Architects of the city of Alytus: two left, one came

From the beginning of this year, J. Kalvinskaitė started working as the deputy head of the Architecture, Urban Planning and Land Management Department of the Alytus City Municipality Administration, as the chief architect of the municipality. She replaced Mindaugas Matažinskas and Arūnas Grigaitis, who previously held these positions.

The change of the chief architects of the city of Alytus began three years ago, when M. Matažinskas was temporarily suspended from the position of deputy head of the Architecture, Urban Planning and Land Management Department of the Alytus City Municipality Administration, chief architect of the municipality until the end of the criminal proceedings. He has been charged with falsification of documents and abuse of office in connection with the plans to build a mineral rock processing plant.

At the end of last year, the Kaunas District Court acquitted M. Matažinskas and returned him to his former position, and the city municipality paid his salary for almost three years and default interest – almost 53 thousand from its budget. euros in hand. M. Matažinskas, who was returned to his position, did not stay long in the municipality, did not work for a month, he left his job in the municipality by agreement of the parties, having received four months’ average salary and a payment for unused holidays – 8.5 thousand after taxes. euros.

As soon as M. Matažinskas left the municipality, his position was immediately taken by J. Kalvinskaitė, who had previously submitted a request to transfer her from the administration of the Kaunas district municipality to the position of chief architect of the municipality of Alytus. The new chief architect commutes to work from Kaunas, works three days a week in the municipality, two days remotely.

While M. Matažinskas was removed from his position, A. Grigaitis held it. After the favorable court decision, M. Matažinskas briefly returned to his former position, A. Grigaičius was assigned the position of chief specialist of the Architecture, Urban Planning and Land Management Department of the Alytus City Municipality Administration. However, as of January 16, A. Grigaitis resigned from the aforementioned duties by agreement of the parties, leaving a witty and at the same time sad post on his social media account: “At Cesiuli’s request, if I wish.”

According to the people of Alytus who were interviewed, the resignation of A. Grigaitis from the administration of the city municipality is related to the scandalous story of the construction of five-story houses in the old part of Alytus. A. Grigaitis himself does not deny it either. “From the very beginning, I knew that if I stood up to defend the public interest, my services would be refused if the opportunity arose”, said A. Grigaitis to “Dainavas hozi”.

The architect opposed the ambitions of the Alytus city government when adjusting the city’s general plan to allow the construction of five-story residential buildings in the old town. On his initiative, the Kaunas Regional Architecture Council of the Lithuanian Chamber of Architects, which considered this issue, recommended not to build five-story buildings in the old part of the city, as this would significantly change the image of this area and become an invasion of the old part of the city.

The Kaunas District Prosecutor’s Office, after conducting an investigation, adopted a resolution to warn the Alytus City Municipality not to violate legal acts at the stage of preparation and implementation of the decisions of the Alytus City General Plan – to strictly comply with the preparation, coordination and approval of territory, building and infrastructure projects, issuing building permits, legalizing buildings and other objects requirements of legal acts and take all possible measures to ensure public interests.

Having initially ignored the recommendation of the Kaunas Regional Architecture Council of the Lithuanian Chamber of Architects and the warning of the prosecutor’s office, the leaders of the Alytus city municipality refused plans to allow the construction of five-story buildings in the old town.