Desenzano Council Chaos Over Lakeside Projects and Parking Policies
The other evening’s city council meeting in Desenzano was tense and heated. To protest against “arrogance and overbearing behavior” by the center-right majority, the entire opposition bloc decided to leave the chamber, effectively forcing the suspension of the assembly due to the lack of a quorum.
Since they could not rely on the minimum number of voters required (the statute stipulates at least 11, but only 10 were present Monday evening), Maria Ida Germontani, the presiding officer, declared the session closed. Tensions flared between the two political factions, now at loggerheads.
This situation has been ongoing for some time. The project along the lakeside promenade and the parking issue have reignited the controversy. The mass exit from Sala Bagatta by opposition councilors—ranging from Lega to Ds, from socialists to Rc, and the civic group “A City for All“—was triggered by the opposition’s refusal to accept the representative of the Carroccio, Rino Polloni, who wanted a luminous board in the council hall to display images of the lakeside project, as well as the outright rejection of the requests from these parties to grant residents parking discounts in the city center.
«It was an anti-democratic act,» exclaimed Giancarlo Menegato of the Ds. «Because it was denied to a councilor to fully comment on a project that is contested by much of the citizenry and the minorities.» These reasons were also shared by all other dissenters.
Current Projects and Authorities’ Positions
In summary, work on the new lakeside promenade is progressing quickly. «The Anelli administration does not intend to back down: public meetings have been held, and the project has been thoroughly explained,» is the main response from the mayor and the public works councilor.
Regarding parking, first Farinelli and then Achille Benedetti, who has overseen the installation of parking meters in the 170 parking spaces in the historic center, defended the majority’s decision: the number of parking spots identified by the municipality «is not excessive».
Maria Stella Gelmini of Forza Italia also intervened, noting that many decisions are driven by the government’s policy of passing on dozens of taxes and levies to local authorities. The agreement between the municipality and Aler for managing 155 apartments was approved: a good deal for Desenzano, as the municipality will receive 15% of the rent paid to Aler without making any effort.