Vanadzor Deputy Mayor Rents Land from Community for 46,800 AMD, Builds Café

During a visit aimed at monitoring the subsidized programs that began last week in Vanadzor, the regional leader raised several issues, urging the city authorities to demonstrate consistency and act solely in the interests of the community. According to a statement released by the Lori Regional Administration, "Governor Andrey Ghukasian invited Vanadzor City Deputy Mayor Arkadi Peleshyan and the head of the city architect and urban planning department Suren Abovyan to discuss whether any steps are being taken to address these problems."

The first comments were made at the Charles Aznavour Park, where a 5,265 square meter area was leased in 2007 for 50 years to 'Kargava Dan' LLC by a city council decision. From this, 200 square meters were sub-leased to Arkadi Peleshyan in 2010, and an additional 1,074 square meters were leased to him in 2019, also for the same duration. Moreover, Peleshyan pays only 46,800 AMD for the leased areas to the community budget. He has built a café in the specified area and has committed to improving the surrounding space; however, this has not yet been fully implemented.

There is a bizarre situation where an official, meant to protect community interests, has personal stakes in this matter. We hope that the general interest will prevail in this case. It is also illogical that the community-owned area adjacent to the leased land, for which the deputy mayor committed to improve with the help of a benefactor, has not been included in the subsidized program by the municipality.

Nonetheless, Peleshyan promises to fully fulfill his obligations before the completion of the improvement works in the Charles Aznavour Park financed by subsidies. Issues were also recorded in the Taron-2 neighborhood pertaining to the subsidized program for establishing a park. Due to the land not having been thoroughly studied beforehand, the project was prepared with shortcomings, and construction problems have now arisen, which has become a traditional approach for the Vanadzor community. There are two garages in the area, and the construction of a retaining wall will require the demolition of the asphalted area, among other things.

The regional leader demands minimizing the disruption of the asphalt and proposes negotiating with the garage owners to offer them alternative options for relocating their garages. "The purpose of the ongoing programs is to improve the community, which must simultaneously align with the interests of the residents," noted Ghukasian.