City attempts to remove terrace, cafe owner brings security

A months-long dispute between the City of Slavonski Brod and local entrepreneur Goran Ivezić, owner of Royal Holding and co-owner of the Infopix portal, escalated Monday when city officials attempted to forcibly remove the terrace of Caffe Bar Royal. The city claims Ivezić's company has been using the terrace without proper authorization and has failed to pay rental fees, despite repeated warnings and administrative procedures.

According to a city statement, municipal inspectors, assisted by Komunalac employees, tried to remove catering equipment from the terrace. However, their efforts were thwarted when Ivezić allegedly hired security guards to block the removal. The city maintains that Ivezić was repeatedly instructed to remove the equipment and warned of consequences for non-payment of rent, yet he never submitted a request to formalize a lease agreement for the summer terrace.

City officials also reported calling the police for assistance, but the officers present stated they could not intervene further without a decision from the police chief. The city administration has vowed to continue enforcing municipal regulations regarding the unauthorized use of city property, with continued police assistance planned.

Ivezić, however, presents a different narrative, accusing city officials of misleading the public. He claims his company has owned the premises for seven years and that a new contract was issued two years ago. He alleges that after the "sand affair" (referring to a previous investigation involving his construction company), he received a notice on June 19 declaring all previous municipal inspector actions void and the relevant office incompetent. Ivezić questions how he used the space for seven years without issue if it was not public property. He stated that the matter has been reported to USKOK (the Croatian anti-corruption agency) and expressed confidence that the truth will prevail.

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The gentlemen from the city are deceiving the public with untruths. The premises have been owned by my company for seven years, they gave me a new contract two years ago, and everything was fine until the sand affair. Then on June 19, I received a ruling declaring all previous actions of the municipal inspectors null and void, and the municipal office incompetent, clearly stating that it is not public space. I wonder how I used everything for seven years without problems?