Ustka. Area by the beach for PLN 114,000. The resolution passed thanks to the son-in-law's vote

The building is located right next to the beach in Ustka. You can buy there, among others, ice cream, coffee and waffles. The facility itself is owned by an entrepreneur who has been leasing the land under it for 31 years. Now he will be able to buy this land – without a tender.

We received information about the resolution of the City Council on the sale of real estate by the beach in Ustka from an Internet user on Contact24. We asked the mayor of Ustka, Jacek Maniszewski, for details. As he emphasized, the subject of the resolution adopted on October 30 was to consent to the sale of “only a plot of land with an area of ​​65 square meters, without the service building erected on it, which is the outlay and property of the lessee.”

Maniszewski added that the value of the land was estimated by a property appraiser at PLN 114,000. – Any sale will therefore be made at the market price determined by the appraiser, without any relief or discounts – he emphasized.

The mayor added that the council agreed to waive the “tender procedure for selling real estate, which is permissible in cases where the real estate is leased by a person who leases or uses the real estate on the basis of a contract concluded for at least 10 years.” In this case, the area has been leased continuously since 1993. The entrepreneur built a service and commercial facility on the land, so upon possible termination of the contract, the city would have to settle the expenditure.

The matter was publicized by Marta Czternastek, councilor of the City of Ustka.

– In my opinion, it is not the procedure of granting consent by councilors from Ustka to the sale of real estate by the sea that arouses so much emotion among residents, but the fact that the sale is to take place without a tender, without competition, for about PLN 100,000 for attractive land by the promenade – he explains .

– We look for savings in committees and we argue for every zloty. For schools, salaries, lighting, roads and other investments. At the same Council session, we fought for approximately PLN 50,000 for remuneration for the Social Integration Center and for money for a school connector so that children could go from class to the gym. Every zloty counts – says Marta Czternastek. – And this clash, this fight for a balanced budget and the decision by some councilors to sell the property without a tender, during the same session, after the earlier stormy deliberations on this resolution of the Budget and Economic Committee, was like hitting a wall for many – he adds.

Deficit of the City of Ustka as of November 8 this year. amounted to PLN 1,858,544.12. The City of Ustka commune has PLN 70 million of debt to be repaid by 2040.

Eliza Mordal, spokeswoman for the Ustka City Hall, argues that the city has no financial problems. – It has financial liquidity and generates adequate income to function and repay its debt – he explains.

The spokeswoman adds that the value of the plot was estimated by a property appraiser at PLN 114,000, but the sale amount has not been determined yet. – It will be the subject of negotiations with the buyer. The sale will take place at the market price, without any discounts or reliefs, he explains.

Marta Czternastek, however, emphasizes that the land on the promenade in Ustka could be sold for a much higher price during a tender.

According to Eliza Mordal, in recent years, two properties located in the same complex were sold by way of an open oral tender for PLN 217,000 and PLN 214,000. These were properties with a similar area, but with buildings – the property in question is only land, without buildings, because the premises are owned by the tenant.

– In our opinion – with the annual budget of the City of Ustka amounting to approximately PLN 120 million – such an amount does not significantly change the city's financial situation. Moreover, after the end of the lease agreement, the city would first have to return the value of the tenant's outlays, without any guarantees of obtaining much greater income from the sale, since neighboring properties with identical purposes and similar size were sold together with the buildings in an open tender, for amounts slightly exceeding PLN 200,000 – explains Mordal.

However, there is one more doubt. Marta Czternastek claims that a councilor who is the entrepreneur's son-in-law took part in the vote on the resolution adopted on October 30. He was in favour.

– A member of the tenant's family, an employee of a company that can get this land for almost next to nothing – says the councilor.

When asked about this, the spokeswoman for the City of Ustka replies: In this matter, please contact the person concerned directly – the councilor is subject to the rights, obligations and prohibitions arising from the Act on municipal self-government.

Marta Czternastek has already submitted a request to the Pomeranian Voivode to check whether the provision has been violated, which states that a councilor cannot take part in voting in the council or in the committee if the matter concerns his legal interest (Article 25b of the Act of March 8, 1990 on municipal self-government, Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1465, as amended).

Anna Kowalewska from the Press Office of the Pomeranian Voivode admitted that such an application had been submitted and it was being verified. If it turns out that the regulations have been broken, the resolution may be considered invalid. The office has until December 6 to respond.

However, on October 30, more councilors voted. There were 7 people in favor of the resolution on the sale of real estate on the promenade in Ustka, 6 were against and one councilor abstained from voting.

– Selling such a property without a tender may indicate mismanagement and lack of care for the residents of Ustka and their needs. This is public money, money for meals for children during summer camps, which were not available this year because there was no money, this is subsidies for associations whose funds were significantly cut this year, explaining the deficit, this is money for the civic budget, which was suspended, this is money for the renovation of schools, lighting and roads – says Marta Czternastek.

He adds that the same tenant “had previously received a large property on the Ustka promenade from the city.”

– In the very center of the promenade, without tender and without competition. Exactly the same as now. And a large catering and hotel complex was built. The same tenant received consent to conclude a lease agreement without bidding in 2018 (continuation of the agreement), thanks to which he has now received consent to purchase another property without bidding – explains the councilor.

– The councilor is deliberately misleading by suggesting that the city gave the tenant the property, when in fact he has purchased and can purchase another one only at market prices and in accordance with the Real Estate Management Act – replies the spokeswoman for the City of Ustka.