The Montolivet neighborhood, one of the oldest and most emblematic of Olot, has an important event this March. The city council wants to present to its inhabitants a comprehensive reform project that envisages changing the appearance of its streets, improving services and infrastructure and making it more accessible and sustainable. But for this initiative to be carried out, it is necessary for the residents to validate it with their consensus. This is what the mayor of Olot, Pep Berga, said in an interview with NacióGarrotxa: “We will not do anything without the consent of the owners. It is a very ambitious project and we want it to be as participatory as possible”.
A seven million euro project
The reform of Montolivet is one of the biggest challenges facing the Olot City Council for its mandate. It is a project that was already started in the previous legislature, but that was stopped and modified due to the suggestions made by the residents in several meetings. The project consists of making the streets a single platform, burying the electric lines, changing the lighting and the sewer system and putting in trees and street furniture. The estimated cost of the reform is seven million euros, part of which will have to be paid by the neighbors in the form of special contributions. The mayor of Olot, however, does not believe that this is an impediment: “There have always been special contributions and I don’t think they are the problem. What we want is for them to like the project. In addition, we have to carry out the reform so that it does not affect the daily life of the neighbors and that they can access their houses while the work is going on. This is not easy, because it is a very peculiar neighborhood. We have a very interesting proposal and, if you give us your support, we’ll get to it right away”.
A participatory process
So that the residents of Montolivet can learn about and give their opinion on the reform project, the City Council has planned to hold information sessions this March. In these sessions, the proposal drawn up by the authors of the project, who have taken into account the contributions made by the neighbors in the past, will be shown. The project will have to be validated by the 400 properties in the neighborhood, and without this validation, work cannot begin. The City Council’s goal is to start implementing the reform in 2024, which is why it has set aside an item of two million euros in this year’s budget. This item is added to those already budgeted in previous years, but which were not spent due to the lack of consensus. The mayor of Olot is confident that this time the project can go ahead: “It is a unique opportunity to regenerate a historic neighborhood and improve the quality of life of its inhabitants. We hope that the residents will see it this way and give us the sit yes”.
