construction land at location 2,47, and the estimated obligation of the investor based on the fee is 2,185 million euros. Even in that case, the difference in the value of the fee for communal equipment and the value of the planned works falls on the investor, and the Municipality has no obligation to refund the additional costs for construction, the estimated value of which is 292.997", explained Bakić.
As he claims, numerous guarantees were made in the contract to protect the Municipality and the public interest, and among other things, the local administration will have supervision over all works.
The President of the SO Vasilije Bulatović (DNP) noted that 80 percent of the planned facilities in the mountain centers have yet to be built. Considering that the future obligations in the name of compensation were estimated on the basis of current prices, he believes, "the investors have secured themselves by the contract against the possible increase in the prices of that type of obligations".
"We enter into an economic deal with an investor, where each party has its own interests. Of course, it is clear to everyone that private individuals will realize projects faster and more efficiently. In this sense, I am in favor of similar arrangements... On the other hand, we must remember that the investor also tries to protect himself from the risks, in this case, from the increase in the price of fees. Expert knowledge is needed to discuss the details of this agreement, so the DNP councilors' club will be restrained, because we cannot vote for something we do not fully understand. We have confidence in the executive power and the president, but we cannot vote for something whose interpretation requires specific expertise," explained Bulatović.
URA GP member Miodrag Vlahović says that the contract opens up the possibility "to declare private roads inside hotel complexes as public infrastructure and that the Municipality will undertake the obligation of their maintenance". According to him, "privileged investors, who drew the planning documents for themselves, have already been given too much". Vlahović also questioned the issue of expropriation of private property for future communal infrastructure.
"Maybe some old councilors have amnesia, so they don't remember that the state invested two million dollars in the road to the ski resort, which was later privatized, and that the ski resort went into bankruptcy because of that road, and was later sold for only half a million euros. The state is preparing to invest 11 million euros in the water supply of mountain centers, and a garage worth 11 million euros has been built..." he reminded.
At today's meeting, the councilors gave their consent to Bakić to take on debt for the construction of a project that will improve water supply and wastewater treatment, as well as the necessary approvals for the implementation of those projects, including a wastewater treatment plant.
In the first part of the session of the local parliament, unanimous consent was given to the initiative of two local communities and the Association for the Protection of Komovo (UZKOM) to subsequently design and build a loop on the highway in the village of Kraljske Bare.
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