September 9 was extremely exciting for Malopolska and Krakow - the city lost in the fight for the title of Green Capital of Europe 2023 (the title is held by Tallinn), from the position of Malopolska Regional Monuments Conservator Monika Bogdanowska, who had been occupying the position since March 2019, was dismissed.the post of Malopolska Regional Monument Conservator was dismissed from Monika Bogdanowska, who had occupied the position since March 2019, and the CBA, in a joint operation with the police on charges of corruption, detained five people, including a former deputy mayor of Krakow responsible for urban planning.
Monica Bogdanowska's resignation
The request for the resignation of Monika Bogdanowska from her post as Małopolska Regional Monument Conservator was submitted by Małopolska Voivode Łukasz Kmita. The approval for Bogdanowska's dismissal was given by Professor Magdalena Gawin, General Conservator of Monuments and Deputy Minister of Culture and National Heritage, the decision was officially announced on September 9. The duties of the Malopolska Regional Conservator of Monuments will be performed by Dominika Długosz, Monica Bogdanowska's former deputy.
What is the justification for this decision? In the summer of this year, an inspection took place at the WUOZ regarding the proceedings carried out and administrative decisions issued. It ended with a positive assessment of the office's actions, although some irregularities were pointed out, which the Voivodship Office for Historic Preservation in Krakow was obliged to correct.
These include irregularities in the office's adherence to deadlines, as well as in the organization of work in the unit," Joanna Paździo, spokesperson for the Małopolska Voivode, explained to Gazeta Krakowska. - That is, what is fundamental to the functioning of any office: both timeliness, including in terms of access to public information, as well as the handling of cases or the application of accepted organizational principles, as we have already pointed out. These are formal issues - in our view as important as substantive ones, because they determine the continuity of conducted cases and the building of citizens' trust in a given office," added Paździo.
Is this the only reason? As the lifeinkrakow.pl portal suggests, the reason may also be Bogdanowska's controversial decisions:
The main reason for her dismissal may be the blocking of the rebuilding of the railroad viaduct on Grzegórzecka Street, which delays the renovation of the entire railroad line between Płaszów and Krakow Central. This is a huge investment project worth more than a billion zlotys. Bogdanowska also obstructed the construction of the Cogiteon science center in Czyżyny. The suspension of the reconstruction of a tenement house at 12-14 Stradomska Street for six weeks was also widely echoed. She imposed a fine on the investor. As it later turned out: groundlessly. The conservator also revoked the decision of her predecessor Jan Janczykowski on the construction of the Kazimierz-Ludwinów footbridge. The city appealed to the Minister of Culture. She also prolonged the opinion on the subway feasibility study.
Borys Czarakchev, chairman of the Social Committee for Renovation of Krakow Monuments, in an interview with Gazeta Krakowska, in turn stressed Bogdanovich's concern for monuments:
Ms. Bogdanovskaya's knowledge fully confirmed that she was right to hold the position of provincial conservator. She showed great care, but also attentiveness, when it came to monuments. Quite principledly, she upheld certain principles, which she defended in an uncompromising manner.
developer affair
On September 9, the CBA arrested five people, a case that was quickly hailed by the media as a "developer affair."
The findings so far, the evidence gathered and its analysis have allowed the detention of five people, who will be presented with corruption charges covering the years 2018-2019 after the completion of trial activities. The detainees include the former Deputy Mayor of the City of Krakow, the President and Director of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce in Krakow, the former Director of the Department of Spatial Planning of the City Hall of Krakow and the Deputy Director of the Board of Roads of the City of Krakow. Evidence obtained by investigators indicates that the former deputy mayor of the City of Krakow used her influence in various departments of the Krakow magistrate's office so that employees of those offices would issue favorable decisions for developers serviced by a particular private company, according to a press release issued by the CBA.
One of the detainees, Elzbieta K., served as deputy mayor of Krakow from 2010 to 2018. As the Onet portal recalls, the official reason for her dismissal from that post was her desire to avoid a conflict of interest due to the participation of a company linked to her husband and son in the architectural competition for the design of the Housing Plus project in Kliny.
The investigation, as reported by Wyborcza Kraków, citing the prosecutor's office, concerns the evaluation of the correctness of the proceedings conducted by the Krakow City Hall, in terms of the adoption of the local zoning plan for the Błonia Krakowskie area and the study of the conditions and directions of zoning for the Fort Bronowice area.
Investigators also examined the correctness of administrative proceedings related to the issuance of decisions on land development conditions and building permits for companies conducting architectural and development activities in Krakow, as well as the actions of Krakow City Hall officials suspected of failing to comply with their duties in, among other things, disposing of information obtained in connection with the performance of their official duties. Also under investigation are threads related to the implementation of the government program "Mieszkanie plus" in Krakow and the granting of financial support by the Krakow City Hall to private entities for real estate renovation, according to Wyborcza.
After interrogation, all the detainees were released, with police surveillance and property sureties imposed, RMF FM reports, and none of the suspects admitted guilt.
