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STATEMENT FROM THE COUNCIL GROUP OF THE PINEROLO DEMOCRATIC PARTY
After carrying out the work of the Third Council Commission, which met on the afternoon of 23 October, the council group of the Democratic Party of Pinerolo deems it appropriate to highlight the following, both in terms of the closure of the Palacurling and in terms of the matter relating to the baseball field / softball.
All with one premise: for years we have been asking the Administration to open a 360° discussion on sport in Pinerolo and on the municipal sports facilities. What has happened in recent weeks further reinforces this need which in our opinion is now an obligation that can no longer be postponed.
In recent days the municipal administration of Pinerolo announced its decision to close the Palacurling sports facility for a year.
The reasons for the closure would be due to the conflict between the interested parties and the management costs, reasons which would not allow the activity of the current concessionaire to be extended for a further year.
We are aware that in recent years the curling facility has been the subject of discussions, even heated ones, but this cannot be a reason to close the facility.
Looking clearly at the situation that has arisen, we believe that the inadequacy and inability of the current manager is emerging more and more clearly who, despite the “facade” reassurances given in recent years, has instead been totally disinterested (both from the sporting, both from an economic-management point of view) of curling as a discipline and of the facility dedicated to this discipline.
In this context, which has been under everyone’s eyes for some time, we are convinced that the municipal administration should move sooner and better and not wait for the expiry of the Agreement in November 2024 without taking matters into its own hands, and then, finally, deciding that there were no conditions for a management extension and therefore that the only solution was the temporary closure of the plant.
This decision is unacceptable for the PD group and must be changed. The municipal administration cannot and must not abdicate its function by “deciding not to decide” and must assume the responsibility of quickly finding a solution that allows, instead, to keep the Palacurling facility in operation so that the entire sporting movement Pinerolese of this discipline can continue practicing without dispersing with the risk of never starting again.
Equally emblematic is the affair relating to the baseball/softball field built in via Einaudi, in relation to which, starting last July, the Democratic Party Group has repeatedly requested the convening of a dedicated Commission.
Our request starts from the need to want to delve deeper into a topic which for months has seen the conflict between the public administration, the baseball/softball sports club and some of the inhabitants of via Risso fueled, without the Administration having in any way managed to initiate profitable discussions in order to improve the situation.
It is obviously correct and acceptable that the public administration decides to support paths aimed at expanding the offer with new sports disciplines but this must be done in an appropriate and far-sighted way. Before starting the route, the location of the field should have been evaluated more carefully, taking into account the baseball practice to which it was evidently dedicated, also in anticipation of a possible growth of the movement and perhaps from this point of view it would have been better to identify other more fit for purpose in the long term. For this reason there is no doubt that these evaluations will still have to be made in the future.
In the Commission, precisely at the request of the PD council group, some of the political-administrative steps that supported the decision were brought to the attention and some of the administrative and sporting acts that legitimized the setting up of the field and which allow carrying out sports practice. The above has, at the same time, highlighted an approximate management of the entire affair by the Administration which contributed to fueling the conflict between all the parties involved and did not operate in a proactive manner so that they could start a discussion aimed at finding a mediation between the respective positions.
Unfortunately, it was decided not to give space and voice in the Commission to any of those present: to the representatives of those who live in via Risso, who probably would have wanted to express their reasons, the critical issues that sporting practice generates for them and the requests they intended to formulate, nor to the representatives of the Blackhorses company, who were also prevented from publicly expressing their point of view and their considerations or proposals. Above all, it was not possible to seek those points of mediation and consultation that would have allowed us to define publicly, and not with individual discussions, the possibilities of coexistence between the different needs expressed, the prospects for the baseball movement and the guarantees for the citizens of Via Risso.
It is clear that thinking today, also in relation to the significant economic investments made by the sports club, on the basis of the authorizations regularly requested and issued by the Administration, of questioning the permanence of the new baseball field in the area is very difficult, but at the same time, the discomfort expressed by the inhabitants cannot be totally ignored and it is equally clear that the task of mediating and finding solutions for peaceful coexistence, or for a different and adequate placement, falls to the Administration.
Precisely for this reason, in this context, we ask the Administration to immediately start a process of mediation and consultation between the parties aimed at deciding the best solution in the interests of the Administration, but respecting everyone’s needs, so that arrive at a resolution of the currently unresolved issues that create conflict.
In fact, it is up to the Administration to propose a solution that allows the sporting activity to continue in its current location, respecting the rights of the athletes and the inhabitants of Via Risso, or to identify alternatives that can allow the baseball movement to grow over the years and have the peace of mind of carrying out your activities even for higher series.
The Advisory Group of the Democratic Party
Luca Barbero, Silvia Lorenzino and Matteo Giorgis
In the photo Luca Barbero and Silvia Lorenzino during the third council commission
