Salò Rejects referendum on selling old Amadei stadium for housing development

A firm rejection of the referendum on the sale of the old «Amadei» stadium. This was declared by the mayor of Salò, Giampiero Cipani, during the crowded debate held the other evening at the Town Hall. The field will therefore be sold at auction to a construction company, which plans to develop about fifty apartments there. The 1,268 signatures collected from citizens are thus useless. In fact, there’s a clause in the statute that states: «The regulation governs the methods for collecting and authenticating signatures, for conducting voting operations.» But in Salò, no such regulation exists, and the signatures have been authenticated by some city councilors, according to the rules for submitting lists during elections. «I consulted lawyer Mauro Ballerini,» explained the mayor, «and he agrees with me. Signatures require forms of guarantee and certainty, as well as well-defined timings.» The atmosphere was heated, with frequent jabs exchanged. Two positions were contrasted. On one side, the views of the Polo administrators, expressed by Barbara Botti, Bernardo Berardinelli, both assessors, and group leader Bruno Faustini, who is also head of the Comunità Parco Alto Garda. Among those in favor was Aldo Caffi, president of the football club. Essentially, since 400 million lire would be needed to upgrade the electrical and plumbing systems of the Amadei stadium to code, it was decided to construct a rectangular area on a dirt surface next to the new stadium, named after Lino Turina. Construction is already underway. As for the old stadium, it’s better to sell it, hoping to raise between four and five billion lire needed to finance several public works: the first phase of the Amici del Golfo project (beaches), protected mini-housing for the elderly in Gasia, the safety upgrade of municipal buildings, the fourth lot of the strada parco, some sewer trenches, and the roundabout on via Montessori. The winning bidder of the auction will be able to build homes totaling 12,000 cubic meters, covering 10 percent of the area (1,450 sq.m. out of 14,500), with the remainder transformed into private green space. In exchange, there is a commitment to reduce other volumetric allowances and to create a system of equipped parks: 19,500 sq.m. along the strada parco, 11,700 near the new Casa di Riposo, 5,000 in Campoverde, 2,200 in via Silvio Pellico, 47,000 in Burago, and 60,400 in Moriondo (in the valley descending from Villa towards the Panoramica). On the other side are the referendum supporters (committee president: Sergio Turri Zanoni) and opponents of the operation: former mayor Riccardo Marchioro, group leader of the PPI Renato Cobelli, Mauro Ventura, and others. Critics argue that a public asset – a green lung that served as a connection between Campoverde and the historic center – is being sold off cheaply. They claim this will result in a concrete overlay that won’t benefit Salò’s residents, young couples, or fixed-income workers. Not a single party, not even the Salò 2000 (center-right list) that won the elections, raised this issue in its platform. Instead of resorting to quick-fix variants using Law 23 of ’97, which allows for accelerated procedures, opponents believe that a new Master Plan should be drafted. Public works should be financed without giving up family jewels. Tensions peaked when Cobelli stated that assessors «are not board members of a joint-stock company and should not traffic in real estate assets.» Directly addressed, Mayor Cipani became visibly upset. «I serve out of a spirit of service, and I demand respect,» he shouted angrily. «This is not about buying and selling land. There’s no business party here. In three years, I will return to practicing law. I do not intend to run for Parliament or regional government. Our list broke a chain without professional politicians. We inherited various unfortunate situations and are working hard to fix them. Moreover, we have taken control of Barbarano and brightened several districts. In 2001, we plan to work on piazza Carmine, piazza Vittoria, via Rive, Renzano, and at the Canottieri.»