RIGA, Jan 7 (LETA) - Rezekne City Council lacks understanding of how cultural institutions operate, Culture Minister Agnese Lace (Progressives) said on Wednesday.

During a working visit to Rezekne on Wednesday, Lace expressed concern about the situation at Latgale concert hall Gors and the municipality's approach to cultural institutions' operations.

The minister met with Rezekne Mayor Aleksandrs Bartasevics (Together for Latvia/Latvia First) and representatives of the municipality to discuss the situation regarding the management of Gors concert hall.

According to Lace, the municipality's representatives have no understanding of how cultural institutions function and of the fact that the quality of cultural events cannot be measured only by the number of attendees.

The state has so far provided substantial support for ensuring access to culture in Latgale, including by investing several million euros in construction of Gors concert hall, allocating funding from the State Culture Capital Foundation and supporting operations of the Latgale Music and Art School. Latgale is an important region of Latvia and there are no plans to reduce state support for culture in Latgale, said Lace.

During the meeting, Lace asked the municipality to present the results of an audit of the concert hall's functions, and said that the ministry's representatives should be involved in further discussions on management of Gors.

The minister pointed out that the Culture Ministry had repeatedly asked Rezekne City Council to provide information on the audit results and decisions taken by the municipality's task force, and that the ministry's representatives take part in work of the task force.

Viesturs Razumovskis, head of the Smart Administration and Regional Development Ministry's Local Governments Department, and Elina Petersone, head of the Economics Ministry's Business Competitiveness Department, also took part in Lace's meeting with Rezekne City Council's representatives on Wednesday.

As reported, Diana Zirnina was last week dismissed as the manager of Latgale regional concert hall Gors in Rezekne on the grounds of loss of trust.

Bartasevics earlier said that Rezekne City Council no longer considers the option of placing the concert hall under the management of a private company. Two possible scenarios are now being considered - amending the delegation contract with Austrumlatvijas Koncertzale or transforming the capital company into a municipal institution.

Bartasevics believes that it would be best for the state to take over the ownership of the property. "The City of Rezekne is ready to pay off the loans," the mayor said without specifying the amount of the outstanding payments, and added that it could be between EUR 3 million and EUR 4 million.

"It is not our objective to hand it over to the state, but it is our proposal if they believe that we as a municipality cannot provide proper content or proper management," Bartasevics said.